Iain Blatherwick, Partner, Browne Jacobson
1) Look out for yourself
This may feel like quite a selfish first point, particularly at a time when there is, quite rightly, a move to more collaboration from and less ego in our leaders – but leaders still have a huge responsibility and the ability to impact positively or negatively on those around them. It is therefore essential that as far as possible they retain the energy, passion and enthusiasm needed for the role. No-one wants to see a leader looking ‘frazzled’ and there have been a few high-profile incidents over the last 12 months or so where leaders have said things, no doubt partly through pressure, frustrations and exhaustion, which they wish they hadn’t.
Seek a balance in your work between those tasks which you enjoy, are good at and which give you energy and those which don’t, but which simply need to be done. Also make sure the people around you are as passionate about the organisation as you are, which leads me onto the second point
2) Look at your immediate team
I am not sure that we make enough of quieter times (remember them?!) to make sure we have the leadership teams around us we need and to ensure that any development needs are met. For me the ideal team has a passion about the organisation, has a curiosity to make things better, is willing to take on new challenges and will have each other’s backs. Importantly though, there will also be a diversity of views present, with that diversity being respected and challenge made in a positive way – clearly driven by wanting the best for an organisation rather than to pursue any personal agenda.
Sometimes as a leader you can feel that all the responsibility ultimately rests on your shoulders alone. A great leadership team will make it very clear that they share that burden and will willingly take on tasks and responsibility to ensure the organisation thrives regardless of the challenges it has to overcome and without concern for who might get the credit.
3) Is your governance clear
Do the boards/committees/key office holders understand and respect the scope of their roles. We recently created a new governance structure with a Board responsible for oversight and an Exec leading on operations and taking the day to day decisions. We made it very clear LEGAL\49160023v1 that the Board should have its arms around the business but keep its fingers out. In a crisis you do not have time for turf wars or duplication – make sure terms of reference are agreed, understood and respected. A lot of the interference will be well-meaning, but it is still interference. This could come about through a lack of communication, so do make sure you communicate clearly whenever you can to keep the organisation abreast of what is happening and when.
4) Focus on what is important, but leave space for innovation
There is always so much noise in a crisis that it is not always easy to know where to start. Make sure you take the time to work out what genuinely needs attention and what can wait.
Having said that it is easy for innovation to get lost in a time of crisis, which is a waste as many of the best ideas are generated at times like this, so put in place a structure to capture those ideas. There will be a large number of people keeping your organisation out of troubled waters, but make sure there is an identified person or group of people with some capacity who can consider those new ideas or new approaches who are close enough to leadership to know what might work and what might not, so that the best ideas which can be adopted now are brought forward and those which are good but not for now can at least be captured.
5) Consider a coaching approach to leadership
I was often told I had a coaching style of leadership but having now qualified I can see that was not the case. I had a reputation as a good listener and loved collaborative problem solving with my team, but a true coaching style would go a lot deeper than that. This could still have been relatively easy to achieve – possibly through fewer line-management style meetings but by making sure that there was space and time to give those conversations the attention they deserved – making sure I was that much more aware not only of what was being said, but how it was being said, of tone of voice, particular words and phrases or body language – and not being distracted by whatever meeting was next or by trying to offer up my own solutions. That is not to say every meeting would need to be at this level, that could be exhausting for the leader and un-nerving for the team!
These conversations would have provided greater clarity on development needed and where responsibility for that lay and a better platform for feedback. I have seen far too many so called honest conversations which ended up being destructive when they should have created stronger bonds, simply through lack of understanding of each other’s position, lack of preparation and through being hurried - ending up with clumsy delivery of key messages. If an important conversation is needed, it is important that you prepare for it properly.
Takeaway and conclusion: Time and space
So much of this comes back to time: Time for yourself, time for your team, time to set up governance structures, time for honest constructive conversations – so if you take one thing from this, do make sure you take as much control as you can on how you spend your time. Not easy in a crisis I know, but even more important as you will have so many calls on you. LEGAL\49160023v1 As a leader make sure you do manage to step back from everything that is happening in front of you, to make sure you know what is needed for you and your team to perform at your best, and to make sure you can achieve clarity on what needs to be done, by whom and when. Oh, and if you don’t find creating that space easy, remember there is always a coach who could help!
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