What I Learned Surviving the California Fires

5 Tips for Executives Leading through Crises

 As I was running through my house with two firefighters at my heels trying to focus on what was important to grab with two minutes to evacuate in the California fires, my thinking went out the window. Then, once out of the house, traffic jams and houses burning next to the street raised the fear of not being able to get out of the neighborhood alive. The largest firestorm at the time in California left a large swath of destruction and mental anguish in its wake.

Other crises come in many forms: natural disasters, terrorist attacks and stock market crashes to name a few. And those that happen within an organization–severe staff cutbacks, mergers or acquisitions, or extremely aggressive growth which may leave employees reeling. Now we are faced with a pandemic which brings its own multiple crises and massive disruption. External disasters trigger internal crises when business downturns or hurricanes mean sales losses and disaster repair.

We all have to function during and after crises whether to ensure we continue to generate income, support the sick and injured, or as leaders to stay the course at an organization reliant on our abilities to remain focused and in charge.

The challenge for leaders is to keep the business going, support employees, while coping with our own personal crises. It’s not easy. Following are five tips for self-management when you are at the helm of a company or department when the going gets even tougher than usual.

  1. Take stock of your own situation
    Acknowledging your own losses during a crises means you’re not stuffing down emotions that may later erupt at work at the wrong moment. Vent with close friends and family members or even close colleagues. Don’t underestimate the magnitude and reality of your personal situation and the impact it has on you; expect to be stretched thin by even more demands on your time.

 

  1. Avoid high-achiever pot holes
    High achievers have high expectations of themselves even in crises. They expect to function at their “normal” level and can be self-critical when failing to achieve that. Difficulty making decisions, forgetting things and feeling overwhelmed are normal in crisis situations. As a leader you are no less vulnerable to such mental trip-ups. Expect this and don’t beat yourself up when you’re off your game. Notice it, course correct and get back on track.

 

  1. Delegate
    Of course, as a leader you’re used to delegating. But there will be more to delegate now. Action will need to be taken to shore up losses. Do what you do best; activate others to get things done. Is there physical damage to a facility? Loss of inventory? Impact that prevents employees from working? Damage to morale and teamwork? Ambiguity about roles due to a merger? Massive hiring for aggressive growth? – If you are the type of leader that has trouble delegating, now is the time to switch gears and practice handing off projects and action items. You need bench strength. – You simply cannot do it all.

 

  1. Maintain Your Health
    Though a stiff drink (or several) and/or a large batch of cookies may call to you regularly during a crisis, do your best to stick to standard good health advice. Exercise to reduce stress, avoid unhealthy foods. Your solidity and good health are going to serve you personally over what is likely to be a long haul, and help you serve as the rock bed of stability that your organization needs now more than ever.

 

  1. Don’t Underestimate the Aftermath of a Crisis
    If you’ve lost a home or, perish the thought, a loved one, recognize that recovery is slow. It could take weeks to months to stabilize; finding a new place to live and restoring your belongings involve real-time logistics. Two to three years to re-build a home is not uncommon. Losing a family member is never easy but losing someone in a disaster such as flood, earthquake or fire has its own additional set of emotions with which to cope. Don’t be surprised by the long duration of your preoccupation with your own losses and/or the toll such losses take on your emotional stability.
No doubt you’re familiar with the airline instructions to put on your own oxygen mask first, before helping others. This is of course so you will be able to help others. As with the oxygen mask, so with self-management in  a crisis as the first essential step to lead your organization forward. When you’ve checked off the above boxes, you can effectively turn your attention to your employees, who will benefit from your ability to guide the ship through rough waters with calm, strength and vision.