Feel Like No One is Hearing You During This Rollercoaster Time?

_{Hopefully you caught our first communication about Managing Yourself During a Crisis. As promised, we are providing some helpful guidance on how to Manage Others. One key is to increase the quality and quantity of your conversations.}

_{By now, you have heard someone say that fear is as dangerous as the virus itself as they urge people to stay calm and not panic. In a work setting, rumors, misinformation, and all kinds of worst-case speculation can spread as quickly as a virus. Now more than ever, it is important to overcommunicate with clarity and compassion. Here are some tips to uplevel the quality and quantity of your communications.}

_{First, be authentically human and communicate with transparency.}

_{When internal and external clients—your stakeholders—have confidence in your motives and commitment, they’ll respond in kind. The most important catalyst in a time of crisis is a trust in the word of the leader and the actions they take.}

_{Harvard Novartis Professor Amy C. Edmondson, author of The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth (Wiley, 2019) says,}

_{“Transparency doesn’t happen without psychological safety: a climate in which people can raise questions, concerns, and ideas without fear of personal repercussion.”}

_{Ensure you have a strong, two-way communication system in place as we navigate through this time of crisis.}

_{Second, increase the quantity and quality of your meetings.}

1. _{Frame the Meeting – the purpose of this meeting is…have one clear, focused purpose…}
2. _{Describe Current Reality – “The present situation is…”, “What I know is”…, ”What I don’t know” is…”}
3. _{Practice Self-Disclosure – “My own thoughts are”, “I’m hopeful about”…, ”I’m concerned about”… This is the time to be confident AND transparent to build vulnerability-based TRUST!}
4. _{Specify Clear Outcomes – “What we want is…”, “How we’re going to do it is”…,”Why we’re doing it is”…,”Who it will affect and how is…”}

_{Third, put a Crisis-Management Team in place.}