Laura Watkins
W
e have been speaking to business leaders in BITA to see how they have been handling the crisis, what they have learned, and how they are emerging successfully. The last few months have been challenging for businesses, and staff have been struggling with drastic changes to their lives. Home-schooling, being stuck at home for days, uncomfortable working conditions and mental health issues have all had an unknown impact. In times of crisis, people look to their leaders to be a fixed point that will help them get through the worst. Politicians, community representatives and employers are relied upon to provide leadership and inspiration to those that depend on them.
EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP IN A
CRISIS How leadership and trust can lead to success in hard times
Although they will be struggling with the same problems, a good leader knows that no matter the crisis, we all have control over how we act in response. Uncertainty has been one of the defining features of 2020 so far, but uncertainly doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to prepare. The business leaders we’ve spoken to have all said how important is it to be prepared for the unexpected, and equally important, to be heavily involved in strategy and decision making. As Stephen R. Covey once said; “no involvement, no commitment”. Jacqueline O’Donovan, of O’Donovan Waste Disposal agrees; ‘We’ve been keeping in regular contact with the staff through WhatsApp groups, which is very important. ‘We’ve been present, passing on health and safety guidance and reassuring staff that we’ll be back to normal ASAP. I think we have been bought closer as we’ve had to work together and had more interaction than usual.’ In times of crisis it can be easy to start making short-cuts, but this may lead to disaster in the long run. In response to COVID, Lyndsey Gallagher of Gallagher Group set up a task force to help anticipate the worst-case scenarios, but right from the outset she was clear that the business must stick to its organisational values. “Before the furlough we were sending people home with pay, as their health was more important to us,” says Lyndsey; “and they were saying ‘we want to stay; we want to work’ so we were ending up kicking people out the door!” Continuing to embody your values in the face of a crisis, be it with customers, suppliers, or staff, shows the true colours of your business. Many businesses that have acted, in the eyes of the public, as disreputable, may find their previously good reputations difficult to un-tarnish in the coming months. When the prospect of a lockdown started to seem increasingly likely in February and March, one of the most urgent things that businesses had to do was re-examine their mission, be very clear
