Motivating Teams During Difficult Times
It’s no surprise that the word “unprecedented” was named the People’s Choice Word in 2020 (Eubanks, 2020) with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (if you’re curious, “pandemic” was the most-used word in 2020 according to Oxford Dictionaries, experiencing a 57,000% surge from the year prior [Schuessler, 2021]). Compared to other historical crises, COVID-19 supersedes its predecessors in terms of magnitude and duration as “elevated uncertainty is globally pervasive, and events trigger compounding effects” (Finn, Mysore, & Usher, 2020). As a result, managers today face a unique challenge as new leadership models must be adopted in order to sustain business and take care of team members.
Here are three ways for leaders to motivate teams during difficult times.
Provide a Platform for Over-Communication
This can be done through open discussions, “ask me anything” sessions, anonymous forums, or a combination of the three. For example, provide the opportunity to anonymously submit concerns which will be addressed during a live “ask me anything” session along with live Q&A. Remember, leaders are not expected to have all the answers – the purpose of the session should be to hear the concerns of your front-line employees so they can be incorporated into future strategy.
Leaders should create a culture of transparent communication by modelling this themselves. One way to do this is by clearly explaining the broader company vision, the role the team plays in that vision, and ensuring each team member understands their personal responsibilities and purpose. If done properly and cross-functionally, this creates a framework for decision-making across all levels of the organization, aligning all teams to move forward cohesively.
TIP: When communicating the executive team’s goals and measures of success, be sure to explain why this is important to each employee. For example, instead of just saying “We need to hit this revenue target,” try also explaining why it's exciting for employees to be part of a growing company, such as promotional opportunities, increased value of employee shares, etc.
Be Positive, But Not Too Positive
It’s critical to create a culture of mutual support and optimism in order to increase productivity and morale. This can be done by running social events, which is especially important for employees who onboarded remotely, and by celebrating the team’s accomplishments. Social events have positive impacts on culture, but also foster organizational awareness to prevent silos from forming.
While positivity can be helpful, be cautious of optimism bias: the tendency to be overly optimistic in forecasts and strategy which ultimately limits agility and erodes trust. In operational planning, be careful not to plan for milder scenarios or to expect things to rebound sooner than realistic. In leadership, avoid promises of when things will turn around or over-ambitious targets based on an unrealistically optimistic plan. Rather, communicate the broader vision and the roles played by all cross-functional teams, and keep each team focused on what they can control. With realistic goals set for each team, wins can be celebrated to create a sense of positivity without over-promise.
Focus on Up-Skilling
When experiencing extended periods of crisis, it’s likely that team members will be asked to work harder or longer hours than typical. When asking more of team members, it’s essential to align tasks with the individual’s personal goals and ensure they benefit from their contributions.
This first requires leaders to understand their team members’ aspirations so projects can be aligned. This can be done by periodically revisiting their role competencies to assess areas for improvement, or through a “stay interview” wherein employees can share what aspects of their job they enjoy, what their reasons are for staying at the organization thus far, and goals for the future.
As expectations increase, so should rewards, either in the form of compensation or recognition. Consider aligning projects with opportunities for promotions, offering bonuses, running contests with cash prizes, or sending out a weekly announcement of team achievements and copying superiors.
In Conclusion: Give Yourself Grace
Leaders are facing a unique challenge of navigating unprecedented events, while also balancing extreme stress and concern of their team members. Today’s events are unique to any other in history, and as such there is no pre-existing framework that promises to be successful if modelled.
Although some pressure is necessary and can be helpful, extreme pressure is overwhelming and may prevent leaders from bringing their best. Leaders can take care of their own mental health by communicating their own concerns upward, setting realistic targets, celebrating achievements, and exercising work-life balance.
“The task of the leader is to get their people from where they are to where they have not been.” — Henry Kissinger
In Summary
It is critical to give team members purpose by explaining the role they play in the company’s growth and making their contributions beneficial to them personally
To ensure teams work cohesively, foster positive social relationships and align all teams to a broader company vision
Crises are emotional times and stress extends beyond the business. As such, it is important to create a safe space for sharing concerns, which also encourages bottom-up feedback to drive strategy
SOURCES
Schuessler, J. (2021). Oxford’s Word of the Year? It’s Too Hard to Isolate. In J Schuessler ed. The New York Times
Eubanks, O. (2020). 'Unprecedented' named People's Choice 2020 Word of the Year by Dictionary.com. ABC News
Finn, P., Mysore, M., & Usher, O. (2020). When Nothing is Normal: Managing in Extreme Uncertainty. McKinsey and Company.