How to Take Charge During a Virus Crisis
We make bad decisions when we’re scared. In a moment of crisis, it’s fight or flight. Our mind tends to reach for the quickest and most accessible option, but this doesn’t always lead to the best outcome. We need to train the brain with a plan it believes in. Even low level crises give us an opportunity (think stressful work situations or heightened moments with your teenage children) - you get good at the low risk crisis if you’re people centered in your values. Every crisis, small or large, offers an opportunity.
Offices are shutting down and practicing remote work protocols, classes are being cancelled and online procedures implemented, grocery stores are being cleaned out, and more and more people are using face masks and an extra layer of hand sanitizer. We all strive to feel safe and prepared, both for ourselves and for those around us... but to really do this, we each need to have a solid plan when it comes to home, school and work.
Not only does creating and implementing a plan help us reduce our anxiety and fear over the situation, it also will help us build the institutional muscle memory to face future personal and organizational crisis, national or local emergencies. It’s said: you never rise to the occasion, you sink to your level of training. By committing to being people centered, gathering and following the evidence-based information, and bringing the confidence we gain from teamwork, planning, and practice in our preparedness, we can demonstrate the resilience required for navigating crisis and conflict.
Where to begin?
Safe time and space to listen - The simple act of starting the conversation and considering the risks with your community stakeholders begins the process necessary to build a strong team and organizational resilience required for confidence when the bell rings. Fractured relationships become major liabilities in a crisis.
Build a Team - Trusted relationships are critical and listening and empathy are mandatory. When we feel heard and understood, we are more likely to share quality information and creative solution ideas. Well-functioning teams foster better results and have a better return on investment over the long term. Remember to embrace leadership from all levels in your team.
Gather the data and understand the risks - Rely on trusted channels of information - not emotional appeal for attention. Gather quality information when creating your plan at work, school, or home. Listen, follow and adopt updates in this case from the CDC and WHO. Remember information via the Telephone Game and unvetted sources are just as reliable as it was in 3rd grade only now we have thousands of outlets for people to change the story through. By relying on verified sources, we avoid chasing rumors and misinformation. Reliability keeps panic and anxiety low.
Draft a plan and practice - Create plan with the help of FEMA’s ready made worksheet. Once you have the plan in place, practice, train and table top it until you have a well-informed reason to adjust. Preferably with educational training to back up the changes and make sure everyone is on the same page and understand their responsibilities.
Communicate consistently and often - Planning and identifying clear, transparent, and easily distributed information, responsibilities, and expectations is the goal. Plans don’t have to be perfect or complete, you get a fair amount of carryover from situational awareness and having a template to think, communicate around, and act on. Share what you have prepared and that there is a team responsible for it. By opening the discussion and walking through solutions, we also gain the ancillary benefit of increased confidence and reducing stress and fear when we find ourselves in the actual moment of crisis.
Be prepared to message - Even when we have a plan, things don’t always go as envisioned and there may be times when we need to communicate to our employees, customers, students, and/or family members that we could have done things better. Just as we prepared for the crisis, we do ourselves a service to think about how we would and how we should respond if things don’t go as planned. Be sincere, empathetic, and clear.
A classic example is when a major airline missed the mark after a passenger was dragged off an overbooked flight and their immediate response seemed to blame the passenger instead of apologizing for the incident. You lose trust, respect, and loyalty with your customers by trying to shift the blame.
A simple “we’re sorry” can do a lot to maintain your brand’s dignity and trust. Evasive language can make it seem like your company is trying to hide things and erode confidence in otherwise strong plans.
Continue learning and sharing information - Campuses across the nation are preemptively shutting down and testing moving their classes to a temporary online format. This is a great way to allow professors, students, and admins to familiarize themselves with protocol and work out any adjustments they may need to make. This test will also inform their baseline protocol for years to come and add yet another layer of safety to their campus. They can share how their community reacted, what needed to be adjusted, and how they are planning to implement the information in order for other schools to benefit.
Recognize change and adaptation - In creating a plan to respond to the coronavirus at work, school, or home, recognize how the discussion can be applied long term and adjusted to other possible crises or general protocol when it comes to employees, students, and family members.
Once you have your plan, meet and review it regularly. Communicate the plan clearly to newcomers and create time and space for your community members to come to test and challenge preconceptions and share ideas and concerns. The combination of actively listening, practicing, and table topping your plan will build confidence, institutionalize the muscle memory, and help uncover any gaps in understanding, personnel, or logistics. By executing test versions of your plan once a year and whenever there is a change in leadership, business lines or regulations, or an update to the plan, you create strong confidence in all those involved and will instill a greater sense of safety, security, and trust on a day-to-day basis.