I am not an expert in leading through a pandemic crisis. The only way to make such a claim is to be 140 years old having led a significant group of people through the Spanish flu.
I was certainly in leadership when the 2008 recession hit. I was working as an executive with Catholic Christian Outreach. There were elements of crisis affecting thousands of people but nothing like the scale of what is unfolding today.
There is such uncertainty that projections on the number of deaths and economic impact of the crisis are fluctuating every day. It is alarming that so many of the world’s medical, financial and social experts are observing closely but offer little certainty of the future.
It is particularly alarming that so many of the world’s medical, financial and social experts are observing closely but offer little certainty of the future. Click To TweetThe crisis is threefold: health, financial and social. The health crisis is what we are most familiar with. Over 1,200,000 cases worldwide with close to 70,000 deaths. The elderly and those with underlying medical conditions are the most vulnerable. We all have a role to play with physical distancing, staying home and limiting our trips outside for only essential reasons.
Regarding the financial crisis, the Business Council of BC is predicting a contraction on the provincial economy of somewhere between 7% and 11%. For perspective, the events that triggered the recession in 2008-2009 saw a 2.8% contraction on the BC economy. What is in front of us is much more significant than 2009.
The social crisis is also on our minds. Mental health, family life, depression, divorce and God forbid, suicide rates are social realities that will be acutely observed over time. A friend saw a report from China showing the incidence of filing for divorce is already starting to spike.
For many, the extra time at home has come with several blessings. Sitting down with more frequency for family meals; long and engaged conversations with children and parents; extended family prayer times; slower pace, more laughs, to name a few.
The opposite is also true. For those whose home life was marked with tension and dysfunction before the crisis, the extra time together at home has proven to be very difficult. We are beginning to see physical and mental health issues related to the lockdown. Family dysfunction is often hidden underneath a fast paced lifestyle, an overly full schedule, money to supply impulse purchases and large pockets of time when the family isn’t together.
Extra time at home has brought blessings. Slower pace, more laughs. The opposite is also true. Where there was an underlying tension and dysfunction, the extra time together has proven to be very difficult. Click To TweetI have said it before and will say it again, the missionary dimension of the family has never been more important. Pope Benedict once defined evangelization as, “teaching the art of living.” If this is true, the missionary dimension of the family is even more important during this crisis.
Leadership is always important but even more during times of crisis. The principle I am sharing today always applies to leadership but all the more important during a time of crisis.
Here it is: Leaders, Keep it Real
The number one piece of knowledge and the number one aptitude of leadership, particularly in a time of crisis is to understand human nature. To empathize with what’s happening in the hearts of your people. There is nothing like a pandemic to help us see the universal shared experience of humanity.
Things that are most personal, are universal. Everyone on the planet is concerned about their health. They are concerned about their loved ones. They are concerned about the economy. They are concerned about the future.
I chose an image of Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s top doctor for this blog post. I have appreciated her very competent AND very human approach to leading during this difficult time. In one of her first press conferences, she teared up as she confirmed six new cases at a Vancouver Care Centre. “It’s a very difficult time,” she admitted to reporters. “I’m feeling for the families and the people that are dealing with this right now.” Thank you Dr. Henry for keeping it real.
In the absence of a pandemic, we focus so much of our time and energy, reporting and social media on that which divides us. Just weeks before Twitter, Instagram and Facebooks were full of posts hi-liting what distinguishes us, how we are segmented, fragmented and polarized. In a time of pandemic, everyone is reading from the same playbook.
Just a few weeks ago, social media festered some of the most polarizing times we have seen politically, socially & spiritually. In a pandemic, everyone is reading from the same playbook. What is most personal is also universal. Click To TweetLeaders give expression to the common experience. When they stand in the middle of the common experience as one among many and personally identify with the emotional roller coaster most of us are experiencing at the present time. Leaders speak publicly, what everyone experiences privately.
Leaders validate emotions when they identify with the emotional roller coaster most of us are experiencing at the present time. Leaders speak publicly, what everyone experiences privately. Click To TweetMy Pastor, Fr Don Larson modelled this behavior recently. He posted a simple video about 90 seconds in length, a short while before he celebrated Mass and we participated trough livestream. In that video you heard what he shared, but more importantly you felt it too.
As he shared about his own sadness of not being able to celebrate the Eucharist as a community, you could tell it broke his pastoral heart. As his voice cracked, my heart broke. He articulated what was residing in my heart but gave me language and words to understand it better. Thank you, Fr Don!
As his voice cracked, my heart broke. My Pastor articulated what was residing in my heart and in his words he gave me language to understand it better. Thank you, Fr Don! Click To TweetLeaders need to be real. We need to empathize and help humanity articulate the emotions we are all going through.
I do not buy into the idea that leaders, in a time of crisis, put on only a brave face. The temptation for leaders, especially in times of crisis, is to be right, to be correct, to be clear, to be decisive, to be directional, to be strategic. More than anything, especially in crisis, we want leaders to be real. We want leaders who can identify and empathize with us.
The temptation for leaders, in times of crisis, is to be right, to be correct, to be clear, to be decisive, to be directional, to be strategic. More than anything, right now, we want leaders to be real. Click To TweetWhen I think of some of the images modern art has given us of Jesus, they are painfully deficient. They present to us an image of the Savior that he was gliding through life, unburdened by His human experience. As John Eldredge said, it’s portrayed that Jesus was only pretending to be human.
Jesus was like us in all ways except sin. Jesus got angry. Jesus was moved to pity. He was sad. He wept. If the Son of God can empathize with every aspect of the human experience, especially in times of difficulty, shouldn’t leaders do the same?