CEO MONTHLY / CANADIAN CEO OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2024 10 A CEOs Guide to Navigating Uncertain Times f there’s one thing that’s guaranteed to happen in business, it’s change. How you respond to change and navigate through it is the difference between a business that thrives and a business that barely survives. Your team and your clients and customers want to know that you are consistent, and that you are doing the right thing, for the company and for them. This is especially true when you grow, when change can often seem overwhelming. Change isn’t always a huge catastrophic crisis, but if you’re not paying attention it can become negative and snowball into a bigger issue. Here are three effective strategies to use when those uncertain times are keeping you up at night. 1. Cultivate trust: Early in my career, my favorite boss and mentor gave me sage advice. He said, “People in real estate want to shake your hand and look you in the eye. This is how we build trust.” I don’t know what’s happened to the handshake in today’s world but the concept is the same and it applies to any business. Since so many of us are working remotely or in a hybrid environment, establishing and earning trust has to come first, no matter where your team is based. People want to work with those they like and trust. 2. Communication counts: Communication really is everything. When change is in the air, transparency, genuineness and authenticity should be at the top of their list. Here’s why: when our communication is light or even non-existent, people filI in the gaps. By Shannon Alter I Follow along with what I call the “Exploding Engine Theory”. If I take my car in for service at 9:00 am and my service rep Jack says “Shannon, I’ll be back by 9:30 to tell you our status- what’s good, and what isn’t.” and he does exactly that, what happens? My shoulders relax and I believe him. If he doesn’t come back as planned and I have to find him, my mind fills in those gaps. I figure something must have gone very wrong if Jack doesn’t return: perhaps the engine exploded. Of course, that’s highly unlikely but it’s the consequence of poor communication. 3. Spend time with your people: This sounds simple, but it often isn’t. As CEOs we have many demands on our time. Our employees want to know, and see that we’re paying attention. This can be especially challenging when change is going on all around us and we have in-person, hybrid and remote teams. Remember why your leaders joined your organization in the first place. It can be lonely for team members out there. Seeing and hearing you and your leadership team can make all the difference. Try these strategies to improve communication and clarity: 1. Onboarding is key and can be difficult in a hybrid or remote work environment. What you want is to get new hires’ buy-in quickly and in advance. Don’t wait until the day they start to bring them into the fold. Send them a little company swag or have “thank you” notes sent by their leaders-to-be. 2. This sounds simple, but often we forget to provide people with the who/where/what and they may be too shy or hesitant to ask. This works for both new and existing employees. Let them know how communication works in your environment, how decisions are made and what you’ll need to do to be able to do it quickly for them. 3. Providing a mentor or “buddy” can be key. Again, this works for new and even existing team members, especially with a distributed workforce. You have to figure out how to replace or add onto that “water cooler” effect when there is no water cooler. It’s great to offer a peer buddy across departments, for example. You can also mentor both ways. Have younger professionals mentor seasoned professionals in certain areas too. 4. Especially when working with newer leaders, it’s critical to help them understand that a big part of their job is to pave the way and remove obstacles for their team. To do that, their ability to communicate with clarity is key. The transition from manager to leader can be a tough one and it often shows up right away when their teams aren’t right in front of them; they are in another city, or their only contact is on a screen. Often, the key is simply to ask “how can I help you today?” KEEP CALM AND COMMUNICATE Your team really is paying attention to you and they will notice your actions. They are looking to you for guidance and reassurance. Being able to communicate effectively under the pressures of the day will help the team feel like they’re coming together as one entity and focusing on what needs to be done at any given moment. The last thing you want is for rumours to start circulating as this creates a fractured team who will feel like they’re working against each other. The best thing to do in any situation of uncertainty is to address everyone within the organization at the same time, as soon as possible, that way everyone is hearing the same information at the same time from the same person. It eliminates doubt and reduces the anxiety that people naturally feel during uncertain times. Emotional intelligence is a huge priority when navigating uncertainty, so it’s important to remember that you’re a human being communicating with other human beings. In a crisis situation it’s natural for people to go into freeze, fight or flight mode, so the sooner you can allay their fears and insecurities, the better. LISTEN TO UNDERSTAND When you’re in a leadership position it’s easy to fall into a hierarchy model where you sit at the top, call all the shots and make all the decisions, but this isn’t always the best approach to take as you’re making assumptions on what you think people need, rather than listening to what they actually need. People want to feel seen and heard, they don’t want to feel dictated to. Not only does this impact their morale but it will also affect their performance and willingness to work towards the vision and mission of the business. One way to help employees feel more engaged is to create a weekly ‘open door’ policy, where people can spend time
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