Executive Director's Message

Hold on!

I was reading some articles from the Harvard Business Review and found two that covered the topic of Crisis Leadership from different perspectives. One article, “Leaders, Do You Have a Clear Vision for the Post-Crisis Future, 1 ” emphasized the importance of looking beyond the “dark horizon” and be guided by a vision of a better future.

The second article, “The Psychology Behind Effective Crisis Leadership, 2 ” argued that the enchantment with “vision” arises from a “disembodied concept of leadership.” Having a vision on its own of where your company should be in the future is not enough. The author proposed that what really matters in a crisis is embracing a concept in psychology called “holding.”

Holding, according to the author, refers to the ability for a person to soothe distress and help others make sense of the confusion. He posits that a vision arises when the employer and employees of an organization support each other and work together. A 2020 Vistage CEO Confidence Index survey of 900 small and mid-sized business leaders identified

maintaining and building morale among their leadership teams and employees as one of their top challenges. 3

Holding does not mean that corporations shelter their employees from reality, but rather provide them with ways to manage the disruption. Managing makes them more comfortable and courageous. A potential by-product of this process could be that employees are more willing to look for new ways to solve problems.

So how does this relate to you, our members? Judging by the number of attendees and the number of questions asked during our weekly TMA Virtual Town Halls, topics that are employeerelated are of great interest to our members. Leading and managing people is not easy under the most normal of circumstances; add to the equation a situation where there is a lot of uncertainty and no clear ending in sight, and leading and managing become even harder. So, how can you “hold”?

You can provide institutional holding by, for example, putting in place policies and procedures that are clear and equitable;

by encouraging participation in finding solutions together; by being open on the reasons behind decisions that will affect the way they work, their compensation and benefits; and by clarifying what are your key priorities now.

Another top concern identified by the Vistage CEO survey mentioned above was a concern for a safe workspace. Our members continue to explore how to best staff their monitoring centers and their companies to ensure they can deliver their services, while keeping their employees safe. Sharing the steps that you are taking to keep your employees safe can ease these concerns.

What about the vision? With the uncertainty we are experiencing, it is very hard to trust forecasting models used previously. When the models we have been using are no longer reliable, leaders must seek multiple perspectives, use their instincts and judgment, and then make the best possible decision. As a leader supports his/her people and they collaborate on working on solutions, a vision will emerge. The leader must be willing to abandon or adjust the vision when the information points out it is no longer possible or desirable.

Ceila T. Besore, CAE Executive Director

Mark W. Johnson and Josh Suskewicz, Harvard Business Review, “Leaders, Do You Have a Clear Vision for the Post- Crisis Future,” April 17, 2020.

Gianpiero Petriglieri, Harvard Business Review, “The Psychology Behind Effective Crisis Leadership,” April 22, 2020.

Joe Galvin, Inc., Four Major Pandemic Challenges Facing Leaders and How to Solve Them: Maintaining morale and growth are among top concerns for CEOs. August 1, 2020.