Leadership in Crisis: Tell Your Story
The human experience is based on stories. Stories shape how we remember our lives and attribute meaning to our existence. Stories give us context and continuity. In challenging times, stories remind us of how we got here and where we are going.
Leadership is never easy, but crisis situations require an extra dose of humanity. Your team may be highly stressed and overworked, worried and underworked, concerned about health, income, and massive amounts of change.
Take the time to remember how far you’ve come together and that you’ll make it through. Tell about clients who have been helped by your services, both past classics and current triumphs. Talk about the changes you’re making and the potential for future growth because of hard decisions now. Recount specific team contributions that made an impact, especially the smaller, ongoing ones that aren’t usually recognized at annual award ceremonies.
Create the narrative focused on the “Why” of what you do. People remember some philosophy, a few statistics, but most stories. Data speaks to the head; stories speak to the heart. And when your team has heart in their work, they will be unstoppable.