How to manage amid chaos
Joe Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race and his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris left many of us stunned over the weekend. The dramatic turn of events also got me thinking about what happens when a new CEO tries to take the reins in a chaotic, highly-charged environment.
A great example of this was former General Electric chief Jeff Immelt, whose second day on the job was September 11, 2001. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi inherited the fallout from co-founder Travis Kalanick's various scandals. The CEOs of Nike, United Airlines and Lockheed Martin all assumed command right around the time that the pandemic hit in early 2020.
Some leaders are grappling with tumult right now, too, like Boeing's Stephanie Pope, the new head of its commercial aircraft division, which has faced criticism over a series of safety concerns and manufacturing delays. Whether the crisis is exogenous or internal — or both — it makes for a management challenge with a high degree of difficulty and little margin for error.
How should business leaders navigate these situations? Executive coaches and other crisis experts shared the following advice:
Calm the waters and make clear you're now in charge
The job of a CEO in a chaotic situation is to create calm, according to Whitney Johnson, founder of Disruption Advisors, a leadership development firm. "Don't just do something, stand there. Calm the lizard brain. Absorb the anxiety."
Then, establish command. After being in the passenger seat for a while, "the biggest challenge is quickly proving that you are up for the job of driver," says communications counselor Morgan Cates.
To do that, new leaders must "immediately take stock of that situation, build a short-term plan, and execute flawlessly," says executive coach Alisa Cohn. There's a bias to action at times like this, but Cohn says that a common mistake new executives make is acting before fully understanding what's going on, or before winning the trust of key stakeholders — employees, shareholders, customers and others.
That credibility will be an essential asset in the battles that lie ahead.
Communicate, communicate — then communicate some more
This one gets mentioned a lot, but that's because it's rarely done often or well enough, experts say. Your message to others, in a nutshell, is that you're on top of the situation, you value their expertise and need their advice and support as partners in this arduous journey. When people don't hear from you, Cohn says, not only are they not backing you, but they make up their own stories, which are often nightmare scenarios.
Harris did this communication heavy lifting on her first day, calling more than 100 lawmakers, party officials, labor leaders and activist groups to ask for their support.
"People want to be heard before they are led," says organizational psychologist and leadership coach Lisa Zigarmi. Even if you can't — or won't — act upon what they're saying, "involving people is the number one thing they want."
Decide what needs to be done now and what can wait
Even if you don't have all the answers yet, taking action on some critical issues helps stabilize things, Zigarmi told me. These decisions can also provide a few quick wins, which builds confidence and gives your constituents something to rally around. For Harris, those quick wins were endorsements from leading Democrats like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
For business leaders, a quick win could be unveiling a 30-day plan, installing key advisers, or simply keeping a few promises. It doesn't mean a complete overhaul of the firm's strategy — that can wait. Once, a chief information officer came to Cohn and said he needed a quick win, so planned to change out the company's entire telecom system. She counseled him against it, as it would have been onerous for everyone involved.
"There's stuff that doesn't need to change, and stuff that does not need an immediate response," Zigarmi says. "That discernment is crucial for an executive."
Remain open-minded and adaptable
Chaotic situations evolve, often quicker than anyone expects. (The assassination attempt on Donald Trump and Biden's exit happened within a span of eight days.) So leaders must be willing to change course as new information emerges. Boeing's Pope said recently that "leadership is all about meeting the moment."
What that means, Cohn says, is having keen situational awareness and adapting to events as they play out. "There may only be one or two ways to win, but a lot of ways to lose." Rolling with the punches doesn't guarantee victory, but at least keeps you on your feet.
By the Numbers
Americans' inability to unplug has been a longstanding problem, but it's likely grown worse post-pandemic, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Sarah Green Carmichael writes.
Knowledge workers now have more say over where and when they work, but the price of that flexibility has been to remain always reachable. About half of workers polled by Pew Research said they don't take their allotted PTO for a variety of reasons, including the fear of falling behind.
A great example of this was former General Electric chief Jeff Immelt, whose second day on the job was September 11, 2001. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi inherited the fallout from co-founder Travis Kalanick's various scandals. The CEOs of Nike, United Airlines and Lockheed Martin all assumed command right around the time that the pandemic hit in early 2020.
Jeff Immelt Photographer: CHRIS RATCLIFFE
Some leaders are grappling with tumult right now, too, like Boeing's Stephanie Pope, the new head of its commercial aircraft division, which has faced criticism over a series of safety concerns and manufacturing delays. Whether the crisis is exogenous or internal — or both — it makes for a management challenge with a high degree of difficulty and little margin for error.
How should business leaders navigate these situations? Executive coaches and other crisis experts shared the following advice:
Calm the waters and make clear you're now in charge
The job of a CEO in a chaotic situation is to create calm, according to Whitney Johnson, founder of Disruption Advisors, a leadership development firm. "Don't just do something, stand there. Calm the lizard brain. Absorb the anxiety."
Then, establish command. After being in the passenger seat for a while, "the biggest challenge is quickly proving that you are up for the job of driver," says communications counselor Morgan Cates.
To do that, new leaders must "immediately take stock of that situation, build a short-term plan, and execute flawlessly," says executive coach Alisa Cohn. There's a bias to action at times like this, but Cohn says that a common mistake new executives make is acting before fully understanding what's going on, or before winning the trust of key stakeholders — employees, shareholders, customers and others.
That credibility will be an essential asset in the battles that lie ahead.
Communicate, communicate — then communicate some more
This one gets mentioned a lot, but that's because it's rarely done often or well enough, experts say. Your message to others, in a nutshell, is that you're on top of the situation, you value their expertise and need their advice and support as partners in this arduous journey. When people don't hear from you, Cohn says, not only are they not backing you, but they make up their own stories, which are often nightmare scenarios.
Alisa Cohn Photographer: Phillip Van Nostrand
Harris did this communication heavy lifting on her first day, calling more than 100 lawmakers, party officials, labor leaders and activist groups to ask for their support.
"People want to be heard before they are led," says organizational psychologist and leadership coach Lisa Zigarmi. Even if you can't — or won't — act upon what they're saying, "involving people is the number one thing they want."
Decide what needs to be done now and what can wait
Even if you don't have all the answers yet, taking action on some critical issues helps stabilize things, Zigarmi told me. These decisions can also provide a few quick wins, which builds confidence and gives your constituents something to rally around. For Harris, those quick wins were endorsements from leading Democrats like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
For business leaders, a quick win could be unveiling a 30-day plan, installing key advisers, or simply keeping a few promises. It doesn't mean a complete overhaul of the firm's strategy — that can wait. Once, a chief information officer came to Cohn and said he needed a quick win, so planned to change out the company's entire telecom system. She counseled him against it, as it would have been onerous for everyone involved.
"There's stuff that doesn't need to change, and stuff that does not need an immediate response," Zigarmi says. "That discernment is crucial for an executive."
Remain open-minded and adaptable
Chaotic situations evolve, often quicker than anyone expects. (The assassination attempt on Donald Trump and Biden's exit happened within a span of eight days.) So leaders must be willing to change course as new information emerges. Boeing's Pope said recently that "leadership is all about meeting the moment."
What that means, Cohn says, is having keen situational awareness and adapting to events as they play out. "There may only be one or two ways to win, but a lot of ways to lose." Rolling with the punches doesn't guarantee victory, but at least keeps you on your feet.
By the Numbers
Americans' inability to unplug has been a longstanding problem, but it's likely grown worse post-pandemic, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Sarah Green Carmichael writes.
Knowledge workers now have more say over where and when they work, but the price of that flexibility has been to remain always reachable. About half of workers polled by Pew Research said they don't take their allotted PTO for a variety of reasons, including the fear of falling behind.
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| Bloomberg |
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