Seven facts you need to be aware of for leading through difficult times
Leading from Home During a Pandemic
Avoiding pitfalls of normalizing the abnormal
A few weeks back, I wrote about working from home as a first-line manager. Since then most of the non-essential businesses in many countries/states have been forced to either move to predominantly work from home or be closed. In my previous post, I had hinted that this is a great opportunity for leaders who are not comfortable with work from home to give it a chance. With that choice forced, it’s actually easier. But there are some facts one needs to be aware of.
Fact #1: Without empathy, you will struggle as leaders
These are indeed trying times for everybody. For most, these are unprecedented times, and that means apart from the additional chores, and responsibilities (taking care of the kids or the elderly, with support systems not available), many people are dealing with anxiety and stress that comes with such unprecedented situations. Empathy goes a long way in calibrating (your) expectations in such troubled times. But this pandemic will end someday. And although it may mean a return to a (new) normal, empathy will always have a place in the arsenal of a good leader.
Fact #2: Lockdowns will have a disproportionately high impact on many working women
In much of the world, women are expected to be primarily responsible for housework. Hollywood and television tend to throw at us images of emancipated women, and helping husbands, but in much of the world, reality hasn’t caught up with the ideals. Here, for instance, is a tweet, not even from a third-world country:
With added housework (more cooking/cleaning/tidying up) and for those with kids, added responsibilities, it’s very likely that your women team members may be a lot more loaded with housework, than in usual times, when they have a way to outsource many of those functions. You need to be mindful of that. Remember, this pandemic may pass, but you will have affected the working relationship for long after that.
Fact #3: Those who work sincerely in the office will work sincerely from home.
Sure, there will be exceptions. But it’s not a bad rule. Some people are more comfortable working from office due to a variety of factors — from infrastructure at home, to need to interacts with colleagues face to face. But these are not matters of intent. This is where a leader can help — with active listening, identifying problems, and creative solutions for that particular individual. But matters of intent are always harder to fix. So those who are not sincere in office, are very likely going to be even less sincere from home. What that means is: you already had a performance issue that you have not solved. Do not blame it on work from home, especially now that you have zero choice.
Fact #4: Many people are working more hours, not less
Yes, this may sound counter-intuitive, but many people are spending a lot more time being “available” for work. Let me explain. Human beings are creatures of habit. A lot of our unconscious behavior is trigger-based. When one goes to the office for work, there is a lot clearer demarcation between work and non-work times, with triggers like commute back home, kids coming home from school/extra-curricular activities, house help turning up, exercise partners calling you for a walk/run/biking or your solo exercise routines for which you typically step out of the house … Most of these triggers are now not there, and people are sitting with their laptops way longer than they would in a typical office+home workday. Now do these extra hours actually translate to added productivity? Wait!
Fact #5: This is the worst time to measure productivity
Anyone who is used to measuring performance and other metrics of a system (software/hardware/social …) understands the concept of a baseline against which to measure deviation. But a baseline is always taken in a steady-state. Breaking news: we’re NOT in a steady state. We’re in the middle of a pandemic, that is, we’re in a crisis, an extreme situation. Even the laws of physics do not work in a singularity. This shouldn’t even need be said but, there are these reports that talk about productivity, and some leaders are concerned about it.
To sum it up: first, you need to establish a baseline! By definition, we can’t, right now. So all comparisons are off!
Fact #6: Half productivity is better than zero productivity
Sure, I said you cannot really compare productivity right now, but remember this: any productivity is better when the alternative is to have to completely stop working. Businesses are literally having to make that choice right now, so choose wisely. I reiterate: this is a great opportunity to try out work from home at a lower cost (considering the opportunity cost of having to shut/downsize businesses in the absence of working from home option). So if your business can function with people working from home, you should seriously consider doing it right now. You may even have been forced to by government bodies in many cases, as it is. So it’s not like it’s a difficult decision. What matters is: how you enable it, how you make it easier for people to work as much productively as they can.
Fact #7: Soft communication is the most underrated leadership skill
All said and done, this is the time to realize that leadership is as much about communication and bonding as it is about anything else. This is the time your team needs you to be there for them — even if virtually. Call up people, chat with them, have casual video conferences over a cup of coffee, talk about families (if they are okay with it), about the weather, about the lockdown, and how it’s affecting them. If you’re seen, in these times, to be only concerned about getting work done, you’ve lost an opportunity to be a leader. You’re just a manager/supervisor. In the changing dynamics of the marketplace, believe me, it matters.
To Sum It Up:
Unprecedented times require unprecedented metrics. Context matters. People matter. Social realities matter. To lead in these times requires more, not less emphasis on people. These times will decide what kind of leader you are.
