Increasing Communication During Times of Crisis

Due to this present crisis, feelings of uncertainty and emotional disruption has occurred for many. As organizations and leaders, it is important to facilitate communications that improve clarity, build resilience, and create positive change.

Today's article serves as a suggestion for leaders.

As we adjust to this new paradigm of operating, we have been able to identify our strengths and challenges in regards to maintaining communications. Good communication has never been as important as it is today. Clear, factual, and reliable communication is vital due to the fact that we have been expeditiously thrust into the arena of multi-faceted communication. Many of us may be working more independently now, than ever before. Therefore, standard communications will likely require increased clarity, direction, and effective management of managerial expectations to improve employees' ability to get the job done.

Some smaller organizations are now just beginning to ease into establishing a process for communication.

Therefore, today's article can serve as a model for creating such a system.

Regardless of the size of your organization or association, appointing a team or, individual that has the key role of oversight over specific types of communications is critical. At a minimum, messages should be reviewed and verified by the team to ensure that they are consistent with policies. Test your process to verify that they will reach all employees and that all employees are able to have questions answered.

Develop messaging for different scenarios to inform coworkers or third parties about increased risks or exposure, along with a current phone and email contact list by location for health reporting. A great communication protocol clearly designates a person(s) to promptly notify local public health authorities about confirmed as well as suspected cases of the coronavirus. Ensure your designee is properly trained: while employees may be obligated to disclose contraction of Covid-19, personal health data is protected under HIPAA.

Up Your Quality and Quantity of Communication

Thoughtful, intentional, and honest communication is a vital strategy to navigate a fast-moving crisis. Avoiding or burying bad news serves no one in the long run. Transparency requires preparation for the “worse before better” reality.

And while we can learn from past recovery processes, things will be different. New business models will emerge. In the meantime, leadership must anticipate challenges and clearly explain facts as they are, what their vision is, and how it will be accomplished.

When internal and external clients—your stakeholders—have confidence in your motives and commitment, they’ll respond in kind. The most important catalyst in a time of crisis is a trust in the word of the leader and the actions they take.

As Harvard Novartis Professor Amy C. Edmondson, author of The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth (Wiley, 2019) says, “ Transparency doesn’t happen without psychological safety: a climate in which people can raise questions, concerns, and ideas without fear of personal repercussion.” Ensure you have a strong, two-way communication system in place as we navigate through this time of crisis.

Increase the Frequency & Quality of Your Virtual Meetings

Here are a few best practices to strengthen your communication and virtual meeting skills:

• Prepare and test. And test. And test some more. If possible, practice using the tools as a smaller team. Some software allows for screen share, so be sure to practice with this, and turn off alerts, pop-ups, or anything that could interfere. Review outcomes: strengths, weaknesses, obstacles, and threats.
• Whenever possible, meet via video, with an option of audio/dial-in for slower bandwidth. Ideally, you should be meeting with your team frequently, in person or via video. Some virtual meeting apps/tools allow for the recording of the meeting. This is a great tool to use to transcribe conversations, but inform participants before the meeting starts. (Some meeting leaders refrain from sharing this in advance to discourage invitees to “wait for the recording.”)
• Consider having a virtual meeting assistant or facilitator. Some tools/apps allow you to designate a person who can manage the tools, while others provide a specialist who will manage the meeting for you.
• Send an agenda before the meeting, with all needed materials (preferably in e-format) and instructions to read the materials prior to the meeting. This will allow for greater, more efficient, discussion time. Be clear on the meeting objective, and monitor time and focus.
• Allow for instruction and if needed, practice time. Include reminders about disabling interrupters, i.e. cell phones, alerts, IMs/pop-ups, and closing any programs or tabs on their computer with sensitive or private information. For any meeting lasting more than 50 minutes, build in breaks.
• For smaller groups (<20) have all participants introduce themselves by name, role, geographic location (town/city) and surrounding (my home office). Consider other ice-breakers: for example, have them point out their favorite nearby object, and explain why. For more intimate groups, an option could be to share a “happy,” “glad,” “sorry,” or “sad” moment since you last met. During the meeting, ask people by name to contribute. For larger groups (20+), use polls and voting (raise your hand) to encourage engagement. Of course, polling with smaller groups is effective, too, and the data can be captured for later use.
• Just like your in-person meetings, allow adequate time for questions, and discussion on next-steps: deadlines, roles, and when to expect updates.

Virtual meetings are a great tool, even to have those difficult or controversial conversations. As a leader, all participants will look to you to set expectations and boundaries. Model the behavior you would like to see.

What do you think? What are you doing to up your communication in this time of crisis?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

You can reach me here, and on LinkedIn.

Dr. Aimée V. Sanchez, Ph.D. is a Neuropsychologist, Executive Coach, Author, and Speaker. During her extensive career, she has taught thousands of high achieving men and women how to gain the competitive advantage by helping them to outline strategic next level outcomes that allow them to achieve breakthrough success by making the biggest impact in their industries and communities. You can learn how to speak with confidence, successfully position for your next promotion/opportunity, and negotiate for a bigger salary using her cutting edge approach. She is the creator of the innovative Rewired For Success Program For Women Leaders which has a strong track record for getting early and mid-career women to step onto the leadership track in record time. Dr. Sanchez is a Forbes Coaches Council Member, Certified Executive/Success Coach; and, her work has been featured on ABC, CBS, NBS, FOX, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, A/E, and Bravo.