Leading From The Covid-19 War Frontline
In wartime, there are leaders back at HQ, pouring over maps, receiving intelligence, creating strategies and making decisions about where to position their troops. On the frontline, there are on the ground commanders, assessing the situation and then following or adjusting HQ orders, based on what they see in front of them. At the sharp point of battle, leaders are with their troops, as they all move into close mortal combat with the enemy. Where are you in this battle with Covid-19 and the business terrors it has unleashed?
We are in lockdown, so for many of us our troops have been dispersed to the winds. Contact is done remotely over video conferencing or phone hook-ups. The chain of command has become much more fraught, than when we were all happily congregated in the office. In this situation, communication and coordination can become more challenging in the fog of war against the virus enemy. Delegation becomes a necessity and with it the challenges that come with the communication protocols needed to make sure it is working properly.
What are the communication protocols you currently have in place? We have a compulsory 9.00am huddle on WebEx every morning, everyone dressed in battle gear for doing business, rather than in their pyjamas. WebEx is the platform we use to deliver LIVE On Line training, so we want to live in that environment as much as possible, so that we are all masters of our tool. We must turn on our cameras, so that we can see each other. If someone’s camera is broken then we don’t wait for Covid-19 to end. We get you an external camera right now, because the cohort must stay in close visual contact with each other. The Covid-19 virus’s ugly cousin is screaming isolation. People can begin to feel they are abandoned in this fight and we have to fight on that mental health front too.
Leadership in many areas has been delegated. We take turns to lead the morning meeting, with a roster established for each working day of the year. We are purposely pushing the accountability for leadership down the hierarchy. We want to involve everyone in the ownership of the mission to get through this crisis. We must make sure we stay close together and leave no one behind.
We start each day’s huddle with asking for good news. We are determined to stay positive, because positivity is a strong antidote to stress. We always review our WHY- our Vision, Mission and Values. Covid-19 makes this purpose focus even more important than before. We also review one principle each day from Dale Carnegie’s thirty Human Relations principles and thirty Stress Management principles. Each person speaks during the huddle, as they share their top three priorities for the day. We want everyone to hear and see all of the team members each day, so that we can bind together as a team. We finish with an inspirational quote to lift our thinking, as we start the day’s toil.
As the leader, I will also give an inspirational talk to wrap up the meeting. Five days a week you might be thinking is a bit too taxing for coming up with an inspirational speech as the leader. Well, why can’t you do it? You are the leader and this is part of your role, to find the words to lift the team, to gather the people to you. It is the only time in the day, to have everyone together at the same time, so it is a critical chance which cannot be squandered. Churchill is remembered for sending the English language into battle during the Blitz, in the Second World War. We have the same duty – to find the words.
Individual meetings will be held during the day, with different people depending on projects being worked on. The leader needs to get involved with some of these and to roll up their sleeves. Making pronouncements from HQ doesn’t have the same influence as getting into battle with your team and leading from the front. Yes, it is very time consuming, frustrating and laborious. However, seeing their leader in the front lines gives the team belief and gathers trust, credibility and respect. We must show up for the team.
Every day at 3.00pm we can meet on WebEx to have a virtual coffee break and just chat. We want to connect people together, so that the feeling of being isolated can be reduced. Not everyone can make it every day, but the link to WebEx is there and the time is designated. I try to make as many coffee breaks as I can.
Where are you? Are you tucked up nicely back at HQ with your officer corps, directing the battle from afar or are you down in the mud and the blood leading your troops?
