Keisha Stoute of Stoute Communications: Five HR Strategies On How Companies Can Turn A Crisis Into An Opportunity or Advantage
An Interview With Rachel Kline
Develop an Action Plan- When a crisis presents itself, organizations must develop an action plan on how to address and resolve these concerns. Leaders must be able to identify the problematic areas and map out a detailed step-by-step remedy.
As any HR leader can tell you, crises are an inevitable part of the job. Tough situations pop up, often at the least convenient times, and these situations need to be handled efficiently yet delicately. Whether it’s dealing with a new employee, wages, or internal conflict, there are ways to come out on top. How can companies learn to take a crisis and turn it into an advantage? In this interview series, we are talking to HR leaders who share their strategies about “How Companies Can Turn A Crisis Into An Opportunity or Advantage.” As part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Keisha Stoute.
Conflict can be seen as a challenge, but Keisha teaches organizations how to create opportunities. Ms. Stoute is a conflict resolution expert with a wealth of knowledge who helps companies successfully navigate through difficult situations. She holds certifications in mediation, conflict resolution, DEI in the Workplace, and Inclusive and Ethical Leadership.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to this specific career path?
After graduating for Bennett College for Women, an HBCU, I worked as a counselor in the psychiatric long term care field. My first job out of college taught me how to have compassion for others and how to respond to imminent crisis situations. While working full time, I attended graduate school and obtained a master’s degree and a license in counseling by the age of twenty-four. Eager to rise to the top of the corporate ladder, I secured a senior leadership position within two years of obtaining my masters. During that time, I successfully rebuilt and rebranded a mental health department program while managing a team. As a result of my expertise and guidance, my former employer was able to increase revenue and establish relationships with multiple referral networks across the state.
Three years later I was laid off due to a company acquisition. Instead of reentering the workforce, I took a risk and focused my efforts on pursuing my passion and creating a new career path. My journey lasted four years including two full time jobs that also resulted in layoffs. The doors were closing for jobs, but my career journey was just beginning. I wanted to regain my confidence and vowed never to be powerless in a job again. I had a bigger vision for myself that did not include working for an employer in a full-time capacity.
Along the way, I obtained certifications in mediation, conflict resolution, and project management, among others. I discovered a passion for mediation and conflict resolution and began volunteering at the local courthouse in small claims court to gain experience. As a result of my work, I received recommendations and high praise from judges and attorneys for getting angry parties to come to a resolution in a variety of cases.
In 2017, my vision became clearer, and I decided to take another risk and start my own company — Stoute Communications. After learning more about the corporate consulting industry, I refined my business plan and offerings and designed my company website. Four years later, I have obtained certifications in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace; and Inclusive and Ethical Leadership, and gained experience working with brands and corporate clients in a variety of industries. The skills I acquired throughout my career have been instrumental in coaching leaders and organizations during challenging times.
I am now in a position of power and can help companies to navigate through difficult situations and create opportunities for success. My previous roles and experiences taught me how to think, evaluate situations, and respond with an appropriate course of action. I often collaborate with C suite executives, human resources professionals, and leaders across all levels of an organization, and teach organizations how to improve company culture as well as create inclusive work environments. My services have been in high demand, and I love helping new and existing clients to improve communication, conflict resolution skills, and diversity for successful outcomes.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes, I am creating a master class for a client on conflict resolution strategies for an evolving and diverse workplace. This will be my first master class, and I am excited for this great opportunity. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, I believe that the workplace has changed and professionals need to understand how these changes impact our communication, teamwork, and how we establish and maintain relationships with others. I provide an in-depth analysis of the types of conflict in the workspace, current trends, and how to navigate through these challenges. I also teach my seven steps framework for facilitating difficult conversations and offer conflict resolution strategies that can be applied in any setting. I think my master class will provide professionals with the necessary skills and tools they need to successful manage conflict and relate to diverse groups.
I am also working with a large, publicly traded company on improving their diversity strategy and creating employee resource groups. I believe that creating effective diversity initiatives is instrumental to employee retention and success and in attracting new talent and customers. Company culture and employee resources are keys to success for the organization’s overall achievement. Learning how to design an inclusive work environment is a journey, and I am happy to create a roadmap for my client to follow.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My father was instrumental in providing me with encouragement throughout my adolescent years. He would often quote Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:
“The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.”
This quote has become my anthem and I can certainly attest to the success achieved by blood, sweat, and tears throughout my journey.
In the absence of my deceased mother, my neighbor, the late Montrose Matthews, offered me motherly advice and guidance when my hard work did not result in immediate success. I recall my neighbor having a soft and loving finesse when giving words of encouragement. She motivated me to step outside my comfort zone, to try new things, and not to be afraid of new challenges. These experiences have helped shape my perception on life and gave me the determination to persevere.
For example, I recall wanting to participate in the African American Black History Bee in the nineth grade. No one from my class was interested in joining the team, so I signed up. I stayed after school getting quizzed by the coach for two hours, four days a week for two months. There were one thousand questions to study, and I was determined to win first place. As the competition approached, I learned that a few students dropped out and I was the only representative from my school. The quiz bowl finally arrived, and I was prepared. I remember being in the zone and buzzing in with the correct answer before the moderator could complete the question. As the competition neared the end, it was evident I had won first place — one thousand dollars. This experience gave me the confidence to try new things and to learn how to take risks.
Fantastic. Thank you for that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview about HR strategies for turning a crisis into an opportunity. Can you share your story of when an organization you’ve worked at entered into a crisis? What happened? What did you do?
A large organization contacted me about a situation between a supervisor and a few of her employees. The supervisor offered a congratulatory gesture to her employees to show appreciation for their hard work that resulted in conflict. Some employees interpreted the gesture to have negative connotations and were immediately in an uproar. As a result of this incident, word traveled fast throughout the organization and the situation reached crisis levels. The supervisor had been with company for twenty years and did not realize how her behavior could have been perceived by others. Because the supervisor had tenure, some employees felt that the organization was covering up for her behavior, thereby promoting a toxic and biased work environment. This situation became a crisis that required immediate attention. The organization needed outside resources to mitigate this sensitive situation, so they reached out and secured my services.
I immediately spoke to all parties involved, created an environment with psychological safety, secured the facts, and obtained their perception of the incident. It was necessary for me to create a place for everyone to be heard and to express themselves freely and without retaliation. After several meetings between the parties and two mediations later, the supervisor and her employees learned more about the incident from each other’s perspective and concluded that a misunderstanding had occurred. I coached all parties towards gaining understanding and empathy for others and was able to resolve all issues. Additionally, I made organizational recommendations that started conversations about improving existing complaint policies and procedures and steps to be taken thereafter, and discussions surrounding workplace culture and initiating diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging into company culture.
What was your mindset during such a challenging time? Where did you get the drive to keep going when things were so hard?
I realize that coming from a place of compassion goes a long way, especially in my line of work, and when dealing with sensitive issues in the workplace. Because this was such a delicate situation, I wanted to be present and available to everyone during this challenging time. I am a naturally driven and resilient individual who does not give up because of roadblocks. Even during my childhood, I always persevered and never gave up despite obstacles in my path. In grammar school, I recall reading the Little Engine That Could and thinking that I could do anything I set my mind to. That story helped me to see that everyone goes through challenges, however, it is important to learn how to turn those challenges into milestones. When success is not immediate, I typically go back to the drawing board and ponder my next steps and course of action.
Can you please tell us how you were able to overcome such adversity and how the company ultimately turned the crisis into an opportunity or advantage? What did the next chapter look like?
Failure is not an option at Stoute Communications, so I had to help my client navigate through these difficult times and offer guidance and support. One of the most important tasks during a crisis situation is to maintain open lines of communication and transparency throughout the process. Keeping employees abreast about the steps being taken during a challenging time goes a long way and can provide relief and comfort that things are a work in progress and will be resolved.
Although this was a crisis, I helped the organization turn it into an opportunity by initiating the conversation on the importance of continuous leadership development and igniting the fire to start the process toward creating a company DEI statement with strategic goals and initiatives. This crisis was an eye opener to the organization that issues were brewing and the company needed to respond quickly and appropriately. The company was able to review their existing policies and procedures and realized that some steps were missing and did not exist. Since my work concluded, the organization is continuing on its own toward updating and creating new policies and procedures, creating employee resource groups, investing in leadership training, and has even budgeted for other employee engagement and diversity activities that promote inclusion. This organizational crisis resulted in much needed conversations for improvement and provided growth opportunities for the future.
Here is the main question of our interview: Based on your experience, can you share five actionable pieces of advice for HR leaders about How Companies Can Turn A Crisis Into An Opportunity or Advantage? (Please share a story or example for each.)
- Respond in a timely manner-
The key to creating opportunities and advantages is how you respond while under scrutiny. When a crisis develops, companies must respond in a timely manner. One of the biggest mistakes an organization can make is to assume that the crisis will blow over with time and do nothing in the interim. I can recall an instance when a client waited too long to address a situation that impacted the entire department, causing tension and division amongst the team. I was brought in several months after the fact and at that point the situation had boiled over, and several people had left the company and were thinking of pursuing legal action. When a crisis hits, the organization should be quick and responsive.
2. Effective Communication-
During times of crisis, organizations must keep the lines of communication open to effectively inform parties of process updates and happenings related to the situation. There have been instances where employees were not informed of my involvement in this process until the day before I showed up and were dissatisfied with the lack of communication on the organization’s part. Employees have often shared their dismay for the lack of communication on the part of leadership regarding failure to follow-up with the status of complaints. Even if the findings are not in the employees favor, leadership should still let them know so they can get closure. To be successful in a crisis, the organization must learn to communicate every step of the way, this also promotes transparency.
3. Collaboration-
When organizations are faced with challenges, collaboration across all departments is key to getting everyone on board and engaging them in the resolution process. Obtaining company buy-in at various levels is one of the most difficult aspects of my work. I can recall a time when two senior executives were not on the same page about a manager’s leadership ability during a crisis. One executive wanted to provide her with leadership coaching for professional development and the other leader felt she was already lacking the ability and did not want to make the investment. Both leaders were able to compromise with my assistance and learned how to collaborate to achieve the end result. Once they were able to collaborate, they focused on developing a course of action. During a crisis, team and individual collaboration is key.
4. Develop an Action Plan-
When a crisis presents itself, organizations must develop an action plan on how to address and resolve these concerns. Leaders must be able to identify the problematic areas and map out a detailed step-by-step remedy. For example, I have a client who has a group of employees who recently expressed organizational concerns and felt they were not being heard. After learning of their concerns and frustrations, I recommended the organization conduct a listening tour. I created a roadmap on how to conduct the listening tour and provided the company with the blueprint. The organization now has a process by which they can obtain information, process employee complaints, and make adjustments as needed. During this time, companies are creating and updating existing policies and procedures in response to the crisis and developing new initiatives and processes for improvement. By developing an action plan, you create a timetable for actionable steps with achievable goals.
5. Implementation-
The final stage in helping companies turn a crisis into an opportunity or advantage is the implementation of your action plan. This step entails delivering on your promises and doing what you promised to do. Typically, in this stage, there is an all-hands-on deck approach and various levels of the organization are involved in pushing changes through and offering continuous guidance and support. It is imperative that the implementation process is consistent even after the crisis is over. In some cases, companies tend to drop the ball over time and blame employee turnover, increase workload, and changes in leadership as an excuse for not moving forward with the scheduled plan. Organizations should keep their word and use past experiences as an indicator for future behaviors.
What are a few of the most common mistakes you see leaders make when their company hits a crisis? What should be done to avoid them?
The most common mistakes that I see leaders make during a crisis is to assume the situation will blow over with time, to delay responding to the situation, and not to have a thoughtful and strategic course of action. In my experience, I have seen many organizations assume that the hype of the crisis will eventually taper down and remedy itself. I believe that taking a presumptuous position is very dangerous and can cause existing problems to fester. This stance during a crisis is an example of poor leadership and can cost the organization more money in the long run. On the other hand, some leaders might hesitate to make an immediate decision to see how things are going to pan out, however there is a fine line with this approach because you could miss the opportunity to get ahead of the crisis. I have also seen organizations not have a thoughtful and strategic course of action, therefore resulting in ongoing confusion and appearing to be incompetent and unorganized. To avoid these common mistakes, leaders must do their due diligence and take every crisis situation seriously. Of course, I don’t mean to sound the horn every time there is the mere whisper of a complaint, however leaders should utilize their best judgement and try to resolve even minor situations. This would be a great opportunity to create processes and procedures for a variety of crisis situations and make notes of lessons learned. To avoid these common mistakes during a crisis, at minimum, the organization can issue a statement or an e-mail if appropriate to address the situation and mention steps to towards resolution. These actions show employees the organization is transparent and is invested in issuing corrective action. I also recommend an organization secure outside resources to help them navigate through the crisis. It has been my experience that companies sometimes lack the in-house expertise during challenging times and need additional guidance and support.
What advice would you give to HR leaders and organizations who have yet to hit their first real crisis?
I recommend that HR leaders and organizations compile a roster of outside resources that can help them with short notice. When a crisis hits, timing is everything and you need to develop and cultivate relationships with consultants and agencies who can provide immediate assistance. In my practice, I receive urgent requests for services when organizations are not fully prepared for the worst-case scenario. I encourage leaders to get ahead of the situation and plan accordingly. I also recommend that if you observe an increase in employee conflict, retention challenges, and changes in leadership within your organization, than prepare to address a cultural crisis. I think that companies put a lot of focuses on bigger crises and ignore the obvious situations that are happening on an everyday basis. Don’t delay, align your “A” team of skilled leaders, and start collaborating on a strategic action plan. Additionally, I encourage leaders to see how their competitors are handling crisis situations and take note if those issues start impacting your own organization.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I recommend that everyone volunteer for a cause of their choice. I started my conflict resolution career volunteering at a courthouse mediating a variety of disputes. As a result of those experiences, I found my calling and learned the importance of compassion and empathy. These lessons have provided me with a unique advantage in the conflict resolution process and in my career. There are many organizations and causes to choose from with a variety of needs. I encourage professionals to step outside their comfort zone and think outside the box when looking for volunteer opportunities. From time to time, I volunteer to feed the homeless at my church and at the end of the day, I feel accomplished knowing that I made a positive impact on someone’s life. Some organizations have volunteer opportunities on a monthly or quarterly bases. I also recommend that professionals create a companywide volunteer opportunity if one does not already exist. Volunteering allowed me to meet and establish relationships with diverse professionals in varied industries and was instrumental in widening my view outside my inner and professional circles. It also created opportunities to receive referrals for business once people knew and could vouch for my work ethic. Volunteering is a human gesture that everyone should experience and it brings the most amount of good to the most amount of people.
How can our readers continue to follow your work online?
Readers can follow my LinkedIn business page (Stoute Communications) and join my mailing list for happenings, training updates, and events at https://stoutecommunications.com/
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
