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“Never let a good crisis go to waste” — Winston Churchill
I suspect just about everyone has heard some variation on the above quote. With crisis, comes uncertainty and the need to rapidly reevaluate the status quo. Organizations — and individuals — are “gifted” with a window of opportunity to change when previous norms of resistance have been suspended, or perhaps disappeared altogether.
In the last 15 years, we’ve experienced this globally — twice. First, the global recession that began in 2008, and then the onset of a global pandemic in 2020. Conservatively, 40% of the last 15 years was spent dealing with a crisis. As enterprises adapted, transformed and at times failed, the impact landed squarely on the shoulders of the individual worker. Today, the AI tsunami is poised to drive the next wave of change crashing ashore. No wonder our mental health professionals are in such high demand.
Humans are wired to prefer certainty, so these waves of extreme disruption act in direct opposition to our core need for stability. Below are three powerful skills we all can continue to hone during times of uncertainty, for ourselves as well as those around us. Let’s look at both sides: the individual employee as well as those who have roles as people leaders.
Perspective Taking: The Ability to See the World From Another's Point of View
As a people leader, the simple act of seeking others’ perspectives is a step forward. It’s what makes qualitative research so powerful. Employees say the act of being asked for their views sends a compelling, positive signal about the organizational culture. Perspective-taking doesn’t mean we necessarily agree, but it does signal our desire to understand “reality” from a seat other than our own. It works best when we temporarily suspend judgment, purposefully seek input, actively listen, and then reflect on what we have learned. Interestingly, the act of seeking others’ perspectives is a core principle behind inclusion. Inviting others to share their views helps foster psychological safety, especially across demographic and cultural differences.
As an individual, seeking others’ perspectives can improve our decision making. It helps us identify previously unknown obstacles and anticipate resistance that we might encounter. In times of extreme disruption, it can enable the reframing of our own thoughts, helping us challenge our own assumptions and conclusions. It has the added benefit of fostering connections with people who seem distant or perhaps unknown. Asking others to share their point of view is a building block of trust and will likely encourage them to do the same in return.
"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better" — Maya Angelou
Empathy: The Ability to Appreciate Others' Emotions and Respond With Compassion
If perspective-taking is mostly about reasoning, empathy takes that a step further to include appreciating the emotions another person is experiencing. Empathy requires us to understand, and to some extent, share the feelings of another person. It is not detached. On the contrary, showing empathy means we express and demonstrate compassion for the emotional state of another person.
The best example is the impact of the pandemic on people managers. They were often overwhelmed and underprepared for the need to lead (or simply respond) with empathy. Colleagues were filled with emotions that broke through old organizational boundaries, leaving managers to do the best that they could.
For all of us, being empathetic does not mean acting as a therapist or counselor. It does mean being open to someone expressing their feelings and creating a safe environment to support the whole person. Most importantly, it means demonstrating compassion through our words and actions including:
Being fully present in conversations.
Setting aside technology distractions.
Expressing genuine concern.
Actively listening.
Making eye contact.
Avoiding judgment.
Being vulnerable by sharing similar life experiences.
Acknowledging their feelings.
Related Podcast: Why Emotion Is a Critical Leadership Data Point
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Self-Regulation: The Ability to Understand and Manage Your Own Behaviors and Reactions in Response to the Environment Around You
If I could go back in time and change one thing about leadership programs I’ve designed and delivered, it would be to explicitly address self-regulation. We are all victims of our impulses: saying and doing things at the wrong time, with the wrong tone or word choice, basically because we were triggered by something that happened in our environment. It’s human to react. It’s just not always wise to act on your first instinct. Here’s my guidance:
Just because you have a thought doesn’t mean you need to immediately express it.
Communicating when you’re angry rarely works out well.
Important messages deserve several review cycles before sharing.
Time, reflection and sleep enable better decisions.
“To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart” — Eleanor Roosevelt
