COVID-19: “Great leaders sacrifice their own comfort – even their own survival – for the good of those in their care” - Simon Sinek

March 24, 2020 | By Vanessa Wilson, Vitil People Solutions

We are in unprecedented times! The global pandemic is impacting Perth business owners and it is at times like these that leaders need to stand and lead from the front. There are many decisions to be made and we are all struggling to make quick, rational decisions to cope with the rate of the changing environment.

We must remember, we are all experiencing the same issues at the same time and we are all asking the same questions: when this will end and how will this impact the economy, jobs, my business and my family?

But we as business leaders must rise to the challenge! We are in uncharted waters and there is no precedent, but with our business community, our networks and our skills, we will prevail.

It is imperative that you talk to your team, now more than ever. Your culture and your values will see you pull together, rise up and if you put your team first, they will stand with you as we enter this uncertain phase.

It is important that a leader leads from the front and here are my thoughts on how:

Remain calm in the face of crisis
Talk with your team and seek their support, ideas, input on how to ride out this time together and foster cooperation and trust
Draw on your network, seek assistance, reach out and ask for help
Make informed decisions
Plan for the future and put in place contingency plans. Assess the risk and how you will respond to the risk should it come about
Put some parameters in place so your team know where they stand
Communicate, communicate, communicate; bring empathy, passion and transparency to the table, as your primary goal is to keep the doors open
Make the tough decisions now as that may save your business for tomorrow

No one wants to lose their livelihood or their business, so looking at where you can save on expenses, cutting hours or even ‘standing down’ your team and yourself for a period, as well as proactively brainstorming with your team to take your business in a new direction and leverage potential opportunities, together you’ll survive and thrive.

Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek

Vitil Outsourced Human Resources Support

Vitil People Solutions is a boutique HR consulting firm based across Perth, who offer flexible, reliable and affordable outsourced HR support, people solutions and recruitment services, where your team is the key focus. Talk to the experts in these trying times. Our experienced professionals can objectively assess your environment and help with change implementation.

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