8 minute read
Business Leadership: Adapting To Change
As we work our way through new challenges presented to us by COVID-19, it’s important to remember that strong, consistent leadership is the key to your business’s survival. Of course, we hope things will get better, but as the old adage says, “hope is not a strategy.” We cannot simply hope for things to improve; we have to actively make them better. And making them better means starting at the top—with business leaders.
The COVID-19 environment we live in today is constantly changing. If you want to be a good leader and have success in 2021, there are three key strategies you should be incorporating.
1. Take the initiative to change and adapt. Things that worked several years ago may not work today.
2. Be mindful of what your employees are facing and the challenges they are working to overcome.
3. Always look for ways to improve teamwork.
changes needed for success. Leaders that will survive 2021 are those looking for unique opportunities that are now available because of the pandemic. Leaders cannot wait for things to magically return to normal because COVID has permanently changed our world. There is no “returning to normal.” Today, leaders must anticipate changes, get out of reactionary mode and start actively pursuing growth.
Many leaders in the hardwood industry discovered innovative solutions to the challenges COVID-19 caused. For example, some companies shifted their focus to a work-from-home strategy. At the same time, other businesses expanded their mills so employees could maintain social distancing - a move that is still paying off even after the height of COVID.
Another strategy to consider is employee appreciation. The most effective leaders show appreciation for what their employees are going through. COVID-19 has permanently affected the lives of people across the globe.
It took time to adapt to things like working from home, online learning, and caring for their loved ones. Of course, you appreciate their work. But do you appreciate the extra effort it has taken to maintain the level of work expected of them? This core principle will separate the extraor-
dinary leaders from the rest and “will ensure that you and your team can give your best work no matter how the world changes.
Effective leaders show appreciation for what their employees are going through in good times, so it’s especially important to show appreciation during a crisis, or in this case, a pandemic. Today’s most productive teams are led by people who endeavored to recognize the extra effort, time, and energy that their team gave to continue business despite what was happening in the world. The leaders who genuinely care about their people are the ones that get the most out of their team because they build trust.
According to Forbes Magazine, “Recognizing effort matters as much as recognizing outcomes when it comes to building a highly engaged, high-performing team. When leaders take time to both understand and appreciate the effort of their team members, they are showing they care about their team members as much as they care about the outcomes they are producing. Research shows that an individual is 12 times more likely to be engaged when they trust their leader, and trust is built when leaders show they genuinely care about their team members.”
Showing appreciation for your employees has a valuable sideeffect: employee retention. According to a recent NHLA survey, 81 percent of member companies struggle with a lack of qualified candidates to hire. Keep in mind that happy employees stay with you, unhappy employees leave, and positive word-of-mouth in the industry is valuable. People want to work for leaders who acknowledge them.
Rob Cabral with UCS Forest Group had been focused on employee relationships long before ” the pandemic arrived. In 2020 he told NHLA that the key to good leadership is to “Forget about yourself. Focus on relationships. As situations change rapidly, focus on solving challenges one by one. Try to be the calm voice of reason.” Today, Rob continues to promote this style of leadership, saying, “Whether you are speaking to your employees, your customers, or your suppliers, it is important to let them know you are sensitive to their needs. It makes them feel comfortable, which is important because if they are not comfortable, they will not perform. And at
“Whether you are speaking to your employees, your customers, or your suppliers, it is important to let them know you are sensitive to their needs. It makes them feel comfortable, which is important because if they are not comfortable, they will not perform. And at the end of the day, we are busier now than we have ever been before. We continue to grow and thrive. And it’s all because of our employees knowing we value them.” — Rob Cabral, UCS Forest Group
— Jon Syre, Cascade Hardwood LLC
the end of the day, we are busier now than we have ever been before. We continue to grow and thrive. And it’s all because of our employees knowing we value them.”
Jon Syre, with Cascade Hardwood LLC, understands the importance of letting your team know they are valued. A year ago, Syre told NHLA, “Compassion is so important right now. Compassion for the families that make up the employees at Cascade and others in the community. We have identified what our employee’s needs are individually and done everything we can for them. This shows our crew that we are here to help. It also builds friendships and loyalty through the crew and enforces the peer pressure between employees not to take advantage of the situation. This is a delicate situation for many families. Financially and emotionally, families are stressed and frightened. Showing compassion and leadership helps to calm some of the stress. Work can be a steady and calm place as we undergo new changes in everyday life. We are trying to be a place that provides employees with some regularity and echoes of stability from the past.” Cascade Hardwood’s compassion strategy continues to pay off, with Jon saying, “As our company, our employees, and their families see the end of the pandemic in the near future, we can reflect on how we worked together to weather the past year. Listening to each other’s needs and showing compassion for each other in these challenging times has created a stronger team environment that has helped maintain and enhance creative thinking and encouraged leadership from employees that in the past have been reluctant to show their skills. We feel we are a stronger team having weathered the past year together.”
One of two things happens during a crisis. Either your team is driven to give its very best and excel, or your team will become more
distant and disengaged. Teams that already had a strong foundation of trust and respect did the best during the pandemic—teamwork matters. If your team cannot operate at its best and deliver outstanding results during good times, it is doubtful that it will do well during difficult times.
Leaders who didn’t focus on teamwork until their teams were forced to are seeing the repercussions today in the form of increased employee burnout, frustration, and reduced productivity. The good news is that if your team didn’t have that foundation pre-COVID, it is not too late to start building it. Ask your team if there are things you can do to work better as a team, then work together to incorporate those things into your leadership strategy.
Despite the fact that COVID was one of the most challenging obstacles businesses have faced in a long time, it also provided an opportunity to prepare leaders and their teams for the future. Leaders learned to embrace change – whether they wanted to or not. Now, as we settle into Spring of 2021, we all have new skills we may have never learned otherwise.
For example, the outstanding leaders of 2021 have learned to focus on the task at hand and not the obstacles surrounding them. It’s reminiscent of how racecar drivers are trained to focus on the road rather than the wall around the track when they take turns. If they focus on the road, they will follow the road. If they focus on the wall, they are more likely to hit the wall. As a leader, you probably know dozens of things that can go wrong with a project. But by investing your energy in the final goal instead of the obstacles, you are more likely to complete the project successfully. Strong leaders understand this mindset, and, in turn, their teams understand it as well.
Because of COVID-19, the workplace has been forever altered. A genuine relationship with your team can be far more powerful than any technology we implement, and strategical changing your leadership approach is essential to a successful 2021 and beyond.
Sources: https://hbr.org/2020/06/what-ma-looks-like-during-the-pandemic
www.entrepreneur.com/article/363405
www.forbes.com/sites/nicolebendaly/2021/01/03/three-things-themost-effective-leaders-will-do-in-2021/
www.smartbrief.com/original/2021/01/what-2021-requires-leaders
