As our team works alongside clients during this extraordinary time, it’s fascinating to see the many ways company leaders are responding to COVID-19. We see a mixed bag of competence, inspiration, determination, and ineptitude. As a result, there are many lessons to be learned about leadership, but one in particular stands out to me. 

Your leadership should not be a surprise to your people. 

If you have been clear about what fundamental values drive your leadership style, decision making, and action steps, then your team will be behind you. If you have not, your associates are experiencing heightened levels of stress and severely reduced capacity to contribute in meaningful ways. That’s not on them...that’s on you. 

Now, one leader we work with has been making some seriously good moves for her company. This CEO called a company-wide meeting early on in this crisis, during which she presented a very clear outline of what the leadership team knew, what the implications might be, and how the company will respond. This included what she termed “Circuit Breakers” - levers the company would pull in response to changing conditions. The increasing severity of those circuit breakers started first with the CEO’s salary and reduction in expenses, followed by measured steps that would center on the stability of the company such that associates would continue to receive pay and benefits. The CEO did not make promises that everything would be perfect, but she did make it clear that the wellbeing of her team was of paramount concern. She was looking her team right in the eye to say, “I’m here and I’m not going to stop working for you.” 

This was mid-March, remember. Oh, and the business centers on delivering on-site teacher training and leadership coaching. Imagine their stress levels. 

But here’s the thing...the team was focused. It was almost like they knew what was coming. Not the specifics of the circuit breakers, mind you, but the thoughtful approach of the CEO to put her team first. They didn’t register surprise at how clearly the CEO laid out the implications for the business and how she and the leadership team was responding. Instead, the team had thoughtful questions that were driven not by panic, but by a desire to contribute. Looking ahead, I call on leaders to also look back and reflect on their own practices. 

• Does your team know what motivates you? 

• Do your folks know how your priorities are shaped and what values influence your decisions? 

• Have you been consistently available to the team? 

• Are you, and have you been, consistent with your expectations for how the team can contribute? 

As I watched the before-mentioned meeting unfold, it was clear that the CEO’s focus on the team was not a surprise to anyone. And this is the profound lesson for me that I implore other leaders to note - your leadership is the result of all the moves, big and small, that you’ve made to this point. If you’ve been doing it right, your team is feeling good about their leader. If you haven’t, there’s still time to make the moves that great leaders need to make. Just don’t be surprised when it works.