None of us would have predicted the scale of the impact the Coronavirus has had on both our business and personal lives.The things we took for granted like socialising, going to restaurants and gyms, even going to work each day, have all been temporarily halted.Business leaders across the world have been forced to act quickly, responding to initially vague government recommendations whilst having the responsibility of protecting their operations, workforce and their reputation.It is true that the way employers have treated their staff during this challenging time will be remembered, with some being publicly shamed and consumers vowing to boycott in the future.But it’s no easy task to lead in a crisis, particularly one as unprecedented and widespread as this.The leaders within our organisation took a collaborative approach, identifying potential challenges posed by the enforcement of social distancing, and creating workarounds.With the help of technology and a lot of hard work and dedication, we were soon able to offer virtual customer consultations, team conferences, training workshops and quizzes.But connecting people is just one part of the jigsaw when leading through a crisis. In the last few weeks of lockdown, I’ve observed and experienced first-hand, some key things attributes that are key to leading a team through a crisis.

1. Communication – At the start of this pandemic, we all felt the uncertainty and most of us craved more information. I for one found myself watching and listening to hours of rolling news much of which was speculation and hype. It made me feel anxious, but it made me realise how important it was to get the right level of communication to my teams, delivered with the right tone. Following this realisation, I’ve been careful to ensure that all messages I deliver to my teams are rational, and evidence based. We don’t speculate, instead we focus on the situation we find ourselves in and what we can do to overcome any challenges posed by this.

2. Mindset – Instead of focusing on what we can’t do, we focused on what we can do when we put our heads together and are proactive. We mobilised our teams, encouraging everyone to try new ways of working, to be inventive in their solutions and to simply try their best. This positive framing which in turn, mobilised a proactive response prevented the business from grinding to a halt. Quite the opposite in fact, we’ve seen brilliant results but most importantly, we’ve seen our teams pull together, support each other and grow stronger than ever before.

3. Uniting People – Great leaders genuinely care about their people and there’s never a more important time to demonstrate this than during a crisis. We are all in this together and it’s been proven that we are stronger when we work together. One thing that’s come out of this potentially isolating situation is that we’ve utilised technology to stay connected. With messaging, phone calls and video calls, we’ve been able to communicate at the touch of button. This has meant minimal disruption to both our formal and informal business events as we’ve held virtual conferences, training sessions, consultations in addition to virtual pizza and quiz nights!

4. Focus on the Bigger Goal – Although things are uncertain at the moment, something that’s stayed the same is our overall goal. The people in our business are still achieving, they’re still hitting their targets and there are lots of positive stories to remind us all why we do this. Sharing these stories amongst the team has helped to reinforce optimism and positivity, it has prompted conversation as people have shared their tips for overcoming any hurdles and it has kept the team motivated. This won’t be our situation forever, there is light at the end of the tunnel and reminding the team of this is key.

Leaders are often expected to have all the answers. The truth is, that leaders are human too and are not immune to the fears and concerns a situation such as this one raises. Admitting that, but still being able to support a team while remaining rational and empathetic is what makes a strong leader.I am immensely proud that as a business we have responded quickly, and our teams have shown their agility. We’ve built new ways of working entirely remotely, which will not only strengthen our business offering but will make it more accessible to all kinds of people in the future. The skills we’ve learnt and the processes we’ve built will mean that any person, no matter what their circumstance will be able to earn an income from the comfort of their own home. What an achievement!