Leaders must embrace tensions to navigate pandemic uncertainty
This article was co-authored with Kate Whalen and published in The Hamilton Spectator, Nov. 19, 2020.
Everyone has the capacity to lead. You may be a CEO with formal authority to set direction and implement it, or you may be a resident working to better your community.
Regardless, good leadership is paramount during this time. Leading through uncertainty requires us to hold the tension between many competing priorities and needs. Whether you lead within your organization or community, here are three ways to navigate complexity by finding common ground:
Be transparent about the unknowns, but instil confidence that efforts are underway to gain additional clarity and address the issue.
Leaders rarely have all the information necessary to make decisions; they have to find a sweet spot between precision and speed. As seen during the pandemic, inaction is not an option.
When we act and provide direction, we owe it to our stakeholders, team and community to be honest about gaps and information that influence our decisions. We must use our resources and authority to be as informed as we can and set the direction based on available facts. Acknowledge that direction and decisions will likely change. Maintain humility and be open to being challenged to do better.
Think long term without losing sight of immediate needs.
As leaders, we set and share the long-term vision of an organization, strategy or plan. Although we need to think and plan well into the future, we must also address present conditions and realities.
In our inclination to be future focused, we should not lose sight of the needs of those with whom we interact. Continue to acknowledge any anxieties or personal circumstances. Be present for and attend to what we are observing at the individual level. Move at a speed of trust and slow down where needed.
Leverage your experiences but recognize that we are in uncharted territory.
As leaders, we have the experience to manage risks, change and complex problems. We sort through fact and fiction to make sense of information. We call on trusted advisers and experts for insight. We leverage our skills, experiences and resources. It is our job to adapt and work with others to move through change together.
COVID-19 is by far the most pressing global public health crisis in modern times. This is a unique situation like no other. We don’t need to have all the answers, but we do need to have the will to act, be critical and ask constructive questions. This is an opportunity to learn and do better.
There is enough in the world dividing us right now. We need to tune in, not tune out. Lean into the problem. Embrace and navigate the tensions in leadership.
Alyssa Lai is a cross-sectoral communications professional whose work included chairing one of Ontario’s largest young professional networks, Hamilton HIVE. Dr. Kate Whalen is an instructor and the senior manager for Academic Sustainability Programs at McMaster University. Both are members of the Hamilton Leadership Forum.