Three Leadership Lessons from Working on the Front Lines During the Pandemic

Sometimes, startup wisdom shows up in the most unexpected places.

When I arrived at the assisted living facility, I wasn’t expecting to be met by a SWAT-like emergency medical team. They had already battled Ebola overseas and the more recent COVID-19 outbreak at Seattle’s Kirkland nursing home.

The first thing I heard from the facility CEO was: “I called our county, our licensing agency, and our mayor, and told them you have to help us, we’re drowning, we need a life preserver. I figured I also needed you.” That morning I was directed to meet the CEO’s daughter, whom she had asked to lead the facility’s emergency response.

“I called our county, our licensing agency and our mayor, and told them you have to help us, we’re drowning, we need a life preserver! I figured I also needed you.”

In my day job, I’m an executive coach for founders and executives at a number of well-funded Silicon Valley startups or fast-scaling technology “unicorns.” My experience with assisted living facilities, however, was limited to daily visits with my elderly parents who had lived at the facility for several years.

The county had hired a private emergency team of doctors and nurses, to implement drastic containment measures when the well-respected 80-bed facility located in Silicon Valley suddenly found itself with numerous cases of Covid-19 and almost all its staff walking off the job. All this despite having carefully followed initial health and licensing safety directives.

Several weeks later, the facility had lost 13 of its beloved residents to Covid-19. But it had also stabilized the outbreak, retained positive relations with its customers, and received favorable press coverage. It also had become a successful pilot for other facilities in the county and throughout California.

I was impressed by the facility’s turnaround— and curious. What did I witness at this elder-care facility run by a multi-generation family that might help Silicon Valley startup leaders coping with crises?

Three lessons stood out, and while not first-time revelations, they reminded me how critical they are for leaders — whether in tech, or not. They also reminded me to stay open. Wisdom shows up in surprising places.

1) Build and nurture strong relationships with key stakeholders — ahead of time

When crisis strikes, the quality of relationships — with customers, employees, vendors, partners, regulatory bodies, and other key stakeholders — can make a crucial difference.

A study in 2016 by Wharton and NYU Professors Witold Henisz and Sinziana Dorobantu found that the companies that invest the time in building relationships with stakeholders minimize, and at times, avoid the crisis altogether.

During the facility’s close to 40 years of operation, management nurtured their relationships with health and licensing entities, as well as with city and county elected leaders. They volunteered on local boards and were known for treating their employees according to the credo:

“Just like family.”

“We also built and kept strong ties with the family members of our residents, past and present,” they told me.

I was one of those family members, as was a recently retired physician in the area with a parent living at the facility. The facility administrators became a crucial liaison between the numerous families, doctors, medical administrators, and the emergency team.

“We couldn’t have done it without the trust of the families who supported us even when their loved ones were dying,” they added.

Strong relationships also paid off when the press arrived, complete with helicopters flying overhead and TV crews parked outside all day.

To navigate crises, leaders must talk with their customers constantly and be completely transparent during a crisis.

2) Know your leadership style — in stress and out of stress — and pivot when needed

Spending time getting to know your leadership style in advance — during both stressful and non-stressful times — will help leaders adapt quickly.

“I tend to be laid back and expansive when not stressed,” said the facility director. “But in this crisis, I knew I needed to change my style. I needed to step on the gas and know where I was going.”

To prepare and learn more about their style, leaders can take courses at local universities that often include style assessments. They can also work with a coach who can gather candid feedback to uncover blind spots.

According to research from renowned leadership expert Marshall Goldsmith, when leaders seek feedback from key stakeholders and adopt newly desired behaviors, an astonishing 95% improve their effectiveness.

Sometimes that coach, mentor or trusted colleague also becomes an invaluable confidant.

“There are conversations that you as the leader just can’t have with others. It can be tough and feel lonely at times.”

Having tools to manage stress is also critical. “This was a triage kind of situation, and I knew no matter what I did I might lose some of our beloved residents,” the director said. She told me her mindfulness practice helped her stay centered in the turmoil that included also having her four kids ages 11- 18 at home, and several of her own family members battling the virus.

3) Model compassion and toughness simultaneously.

Contrary to what many believe, leaders can have successful outcomes by being tough and compassionate — at the same time.

In fact, one study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that compassionate leaders appear stronger and have more engaged followers.

“Our caregivers, many of whom spoke little English and had no formal medical training, had to work side-by-side with nurses and doctors for the first time in their lives treating COVID-19 patients,” the facility leaders told me. “They were emotionally and physically exhausted after each back-to-back shift. They were scared.”

She showed compassion by not expecting perfection, and by encouraging employees to ask questions. To model the way, she donned full PPE herself and helped care for COVID-positive patients.

“Leaders of high performing teams make sure their members are comfortable asking questions, identifying mistakes and innovating.”

The actions of the facility leaders are the hallmark of a good leader, says Michael Seelman, a psychological safety consultant and past FBI chief of internal communications handling post 9/11 organizational change. “Leaders of high performing teams make sure their members are comfortable asking questions, identifying mistakes, and innovating,” he added.

And while creating a psychologically safe workplace, they can still make the tough decisions. When caregivers weren’t able to adapt to the new job after a few days, the facility leader moved decisively to let them go.

She told me, “as a leader, you need to know when the stakes are too high. You need to be able to balance caring with toughness.” It worked.