Starting and running your own business can be exciting and highly rewarding. It is however filled with ups and downs as the process of building a successful business is not linear. Every entrepreneur quickly learns that they have to fulfil multiple roles to ensure that their business is a success; you are the salesperson, the accountant, human resources officer, operations manager, product specialist among many others. The reality is you need to fulfil these roles particularly in the start-up phases of your business and as the business grows some of these roles can be delegated to your staff members. The key role that you naturally must fulfil as an entrepreneur is the ‘’leadership’’ role. This involves setting the vision for the business, determining the direction it will take, ensuring that your teams understand and buy into the vision and their activities are aligned to the direction the business intends on taking; basically ensuring that the business wins.
The entrepreneur will lead the business through many different circumstances; periods of growth, stability, decline or even distress. One of the hardest periods that any leader would need to navigate their business through, is a period of ‘’crisis’’. This may be a time that is brought about by external circumstances that the business has no control over, a time that does not only affect the business but also impacts a larger market.
The COVID-19 pandemic is that period of ‘’crisis’’ which has a major impact on the economy not just in our country, but also the rest of the world. Every business right now is anxious about how they will ensure that their businesses survive beyond this global disaster. And small businesses across the globe have been impacted the hardest. Crisis periods such as this result in external circumstances that none of the businesses can control, the only difference any business can make is choosing how they will navigate their way through the adversity.
There is a need for effective leadership now more than ever in any organization particularly small businesses.
Having explored what would assist businesses steer their way through this period of immense uncertainty, there are key aspects of leadership that I believe are needed to lead teams successfully through this period.
1. Communication
Your team members are probably unsettled about the future of the company as well as the future of their roles in the business. It is, therefore, important to communicate with your team frequently. Tell your team where the business currently stands, if you are still trying to figure things out, be clear and let them know. Create platforms where you can hear from your team as well, the purpose of the sessions could vary from sharing ideas on cost saving or new product offering, or talking about how people are feeling and the impact this has on their lives. It is crucial to hear from your team to hear where they are, what they need, what solutions they may have.
Even when your team is working remotely or not working at all, you can still create channels for communication. Some practical ways of creating communication platforms is having weekly virtual meetings and daily check-ins to ensure that your staff still feel like they are a part of the team and to keep track of individuals who may need additional support. This gives you an indication of where your team is and what they need to remain productive.
Throughout a period of crisis, make sure you constantly reaffirm the direction of the business to give people a sense of stability and something to look forward to beyond the crisis.
2. Courage
Going into uncharted territories can generate a sense of fear, however, to overcome this, it requires one to be courageous. You may not know exactly what you need to do; in fact, no one can claim that they know what the future holds. However, it is important to lead your team with courage. So how does this look like? It is about moving forward into the unknown even when you don’t have things all figured out. Talk to your team about ‘’courage’’ and confronting your fears as a business by staying the course even when you don’t know what the outcome will be.
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”~ Nelson Mandela. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather recognizing that the fear exists and taking the step to pursue what needs to be done in the interest of a bigger goal.
3. Resilience
The ability to withstand tough situations is what strengthens and grows many businesses. It is key to keep this in mind when you are leading through a time of crisis. Build the resilience of the team by firstly helping everyone to accept the existence of the crisis. The first step to dealing with anything, is accepting that you are experiencing that situation which you may not have control over. This will help you to start looking at how you move forward taking into consideration your current circumstances. Help your team see that there are opportunities that can come from the crisis. Everyone needs to see things from different perspectives, so they do not view themselves as disadvantaged but rather see this as an opportunity to evolve into something new. I like to go back to this analogy; gold is refined through high temperature. Therefore, going through periods of difficulty can assist in strengthening the operations and affirming your business model.
4. Agility
The business needs to respond rapidly to the changes in the market as a result of the crisis. This may involve reviewing the overall strategy of the business and amending in line with what the market currently requires and what is projected to need in future. Change to strategy may involve, adjusting the product or service offering, updating the way of working and the way clients are serviced. As a team, it’s important to continuously ask what the business can still do to generate income during times of adversity, what products or service you can offer in line with your core offering, how products can be offered differently taking into consideration the current circumstances. Once you’ve outlined what you are going to do, act quickly by piloting your solution. Thereafter, assess whether it actually works.
5. Collaboration
Collaborate with your team to find strategies to ride the wave. You don’t have to figure everything out on your own. Pull your team in and get them to give their input. Every member of the team may view things differently and thus have a unique contribution to make in relation to the changes that can be implemented in the business. Create regular platforms to collaborate on new strategies, review current strategies to see what has worked and what hasn’t worked previously. Ensure every team member knows they have a valuable contribution to make.
6. Honesty and Transparency
It is important to be honest and transparent with important aspects of the business while taking consideration of the sensitivity of the information you are sharing. In a period of uncertainty, although your team may not know how the future looks, they certainly need to know that they can trust you as their leader. You need to build trust by being honest and transparent with critical matters pertaining to the business. For example, if you’ve lost contracts, this is the information that your staff need to know so that they understand where the business stands.
7. Positive Outlook
Although it's important to be honest and transparent to your staff, this should be complemented with having a positive outlook on the situation. There is always something to gain out of adversity, depending on how you choose to look at it. Your perspective of the crisis will influence how your team looks at it. Always choose positivity. Look at the opportunities that you and your team can create. It is important to be the beacon of hope for your team, helping them at all times to see beyond the crisis.
8. Direction
Always set the direction for the team by sharing the critical decisions that you’ve made that will take the company forward. In this process, always remind the team of the vision of the company and what you are ultimately trying to achieve.
Conclusion
Remember, you don’t have to have everything figured out, what is important is to lead your teams effectively as you navigate your way through this time of uncertainty.
Author bio: Sibusiso ‘’Busi’’ Raphekwane is the founder and CEO of The Transformation Legacy, she is also a Business Mentor and Entrepreneur Development Expert. Contact her at: info@transformationlegacy.com, 010 005 5753 or 010 023 0508 or visit: www.transformationlegacy.com.
