Who do you think should get the credit for changing Lushkoff. Illustrate giving suitable
examples?
Answers
Answer:
Crisis Leadership In Real Time: 8 Pandemic Best Practices
Explanation:
1. Short circuiting denial always has to come first in any list of mine on crisis management. As humans, when faced with an unpleasant or unbearable circumstance, our first instinct is almost always to go into denial. “This can not be happening. Or if it is happening, it’s not going to happen to me. Or if it does happen to me, it won’t be that bad. Or if it is that bad, no one will notice. Or if they do notice, the damage won’t be permanent…” Etc. etc. etc. And while we are busy ducking and denying, any potential crisis can unfold unchecked, because it’s only when we admit the circumstances that we can start to address and fix them.
We can clearly see how this has happened, around the world, and here in the United States. Withholding testing is classic denial behavior — it surely does not help us address the crisis faster or better, and in fact dooms us to not doing everything we can to address it early.
So, world, this — to quote the CDC — could be bad. Relying on hope to get you through just might work, but you abdicate any agency or power you may have to fight it. Don’t. Face the probabilities, and start to try to turn them to your favor through actions you can take.
2. But, don’t lose your head. The effective leader in war or peace knows how to stay calm and focused, quell obsessive rumination or panic, and turn toward positive action. Luckily in the current pandemic there are lots of precautions to take, and communications to make. Whether you run a company, college or university, nonprofit, a family, or another unit, others will look to you for how to behave. Calm rationality, tireless action, and crystal clear communications are the keys.
My philosophy is that in an incipient crisis, do everything you humanly can to guard against bad effects, and then once you’ve done that, stop worrying. You will know that you have done all you can – and when there is something else to do, do that immediately, too.
So, for example, a month ago, you might have predicted some issues that might occur as the crisis worsened, and ordered lots of hand sanitizer, disposable gloves, zinc lozenges, vitamins, probiotics, NIOSH N95 and above face masks, as well as flashlights, whistles, extra water, and storable food (we like dried pasta and jars of sauce.) Today, some of those things might no longer be available…but keep checking, they may come in and out of availability.
Today you can do what you can do today — you can make sure your car is filled with gas, continually. You can take precautions about how you will handle illness, and make sure your loved ones, or the older person in your apartment building, are as well-prepared as possible. Think and plan ahead as best you can, and then… stop worrying. Know that you have done all you can do, keep on doing it, and then, well, as they say in AA, give it to God.
One real test of a leader is how they prepare for possible crisis, and handle it when it comes, without losing perspective or their cool.
3. Stay flexible and innovate. Just as viruses morph and adapt, so can you. Grit, resilience, adaptability, out-of-the-box thinking are all buzzwords of the decade, so take this opportunity to live them. Given that most of us will be far closer to home for far longer than ever before, we will all be using our ingenuity to work better remotely, fight social isolation, and engage with one another in novel but satisfying ways. And we will need all of our grit to take care of ourselves and one another.
4. Create your virtual war room now. Almost every crisis of a certain magnitude calls for a war room – where your chosen crisis teams can congregate, plan, and meticulously organize crisis response. And now is the time to create your infrastructure, if you have not already. In this case, it should be virtual, cyber-protected, and accessible from a number of different platforms and locations.
5. Communicate clearly, and kindly. Already almost every institution has distributed early communications on how they plan to handle the crisis, with many more to come. Colleges and universities are sending students home, with plans to conduct classes remotely, the NCAA Basketball tournament will be played to no live audiences, only to the cameras, borders are being closed, and travel suspended. My team has been working nonstop with clients engaged in setting strategy and then communicating it wisely to their constituencies.
But kindness must rule. Dorms are being kept open for students from abroad or who can not afford to go home. Airlines are waiving change fees. The number of sick days is being expanded by some forward-thinking employers.