While supervising a staff is not necessarily easy, managers typically find their groove after some time. In times of uncertainty, however, managing people can become much more challenging. As the manager, you’re expected to successfully guide your team through any uncertainty. Here are a few tips to help do just that.
Stay Informed
This may seem obvious, but in uncertain times it is easy for processes and the typical communication channels to go out the window. As a result, you may find yourself without all of the relevant information you need in order to keep your team moving in the right direction. Make sure you are receiving constant updates from your own manager so that you can ensure you have accurate information to share with your own team. Not only will you feel more comfortable because you’ll be informed, you’ll also be able to reassure your staff.
Communicate Openly and Honestly
When it comes to times of uncertainty, the best thing you can do for your team is to communicate. Be as open and honest as you can, and convey information in a timely manner — even if the news isn’t positive. Your team needs to hear all that you can share with them in order to understand how best to move forward. Clear and consistent communication will help your team feel supported and informed, two very important feelings in times of uncertainty.
Ask Your Team What They Need
It is critically important that your direct reports feel heard and are able to see that you want to support them. Individual conversations with each team member will help you learn what they’re thinking and how they’re feeling. Listen as they tell you how the uncertainty is affecting them. Are the impacts at work, at home, or perhaps in both places? Be sure to acknowledge their feelings, and ask how you can assist them. What do they need from you to move forward? Learning what they need will help you support your employees in more meaningful ways.
Don’t Let History Repeat Itself
It’s possible that this isn’t the first time you’ve managed through uncertainty. Think back to what you did previously and try to improve upon that. For example, if you didn’t check in enough, plan to check in more often with team members. By reflecting on how you handled difficult times in the past, not only can you learn what you did right, but also how you can better navigate the current situation.
Be Flexible
Uncertainty creates concern, stress, tension, and fear among employees. It also often means that the typical routine probably has been upended. Be flexible with employees during this time. Consider allowing them to shift their schedule, work remotely, focus on different priorities related to their role, or set aside projects to better support new initiatives. Employees will respond more positively when they know you are supportive of the changes they need to make and flexible enough to do things differently.
Managing people in uncertain times is challenging, but not impossible. Employees look to their manager for guidance. Stay informed and be sure to pass on pertinent information to your team. Be supportive and flexible, and help your employees understand that you are a resource. Working together, you can all navigate uncertain times and come out stronger on the other side.
On Topic
Michael Johnson, director of advancement with the NDN Collective, is a citizen of the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota and a relative of the White Earth Nation where his grandfather is a citizen. He leads NDN Collective’s Advancement work and team. Johnson’s work over the last decade has engaged key stakeholders in Indian Country and beyond to create lasting relationships built on respect, reciprocity, impact, and success across the Native nonprofit sector. Johnson has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Colorado Denver. He lives in Littleton, Colo., with his partner of 20 years and two children. Johnson’s mother, Susan, was an AISES Board Member in the early 1990s.
Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are still learning to cope with the associated changes, both in their communities and in their workplaces. How can managers help employees during such difficult times? What is important for managers to keep in mind?
First let me say thank you to AISES for including my thoughts on this — it’s an honor to share.
While the global pandemic has changed how we approach work, management, and life balance, it is important to remember that management/supervision is one form of relationship. It’s also important to remember that we are all human, and we have all been dealing with a lot over the last couple of years. Our team at the NDN Collective has grown and launched new programs during the pandemic, but we have continued to center our relationships and do our best to create space for people to show up as people. I am proud that as a leadership team, we have prioritized our staff’s health and well-being, and we have been blessed to provide additional resources to support people over the last two years. In addition, as an organization focused on supporting Indigenous communities in North America, we are extremely honored to be in service of our communities, working toward something greater than ourselves. But when times get stressful and challenging, as they often have over the last two years, I keep a couple of core tenets close in my relationships with direct reports. Here are a couple of things I keep in mind while managing my team.
1. I utilize a designed alliance framework with my direct reports. I trust them; they were brought on to handle the work they are overseeing, and I believe in them. We work together on issues, not against each other. My role is to clear their obstacles and let them get to it.
2. There is freedom in structure. Not in a “plan every minute” kind of way, but understanding the rhythm of regular and repeating duties can create some stability when applicable, while creating space to deal with unexpected issues and opportunities without creating crisis or logjams.
3. I proactively work with staff to create plans to manage workloads, responsibilities, and duties. I try not to manage people per se, but rather I support my team in ways that allow them to be successful in the tasks they are taking on.
4. I try and remember the five Rs — respect, relationships, responsibility, reasoning, and reciprocity — as taught to me by an esteemed mentor and former president of the American Indian College Fund, Richard Williams.
Practically, these guidelines help me center my team as people, build on our successes and organizational culture, create a system of responsibility for everyone on the team (including myself), create more time for better decision making, and ultimately create a network of accountability and transparency across our team that allows us to achieve and learn together. I’ll admit it’s all still a work in progress, and I am learning and growing with the times as a manager, too. But I believe in centering people and prioritizing the conditions that lead to success instead of creating unrealistic goals, or a toxic, burnout culture that only cares about the never-ending “work.”
