CEOs Discuss How to Be an Effective Leader During Turbulent Times

Michele Kawamoto Perry of The Forward Project

Embrace ambiguity and adopt agility. Change is inevitable and challenges are sure to arise. It’s how you meet them that will define your leadership legacy. The fight, flight, or freeze reactions are not likely to serve best in these times....

Ray Blakney of LiveLingua.com

Be prepared to eat multiple slices of humble pie. If you want your company to be successful, you need to hire good people to work in it. By definition, ‘good’ people means they will, either from the start or eventually,...

Nancy Leavitt of Nancy Leavitt Agency, LLC

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Learn from other people’s successes and how they got there. Give them credit, spot good ideas and use them to create your own path. My Quotes for Community campaign is a result building...

Minter Dial, Author

Check in with your stakeholders. In times of difficulty, it’s easy to think that the person with the biggest problem is yourself. In the 1990s and into the 00s, as the Internet was becoming increasingly relevant for business, time after...

Louis A Shapiro of HSS

Adapt and remain flexible. While it’s important to stick to your core values, it is also important to be able to adapt and change with the changing needs and priorities of your organization. Don’t just do something one way because...

Jared Pollacco of Impact XM

Honesty. It has been so important to be realistic about the industry and business during COVID-19, both to set legitimate expectations for our company and to keep our employees and clients satisfied.

Dr. Joel N Myers of AccuWeather

The value of teamwork — I learned I could not do it alone. Entrepreneurship is a team sport! Clement Stone said, “Tell everyone what you want to do, and someone will want to help you do it.” I have been...

Marlon Lindsay of 21stCentEd

Work on the business as much as you work in the business. Don’t just work on the part you know and are comfortable with. For example, in my case it’s sales. Know and improve every aspects of the business by...

Maximilian McNally of Desert Dx

You need to create an open platform where people can discuss ideas they thing will improve the company or even things that might not work. Have a speculative brainstorming session on how you can save $1 million and just see...

Kevin McCray of Kevin’s Natural Foods

Pay attention to who is buying your products. I have to laugh at how long it took me to truly understand who our target audience is. We invented the line based on insights that I had gleaned from my own...

Josi Jahic of J’s Pitaria

Build a team around you that shares your vision — Many people don’t understand how detrimental it can be to the business when employees feel underappreciated and uninvolved. On the other hand, a team that feels heard and valued can...

Erica Shelton of Temp Attorneys & Paralegals

Be prepared to be a one man band for a while. If you are leading you are overseeing multiple people/departments/projects. All will vary in skill set and requirements. As a leader you are hands on and when you’re not, you...

David Hernandez of lotus823

Inspire and uplift your team. When leaders are confident in themselves, they’ll uplift and inspire others. Consider changing your language to sound more sure of yourself. Frame your messages in a positive way that makes your team feel confident in...

Sean Manning of Payroll Vault

Trust in Delegation — It’s powerful to see it in action; when you see people you’ve trusted exceed and surpass expectations it is very motivational for everyone. When people around me are performing, I can also perform and be responsible...

Ryll Burgin-Doyle of stepUP Foundation

Your business and results will never outstrip you. Very early in my career I noticed that the businesses I was working with were a reflection of the Founder. Without question all the Founder’s “stuff”, the good, the bad and the...

Rob Weinhold of the Fallston Group

Maintain your composure as if driven by something bigger than the moment. During a crisis, a leader must strive to remain composed, with calmness and positivity. They need to be able to slow the process down and make wise decisions...

Matt Kelley of Case Integrative Health

Hire for “GSD”. This is a term I picked up from an old mentor and it means someone who “Gets Stuff Done”. Team members are GSD if they can identify a problem and a) have the initiative to find a...

Lizzy Klein of mazi + zo

Be ready to change course, but not values — I’m a planner and nothing makes me happier than following through on a well-thought-out strategy. But when circumstances change, pivoting quickly is the smarter move and I had to get comfortable...

Jordan Tate of Montage Partners

We all have blind spots. If you want to become a better leader, find mentors who will tell you hard truths about yourself. One of the traps of being in a leadership position is that people may not always give...

John McGeehan of The Dorm

Foster transparency and open communication. Lean into having consistent, honest conversations. Be open to feedback and lead by example when it comes to creating a work environment that makes addressing the difficult or uncomfortable topics not just okay but expected,...

Jessica Reed of Ballard Bikini

There will be people that will try to drag you down (whether intentionally or not), and it’s up to you to stay headstrong and not give in to the noise. They will say things that make you feel that they...

Dr Kennette Thigpen of Welltrust Partners

Create psychologically safe work environments — Provide a safe place for employees to be their full selves. It creates an environment that allows for moderate risk-taking, creativity, trust, and conversations. Offer Mental Health Initiatives- What I know for sure is...

Debbie King of Loving Your Business

Embrace the numbers. Accounting and I got off on the wrong foot. I got a “B” in my freshman accounting class and, for a perfectionist like me, that was humiliating. I decided that I just wasn’t a numbers person —...

Alex Shootman of Workfront

Comfort Your Employees — Stuff was pretty crazy a year ago — nothing any of us had ever seen. We had daily business continuity meetings and then I did a video at the end of each day letting folks know...

Stewart J Guss, Attorney

“Do well by doing good.” I’ve made it a point in my life, even well before I was an attorney, to try and put as much good, and love, and positivity in the world as is possible. When struck, try...

Shawn Lehocky of Pond Lehocky Giordano

You have to make hard decisions — as a leader it’s your duty to make the hard decisions for your business. Over the years your company will evolve, and especially with the introduction of technology, you will have employees that...

Sara Witt of Witt Law

You cannot do everything all the time. When I first started my business I felt as if I had to do marketing, research, meet with clients, court appearances, and billing daily. I ended up just going from inbox task to...

Julien Surget of Amangiri

Empathy: Empathy is so important to understand how employees may feel when driving a business. The pandemic for example has affected our staff in so many different ways and remaining emotionally close to them was paramount to continue to motivate...

Jonni Redick of JLConsulting Solutions

Making your personnel a priority needs to happen with intentionality. During uncertainty, disruption, and crisis, they need to be seen and heard. Creating space to share vulnerabilities with leadership will create balance, connectivity, and reassurance. Recognizing their needs is a...

Hannah Serimian of Boxy Girl

It’s going to be harder than you ever imagined. You’re going to have to make sacrifices and give up things you didn’t expect.

Hank Osowski of Strategic Health Group

Maintain focus on the primary purpose of the organization — its mission and vision. Engage leadership and staff in positive actions to deal with the challenges of difficult times. Retain concentration on serving the needs of customers. Be purposely adaptable...

Erdin Beshimov of MIT Bootcamps

Save, save, save. Do not live above your means. It’s hard to think of a successful startup that hasn’t had payroll issues. Not being able to fall back on one’s savings and weather the storm knocks you out of the...

Anne Carlson of Jiminy’s

Be Flexible. Nothing ever happens in a straight line. We had a recipe that we developed for our treats and, in our first test run, our co-packer forgot to put one of the ingredients in the treat. Well, we tested...

Ali Grant of Be Social

Separate business and pleasure. Lines can get blurred, especially when you work in an industry that intersects with your personal life, but when your business consumes everything, you will eventually burn out.

Alexandre Douzet of Pumpkin Pet Insurance

If you are founder and CEO in your 20’s you need adult supervision. A lot of new entrepreneurs are on the younger side and they haven’t had the benefit of years of experience navigating choppy business water, and their lack...

Ryan Miller of PWI

Don’t Think So Small: For years, I believed we would always be a tiny family business. While I have always been an optimistic person, I felt “big growth” was doing 4% more revenue next year than what we did this...

Mary Lyons of Benchmark Income Group

Put People before Profit. There is a parable of the General and the CEO. The general is pushing his team to execute on strategy, work nights, work weekends. He has a breakfast meeting with the CEO and the CEO asks...

Vince Sanders of CBD American Shaman

Find the right people for the job and trust them to do their job — Structuring and finding the right people to carry out their roles is critical for success. My company requires farming, extraction, marketing, sales, science, and more....

Ryan Serhant of SERHANT

The brand comes first. If no one knows about your company, you’re not going to have success. Invest in building and promoting your brand — and all of its facets. You need awareness and relevance and meaning to have a...

Mike Richardson of Online Trading Academy

Embracing Luck. Let’s be clear, luck is huge in agility … in business and in life … but luck is a lot less random than we think, you know, “luck is where preparation meets opportunity” kind of thing. If we...

Jolanta Piela of Good Division

Talk to other people, change the environment, remember that you don’t have to solve every problem by yourself. There are a lot of smart people who have been when you are now. And — guess what — they survived.

Jeff Ransdell of Fuel Venture Capital

When in charge, be in charge. A lot of decisions had to be made during the beginning of COVID-19 in 2020. I took advice from my team, but ultimately, I made the tough calls.

Cheryl Pierce of Soulworx

A leader must have humility. Humility doesn’t mean weak. Humble leaders recognize the value of others without feeling threatened. They’re willing to admit that they could be wrong and give credit where credit is due. This pandemic crisis has been...

Batool Zaidi of Excelify Solutions

Optimism: Optimism can make a huge difference when times are hard, your attitude and outlook can have a tremendous impact on customers and employees.

Saundra Pelletier of Evofem Biosciences

Be bold and clear in asking for what you want. As an example, when a new opportunity opened up that was perfect for me in a previous job, I assumed that I would get it because I knew my boss...

Ryan Doherty of Corner Bar Management

Don’t be afraid to get out of you comfort zone and try new things for your company. Before COVID-19 hit, we had a specific way of running each venue which has always worked well for us. However, during the pandemic,...

Nita Sanger of Idea Innovate Consulting

Be “customer-centric” — Focus on meeting customer needs most effectively. Understand what needs the business is solving for the customer, If the customer needs have changed during turbulent times, if this change is temporary or permanent; how customers are accessing...

Mike Russell of Monument

Things change, for the better: I wish I had understood earlier that something doesn’t have to end up how you thought it would for it to still turn out great. Accepting that saves you stress, and opens up new opportunities....

Michael Brush of CORE International

Returning to Growth — Your work during the sustainment phase will set you on a strong footing for a return to growth. Focus will be sharper, employees will be engaged, processes will be stronger and you will have remained current...

Mark Steffe of First Command Financial Services

Embrace Proactivity — I mentioned before that heading into the pandemic, we had already written into our five-year plan how we would approach a bear market. Clearly, the pandemic created financial challenges that were very unique and was not something...

Loren Howard of Prime Plus Mortgages

Don’t let failure get in the way of your future success. No matter your business you will fail at something at some point. The important thing is that you learn from those failures and pick yourself back up. Anytime you...

Jonathan Sparks of Sparks Law

Have a big “WHY.” You will not have the fortitude and resilience necessary to build a strong business unless you have a very strong reason WHY you’re building the business. Your existential reason for existing, for working hard long hours,...

Jenny Chang of ROCKNEVENTS

Keep your team small and goals bigger. Celebrate every manifested milestone. Build your influential presence simultaneous to your company’s presence.

Craig Condy

OPTIMISM: If you want to embrace change and be a positive influence on your team, then you need to embrace life and work with a positive mindset. Not only will negativity increase your short falls, but nobody wants to follow...

Barby K. Siegel of Zeno Group

Be truthful and transparent in real time. Be able and willing to quickly pivot and course correct as necessary. Surround yourself with a core leadership team to work through challenges and opportunities.

Augie DeLuca of Healthy Pet

Empower through ownership — give employees the freedom they need to get there, providing the guidance and comfort they need to feel supported. Our head of Human Resources approached me with proposed changes to our employee benefits package. I challenged...

Anita Mahaffey of Cool-jams

Be kind and always stay fair and ethical. In our world today we see so many examples of bullying and people being unkind. Social media makes it really easy to post whatever you want without consequences. I think people forget...

Adam Mitchell of Home Buying Guys

Grow as a Leader — read every day. Share the Vision — make sure your team knows the vision in your head. Empower Others — let others in your business own their roles. Do What They Say — walk the...

Samuel H. Pond of Pond Lehocky Giordano

Leadership requires hard decisions, but you have to balance that with empathy and understanding while putting yourself in others’ shoes.

René Murata of CEO Essence

You should always show gratitude, for everything and everyone. All the time. You have to remember that people are scared and unsure of their future. If they feel appreciated, it helps their mental health. And, if you live life deliberately,...

Shelley Smith of Premier Rapport

Communicate honestly, openly and frequently with clients and teams.

Gary Schoeniger of The Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative

Success does not happen overnight. I found out from experience that you need to put yourself into situations that are intimidating and be willing to do things poorly before you do them well. You can’t figure out and perfect it...

Emmy Winner, Ginger Zumaeta of Zumaeta Group

Tell the truth & stay in communication. In times of turbulence, it’s helpful to hear something from the pilot! It’s silly, but I’m a nervous flyer. Before these pandemic times, I used to fly a lot for business. Every time...

Thomas Kim of Everclean

Prepare. For some crazy reason, human beings don’t prepare for things they don’t like, particularly recessions and death, two of the things we can be absolutely sure of. You don’t have to be a genius to know a recession is...

Shamina Taylor, Attorney

Too many people like being comfortable and avoid change like the plague. So when times are changing, which they continuously do, you have to be willing to change with them. Being uncomfortable is what breeds change, growth, and new success....

Ryan Novak of Chocolate Pizza Company

Share your story, they’ll buy your product. Succeed first, expand later. As your company changes, so do the supporting players. The view from the summit is impressive; so are the storms Enjoy more sunsets — find your balance

Reinhard Mabry of Alphapointe

Overcommunicate — in the midst of the pandemic, it was obvious how important it is to communicate. We kept people informed of what was happening and how we were responding. It provided assurance to our team that we took their...

Michele DiMeo of Squisito Pizza & Pasta

Opportunity in weakness and learn from mistakes — Write your book on what not to do again and promote and strengthen success and build upon strengths.

Matt Vetter of Schafer Construction

Build a Culture before trying to build a Brand. Culture drives the business — culture drives the Team — culture wins the races. We do not hire nor fire quickly in our business (unless there is a breach of Core...

Laverne Delgado of Freedom & Fashion

Identify your wins, big or small, and celebrate them constantly. The world is not waiting to clap for you, but chances are if you’re reading this, you’re doing some hard things that most don’t see. Share them with your team...

JoAnna Hartzmark of Revelle

I wish someone had told me that 80% of the advice I would get should just be thrown straight into a Dumpster. When first starting out, I sought out advice from anyone who would listen to me. I’d never intended...

Ed Manfre of Heidrick & Struggles

It’s then important to focus on vitality and foster an environment of optimism, well-being and perseverance. To safeguard vitality during the crisis, leaders need to ensure — and model — balanced and flexible work schedules, extend benefits and make them...

Dr Bart Barthelemy of ‘The Wright Brothers Institute

The future is unpredictable in detail, but predictable in general. What served us as leaders, team members, students and specialists will not be the same in the future. We need to reeducate, learn, develop, and become what the future needs....

Dillon Hill of Live For Another

Do it your own way. You don’t have to follow the traditional path! Do things that excite you, not other people. It will make it easier for you to stay committed.

Charlynda Scales of Mutt’s Sauce

Life happens. You cannot go on the journey alone. People will be affected by your decisions. You must communicate your expectations, projects, and anything in your business that will take up your time. The only way to find balance is...

Art Haws of HawsGoodwin Wealth

Be ready to adjust and adapt. You got to be ready to pivot when the unexpected happens. And it will happen. We spent over a year, meticulously planning every detail of our business before launch, then practically threw it all...

Ween Niu of Advantech North America

Invest more in your company’s most successful business sectors and reduce or remove weak business sectors.

Tibi Guzman of The Arc Westchester

Optimism: Your staff is going to look to you when times are hard and your attitude and outlook can have a tremendous impact on how they feel about the situation. I recently had a board member approach me and ask...

Neil Sahota, Author & Inventor

Leaders need to create (not force) moments where the meeting is not about work but just a chance to connect. When I was managing a team across thirteen countries, I started an internal channel for them to socialize. To drive...

Kris Kelso of The Kelso Group

“Be Exceedingly Human” — I stole this one from Patrick Lencioni, because it’s so valuable. Leaders must relate to their people as people, not just as employees. Remember that a crisis is often impacting their personal lives as well. Don’t...

Kevin Wilson of Buzz Franchise Brands

Remember that your team is a group of people that you’ve invested in, but they’ve also invested in you. Check in on them, let them know you care.

James Baker of Keynote Search

Hire a business coach and meet with them regularly. Being a business owner can be lonely and very challenging. Your friends won’t understand, your employees shouldn’t have to understand, and you need help. Accept it and make the investment of...

Greg Brewer of Brewer-Clifton

Be confident and inclusive. While it is critical to be confident, prideful, and enthusiastic about one’s direction, it is never necessary to vocalize/promote that spirit at the expense of others. Simple, deliberate pronoun use as well as the employment of...

Donna Greene of NextGen Healthcare

Be communicative — Once we realized there would be many unknowns with the COVID-19 pandemic, we immediately established regularly scheduled virtual communication vehicles like employee Town Hall meetings as well as rewards and recognition events. We also developed a business...

Christine Nguyen of Limitless Foundation

You’re Going to Wear a Lot of Hats. When your organization is in the startup phase, you tend to play many roles at once, as your team hasn’t acquired all the talent it needs yet. I remember one night this...

Brian Harris of MedRhythms

Transparency — The team should know when times are tough, when budgets are tight etc.

Terre Short, Author

Celebrate the wins and focus on the positive. Everyone feels good when someone or something (a process, a long-awaited shipment, a change in timing) is celebrated. More positive than negative things happen daily or we would not move forward. Our...

Dr. Wanda Wallace of Leadership Forum

Focusing on the facts and ignoring the emotions. You can’t leave people feeling cared for if you are not tuned in how they are feeling. Emotions are far more central to our performance and our decision making than we often...

Calvin Yang of Canadian Youth Alliance for Climate Action

Lead with confidence. Remember that everyone working for you shares your passion and drive to realize the firm’s vision, and you are in the best position to lead it. Though the journey to improving one’s leadership skills is limitless, never,...

Stacy Durand of MDG

Stay focused, positive and calm. Be the energy and the rock that is constant and unwavering for your team. Especially in tough times, bring that same positive, confident energy that allows your employees to feel supported.

Robert Frechette of Medtronic

Collaboration is key: We are so thankful for our recent collaborations with Space X and Mt. Sinai Hospital (New York). Partnering with Space X has led to the production of thousands of PB980 solenoid valves in just a few months...

George Kocher of Brand North

Try not to sell your services in an area or demographic that can’t pay for them. If you are only competing on price, it can be a race to bankruptcy. Whenever possible pick affluent demographics as your target service area...

Aditi Javeri Gokhale of Northwestern Mutual

Unlock the power of your team: To unlock the true potential of a team, inclusiveness and transparency are essential so that people are empowered to take action and move quickly. As part of this, I want people on my team...

Sanjeev Katariya of InVision

Care deeply about your people. Stay connected with the organization on what’s working and what’s the challenge. Be part of the solution, roll up your sleeves and work with them. Hands on behaviors build great teams and trust. For example,...

Mark Bordo of Vetster

Communicating with your team is critical and should be part of your daily process. During tougher times, employees will naturally feel stressed and concerned. It is important to over communicate and be fully transparent to ensure company morale and energy...

Raj Verma of SingleStore

Keeping the mindset that pressure and leadership are a privilege. There’s no giving up for me and I expect the same attitude from my colleagues. This gift we’ve been given of having jobs during the most difficult of economic times...

Kerry Wekelo of Actualize Consulting

Share gratitude: It is so easy to get swept up in negativity during uncertain times. Our annual retreat got cancelled, so instead of giving verbal, in-person gratitude, I opted to make a video for each person on our team describing...

Kenetia Lee of PopUP CleanUP

Invest into Developing your team. People who come to work for me invest their time and energy in helping me grow my vision of the business, it only feels right to invest back into what supports me. It comes back...

Brian Day of Fuze

Empower employees to do their jobs: Know when to step back and allow your employees to do their best work. It can be easy to make the mistake of micromanaging during stressful times. But if you hired good people, let...

Angela Bradford of World Financial Group

Create a culture of team work. Build a culture of working together as a team into your business. Teams that build together stay together and help each other in those tough times. One way to build this culture, is by...

Amy Scissons of Russell Reynolds Associates

Lead with transparency and overcommunicate whenever possible. This means providing clear guidance on all business-critical priorities but also discussing the future outlook, which has the dual purpose of driving productivity in the short-term but also helping ease feelings of uncertainty...

Sean Byrnes of Outlier

The most important thing you can do is listen to your customers. Talk to them if you can, watch their behavior and look for any kind of feedback they provide. Sometimes the customers themselves don’t know what is happening, but...

Preston D. Cameron of Oculus Consulting Group

Don’t lose your leadership credibility. The shock of the crisis lurches in business performance and strategy, and shortfalls in goal achievement make the top leader’s words less credible. Some employees will react with the pessimistic attitude of “why believe any...

Victoria Pelletier, VP of IBM

Leading With Empathy. In my own team leadership, I continue to exercise empathy as my company and team navigate a global pandemic. A parent myself, I understand that members of my team need extra space to navigate the perils of...

Teresa Carlson of Amazon Web Services

I emphasize with my teams to take time to take care of themselves. It can be so hard to disconnect, with so many of us working remotely. We don’t have the commute to decompress and create some space between work...

Candace Wolfshohl of Frost Bank

Continually host open, honest conversations. I mentioned this earlier but feel it’s important to say again because it’s such an important principle to leading during uncertain times. Tell your team what you know and be kind as you do it....

Colin and Whit Hunter of BetterWorld

Think like a customer — Always aim to put yourselves in the mind of our clients of any size, just as “the slug” moment taught us.

Carolyn Slaski of EY Americas

Offering flexibility. Flexible work arrangements can help employees maintain a healthier work-life balance, prevent burnout and handle their various life scenarios.

Ray Kruck of Tugboat Logic

Trust your team. I work hard to earn the trust of my team by being honest and humble. I think teams only reciprocate trust when they feel and see that you have their best interest at heart.

Lindsay Bertelli of REACH

Ask for feedback (even if it is hard to hear). Everyone can learn in turbulent times, and the CEO/President is no different. It is important to hear from your team members and allow them to have a voice, even when...

Alexis Nicole White of ANW Consulting

I have learned during this time is to illustrate my humanity by being empathetic as well as aware. There are five things I’ve learned to master during these times: transparency, kindness, understanding, encouraging, and motivating. In general, if we are...

Lisa Arie of Vista Caballo

Know your edge. As we know, our best learning is found outside of our comfort zone. And we can’t solve new problems with old thinking. We need the new thinking found outside of our comfort zone. Again best to become...

Sheila Murphy of Focus Forward Consulting

Be empathetic change and navigating difficult times is challenging for organizations but more so for people. Take the time to listen and understand the concerns. Make sure that your team feels heard and that you address what is said. You...

Edward Gorbis of Career Meets World

Everyone has their own unique strength, and it is your job as a leader to tap into the strength of every individual during difficult times. Let everyone leverage their power to help you overcome this period of uncertainty together. It’s...

Dr Joanna Martin of One of Many

Stay relevant to your purpose — if you know your purpose and know that everything you are doing is geared toward the fulfilment of that purpose, you will be clear in the goals you set for your business, yourself and...

Christopher Salem of CRS Group Holdings

Influence: Transparent leaders know that influencing others is not what they say yet how they are the example for others to do the same for them. It’s not convincing others to see your point of view but empowering them to...

Rebekah Goldman of Taking The Wheel Consulting

Communicate - Be honest about how these times are affecting your business. Your team needs to know what is going on and what the plan of attack is. It is also important to let your team know what the expectation...

Siddharth Rao of Twitter

Decision Making: For the success of any company, it is important that decisions are made in a principled fashion and made quickly. There are certain classes of decisions which require you to take a much longer timeframe to get to...

Bob Bailkoski of Logicalis

Listen — Organizations have adapted well to the remote working environment. However, there is a human element we cannot ignore. Business leaders must understand exactly how employees are coping with the uncertainty and respond accordingly to ensure they feel supported....

Andy Techmanski of FORLOH

Always work the hardest you can for what you love and always love what you are working for. Don’t be afraid to experiment with new ideas or way of thinking. Be honest and be vigilant in everything you do.

Jared Bradley of The Bradley Projects

Take the time to call someone out for what they are doing well, lift your team up, and laugh together. We have had to lay a couple of people off over the past few months for performance issues, not for...

Dr. Shar Najafi-Piper of Copa Health

Lead with kindness — identify a person’s strengths to help drive performance Don’t be afraid to have the awkward, tough discussions and make the tough decisions Roll up your sleeves and work hard if not harder than your employees. You...

Daisy Jing of Banish

Be solution-oriented — don’t get sidetracked with other issues or even the emotion it comes with, focus on finding the solution and coming up with the ideas, and having the guts to solve the problem.

Mark Carter

Judge less, accept more and be patient with people. Some of your team may leave things to the last minute to get things done. Which I know from coaching and developing managers and leaders annoys the hell out of some...

Mandy Gilbert of Creative Niche

Be accessible. Your door should always be open (literally and figuratively). Whether it’s the new employee or the executive team, everyone should be able to reach you with questions, concerns, or feedback. If you have several hundred employees and individual...

Eddie Martucci of Akili

Be passionate…every day. Everyone has tough days. It’s especially important on those days to continue to always show your enthusiasm. It helps others, and it helps you.

Dr Menaca Pothalingam of Smile Leadership Academy

Communication. It is important to pay attention, understand and then respond to what the other person is saying. This style of communication give insight about the real roadblocks in the organization, revealing the areas of improvement and make the team...

Prabhdeep Singh of UiPath

Lead with Courage — A steady hand instills confidence in the whole team and calms everyone’s nerves. In my previous roles, there were many times when we came close to being shut down as a group. Either the research just...

Sanjoe Jose of Talview

Team Communication Is Key — Always remember your key asset — your team. From the beginning, as CEO, I made sure to communicate frequently and clearly with my team, explaining the company’s position vis-a-vis the crisis and letting them know...

Matt Elliott of Pulse Financial Planning

Burn out is a huge problem in the financial services industry. I’d recommend finding a business model that rewards your hard work with recurring revenue. If you are on a never-ending hamster wheel of prospecting and closing business, you will...

Kali Hassinger of Center for Financial Planning

Be Transparent — Be sure that communication is honest and authentic. If you don’t believe your message, neither will your team. Although there are times when we may be asked to deliver a message that doesn’t feel good, think through...

David Savitsky of ATC Healthcare Services

Based on my experience, the five most important things a business leader should do to effectively lead during turbulent time are make timely decisions, always look for opportunity, communicate directly with the team, take responsibility and prepare for the unpredictable....

Ciara Lancaster of Reimagine Change

Create calm over chaos. Don’t meet hysteria with hysteria. Do hone your emotional intelligence and separate facts from emotions. Remember that emotions only last 90 seconds in our brain. The key is to allow that time and then quickly disengage...

Zoë Routh of Inner Compass

Put in boundaries to create certainty. We created scenarios like, ‘what happens if the pandemic gets worse — what could we do then?’ We put some thresholds in place that would trigger hard decisions like if revenue dropped below break...

William Gardner of Gardner Media Grou

Be realistic with your team with where you’re at — Keep a positive attitude and vision of attainable goals. You have to go out and bring in new business as the owner. Be a leader — Employees look to you...

Rick White of Capture 3D

Bring people together. This year deepened a growing divide within society and our communities. When employees report to work, they just don’t drop their feelings and emotions before starting their projects. What happens outside of the workplace impacts our employees,...

Mike “C-Roc” Ciorrocco of People Building

My favorite answer to this question would be from one of my mentors, Brandon Dawson, and it’s from his example of the lifeboat. If a ship were sinking and everyone needed to get into a lifeboat to survive and the...

Lynne Doherty of McAfee

What difference did you make? EVERYONE can make a difference no matter your role or level in your company. If you show up every day giving it your all, then you will impact those around you.

Jeff Jones of H&R Block

Set the tone for candor and transparency. There is power in being humble and at times admitting you’re feeling the strain of a crisis, too.

Jason Peterson of GoDigital Media Group

Build and maintain trust with the team and key partners. Establish shared values and live them to build trust. Be a thoughtful and empathetic listener

Dr. Joseph Michelli of The Michelli Experience

Shift Front, Middle, Back — During crises, leaders shouldn’t always be out front. There are times when they must lead from the front by setting and communicating their vision and the crisis strategy. At other times, they need to join...

Dennis Self of Acoustic

Be empathetic: Lead with empathy. Be a human being first. Understand that your employees have their own lives and may be going through difficult challenges outside of work. I held a call with a few employees at Acoustic who are...

Anne Huntington of Huntington Learning Center

Maintain the true identity of your organization. A brand’s mission should weather any storm. Being flexible, pivoting operations, and adapting to rapid change will be a constant in any company, but you must remain true to the company’s mission in...

Margaux Fraise of Harmony Creative Studio

Show up for your team. I always strive to be the first one in the Zoom or at the workplace with an upbeat — but not false — sense of purpose. This has especially been essential this year, with so...

Jericha Jordan of RIGWA

Creativity — we’re constantly talking to people, watching partners and competitors and looking for new, unique, and creative ways to generate income. Things can get stale quickly these days and in difficult times, it’s important to stand out. Let your...

Gabriele Musella of Coinrule

Stick to your values, the values of the company that you have agreed on with your team. Stick to them. Always recall your values during meetings, make principle-based conversations about what we are thriving for. Inject new hope, trust, and...

Trisha Barita of Barita Law Firm

Whether you have recognized it or not, people have been under stress during a large part of this year whether it is due to personal, business or economic reasons. This stress is being felt by the high up leadership in...

Scott Greenberg

Be of service to others. That includes your customers, your community–everyone you come into contact with. There’s a boomerang effect of the value we put out into the world. And focusing on others’ problems puts your own into perspective. One...

Rachel H Graham of Evolve and Transform

Some of the most beautiful things come out of life’s challenges. Embrace and have gratitude for life’s difficulties as they often reveal greater beauty, dimension, and purpose to our lives. I found my purpose through a devastating life shift. I...

Patrick Spain of First Stop Health

Remain Steadfast in your mission — First Stop Health provides telemedicine to employees of our clients. We have had a number of employers who didn’t care if we engaged their employees to use this money-saving benefit. They just wanted a...

Nicole Gregory of Urban You

READ, listen and connect with others. We can’t live in a bubble; the more we know and can understand how the world’s actions will affect our business, the better we will be at communicating to our team, with certainty on...

John Flanders of CBD Emporium

Leaders build teams not empires. I hate the term boss. It shows a totalitarian way of running a company. I remember one time, I was on Facebook looking at a friend’s profile page and he used the term “boss” for...

Alan J Murray of Empire BlueCross BlueShield

Self-educate — learn from other leaders, read their books, understand. I take a lot of inspiration from the story Zappos, and it’s focus on “Delivering Happiness,” but there are many other stories out there depending on a leader’s defined purpose....

Courtney Underwood of Kassar Consulting

Give grace. In turbulent times, it may be tempting for leaders to have less patience and take out their frustrations on their team. This is simply the worst thing that you can do. Leading with compassion is a core component...

Author Andi Simon

Be Brave. Courage is essential. Whenever the times are changing, people become the proverbial deer in the headlight, freezing or fleeing the unfamiliar. This is a time when you will see who can rise to the top, capture the moment,...

Arash Arabi of Sprint Agile

By now you probably have gathered how I think. I believe in turbulent times business leaders need to further improve their emotional intelligence, experiment empirically, create an environment that promotes creativity, look at the big picture, and of course be...

Lindsay Kritzer of Rachio

Make everything about the team: the first and most important thing is to make everything about the team. Our team is filled with real people that have real lives that have all inevitably been affected by the pandemic. You have...

Emily Metz of the American Egg Board

Be flexible. During tough times, it’s important to be flexible — whether its ways of doing things, of communicating with stakeholders and more. It’s important to not get caught up in how things have been done in the past. I...

Rune Sovndahl of Fantastic Services

Never give up. You don’t have to be the smartest and biggest to win. Keep working hard on the right things, make small progress and don’t ever stop.

Patrick MacLeamy of HOK

These are unprecedented times for business and for many companies, the only way to survive will be through shared sacrifice with your employees. When you are asking people to embrace painful measures like pay cuts and temporary furloughs, it helps...

Michelle Loretta of ‘Be Sage Consulting’

Be aware of people’s emotional vulnerability and lead with empathy. — During uncertain times, it’s critical to feel the emotional pulse of what people are experiencing. Some people will be fearful, others angry, some sad. Taking into consideration that everyone...

Lindsey Goodchild of Nudge

Anything is possible, you just have to work really hard and keep persevering. In my first few years working on Nudge, I had the people around me to keep motivating me and reminding me of my worth. Hard times will...

Lily Shen of Transfix

[Re]share your vision. A clear North Star will align and rally your organization around a common goal and help you and your team streamline decisions and prioritizations. Continuously remind your team of this vision, especially when times are tough.

Lee Wallace of Peace Coffee

This year has been an exercise in leading during uncertain times. First we had the pandemic — the key there was to be decisive, transparent and empathetic. We sent anyone who didn’t have to work on site home, and we...

Kaitlyn Witman of Rainfactory

Have cash in reserve as a cushion to shocks in the business, giving you the runway you need to pivot. Have a list of nonessential payments that could be the first to go when times get rough. If you have...

Jennifer Haas of Noteworth

Setting a vision and direction for the company — Ensure everyone knows the value they bring and the part they play. Start with the end goal in mind. I like to set a five-year vision, a three-year strategy and yearly...

Doug Pearson and Derrick Morton of FlowPlay

Be proactive. Before lockdowns went into place in Seattle where our company is headquartered, we began encouraging employees to work remotely, and provided every employee with a 30-day supply of freeze-dried meals for emergency needs. We also checked in with...

Carmen Westbrook of Aina Giving

During turbulent times, we need to focus the majority of our attention — about 80% — on relationships. This can be so very, very hard as leaders are watching sales dwindle…and it’s mandatory to stay in the game over the...

Caitlin Scott of ‘Create Your Rich’

Embrace the fear of the unknown — This is the part about being uncomfortable that forces growth. Quitting my corporate job was the hardest thing I ever did. I bet on myself, because why would I bet on anyone else....

Brad Smithy of UBS

Maintain visibility, that’s important. You can’t run and hide. You have to lead and stand out in front. You can’t charge from the bottom of the hill. An example is our commitment to being in front of all 108 branches....

Aaron Vick of Cicayda

Keep focused on your people even when there seem to be an endless supply of hurdles coming your way. Remember how displaying a high level of emotional intelligence and caring about your team will lead to a better work environment...

Stephen Kohler of Audira Labs

Remain Accountable — As the adage goes, do what you say and say what you do. Practice compassionately candid conversations to help hold yourself, your team, and your organization accountable. Consider Zoom’s CEO who took personal responsibility when they experienced...

Luis Soares and Rafael Oliveira of TOPdesk UK

Be honest. Don’t paint a picture to your team that’s unrealistic as being dis-honest in turbulent times will cause panic in the team. You also can’t gloss over problems, it may feel like you’re protecting the team, but the reality...

Lisa Arledge Powell of MediaSource

Take care of your team — It is tough to be trailing your opponent in a hockey game and you can’t make a comeback on your own. This is when you need your teammates. As a business leader, the number...

Jean Freeman of Zambezi:

Run toward the problems. — Our natural instinct is often to duck and cover when difficulties arise, but I’d challenge leaders to run toward the problems instead. I believe it’s important to remember that even the most challenging circumstances hold...

Berekk Blackwell of Daily Jam

I’ve found that it always pays to be human. In the midst of so much pain and struggle, you can still show empathy toward the team in a workplace setting. Silence is not an option. By being as clear and...

Angel N. Livas of ‘The Woman Behind The Business

Celebrate: I know this one might sound weird — but, taking the time to acknowledge your team’s efforts go a long way. Everyone wants to feel valued — especially when you can’t receive the same level of positive reinforcement that...

Jim Bureau of JAGGAER

Acknowledge and communicate the impact of crisis. When COVID hit, we realized the potential organizational threat on March 1st. We had an executive who visited Milan, Italy, Vienna, Raleigh, and Seattle within a week’s time. Simultaneously, outbreaks were occurring in...

Delali Dzirasa of Fearless

Refocus on your operational plan. Businesses should have a strategic plan- whether it’s 3 years or 5 years. But when you have a once in a lifetime event like a pandemic, it is okay to revisit those strategic plans and...

Cyrus Aram of Unleashing Leaders

View change as a constant. If we know that change is certain, we have to develop and implement the infrastructure necessary to bend — not break — when change inevitably occurs. The companies and organizations thriving are the ones that...

Brian Natwick of Crescent Communities

Lead with confidence, composure, and humility. As many of my mentors remind me often… “remember that everyone is watching.” When we win, we simply “hand the football” to the referee” versus spiking it or doing some silly dance.

Scott Anderson of Intermedia

Stay focused on customers: Your buying audience drives growth and as the economy ebbs and flows, their needs may shift as well. Stay close to what they care about and make sure your company is delivering value at all times....

Neville Crawley of Kiva

Energy — I try to pay quite a lot of attention to my energy level and plan my activities more around energy than time. I’ve noticed that saying ‘no’ uses quite a lot of my energy, but I believe it...

Mitch Luciano of Trailer Bridge

Be human. Share what you are going through during these challenging times — or any time. When your team realizes that you are experiencing the same things they are, because you are human, then you can better understand what each...

Jewels Clark of How to Be Social

Being honest. Be honest with not only your team but with others. I used to be a white liar when I was a kid. I would hide ice cream under the bed and then I’d be too scared to go...

Jamie Kalamarides of Prudential Group Insurance

Choosing a set of leaders that are diverse and complementary, not clones, that have different traits, but can work together as a team. And assembling them as a team and understanding what motivates them, and challenging them to work together...

Brittany Baldwin of Tick Tock Sales

Remember your ‘why’. This will inspire you to keep working towards your business goals. Be passionate about this.

Stacey Ashley of Ashley Coaching & Consulting

I think what business leaders need to do to lead effectively is they need to look after themselves. Again, turbulent change is often a marathon not a sprint. They can’t afford to burn themselves out. They need to make sure...

Peter Thies of The River Group

Recalibrate strategy — Determine quickly how your business should adapt based on how your customers are affected. Then create a credible plan for making those changes so employees will be motivated to make them. An example is the whole restaurant...

Nick Ron of House Buyers of America

Maintain Healthy Margins: — Do not spend money you do not have. Always be cautious and conservative. Do not get into debt or try to invest significant amounts of money in unproven ventures. Start your plan small and grow each...

John Ryan of The Center for Creative Leadership

Prioritize the safety and security of your people: You need to show you’re concerned about them and won’t ask them to do anything you wouldn’t do. When I was in the Navy, for example, we wouldn’t ask someone to fly...

Heather Milligan of Lincoln Financial Group

SMILE and GIVE ENCOURAGEMENT — as Mary Poppin’s once said…”a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” People will do more for you if you give them back some human encouragement and nurturing. That’s not to say that you...

Hana Jung of Re:Boot Experiences

Surrender to the things out of your control. During COVID, there were so many variables that were constantly shifting: alarming rates of infection, quarantines, businesses shutting overnight and border closings. Focusing on areas outside of your control only amplifies feelings...

Daniel Stanton of Now Optics

Dream big, but understand your limits: During a time where everything is fragile, it’s important to continue to think outside of the box and brainstorm. However, in tragic circumstances it’s vital to tailor these ideas and to know what will...

Brady Brim-DeForest of Theorem

Remain calm. Don’t call a disaster before it occurs or create a moment for chaos. Be thoughtful about the risks you can see and develop an action plan to mitigate them.

Anna Schlegel of NetApp

My three decades in Silicon Valley have provided me with a wealth of experience to draw from as I lead my own teams. Over the years, I have developed my leadership style to revolve around four central ideas:

Amanda Hill of Three Box Strategic Communications

Make hard decisions. Sometimes you have to downsize, let people go or make other unpopular judgement calls to ensure a healthy business. It’s important to stand by your decisions with confidence, communicate them with clarity and keep pushing forward to...

Kim K. Melillo of Sure Oak

Embrace leadership as an act of service. I often think of the etymology of the word “company”. It implies community, coming together, connection. When uncertainty comes your way, your best resource is the community you have built. Take care of...

Vijay Kurkal of Resolve Systems

Never Give Up: Be ready for your best-laid plans to go awry, especially right now. The reality is that we’re all constantly adjusting, but if you have that “never say die” attitude, you can look for new opportunities, even in...

Michael Umansky of INK and Edgy

Establish your company’s vision, values, and mission. Then, let those factors be the lens through which you make decisions. Make sure your team knows and has bought into that vision and your values. We spent a lot of time on...

Michael Levy of WorkProud

You must move forward, keep calm and carry on. Which as we know during the current turbulent times, there’s uncertainty. It feels like the world’s coming apart at various stages, but the world won’t come apart. We will get through...

Genevieve Piturro

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway — Any major leap takes courage, faith, and an ability to train yourself to look up when your instinct is to look down. Whether you jump off the corporate ladder, change your life...

Diana Scott of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America

Communicate frequently and transparently (this includes listening). I shared earlier about how important this is, especially during a crisis. You need to be visible. Our entire leadership team downloaded new software so we could create video messages and were sharing...

Craig Scheef of Texas Security Bank

Agility enables leaders to remain flexible and move quickly to apply solutions, while maintaining foresight. As a team, we must increase listening and awareness, share lessons, optimize the decision process to facilitate rapid redesign and value the incremental wins.

Andrew Malley of Dignity Health Global Education

Honesty and Transparency: Your teams and customers will appreciate it. We give internal quarterly sessions to the company with the idea to create goals and set priorities we can all share and embrace.

Renee Fellman, Turnaround Expert

Convey confidence and competence through your demeanor and stakeholder communications. For example, within the first hour I am on the job, I communicate with all employees, either via a company-wide meeting or other means appropriate to that situation. As a...

Mark Williams of Brokers International

Be a good listener. People are afraid and most of them just want to be heard. Provide opportunities for people to express their feelings, and as they share, practice intentional listening. Be present with them in a real and meaningful...

Lynn Power of MASAMI

It’s about leading with empathy. This means understanding that each person on your team is in a unique situation and has different needs. It’s also about accommodating and understanding the difficulties of remote work, like managing kids doing online school...

Kishshana Palmer

Watch the road. You’ve got to watch for trends and pay attention to what’s happening. Last year, I decided to invest in online tools and more virtual training and perfected my style (and the technology). I didn’t know a pandemic...

Katie Hendrix of Novolex

Be agile. Everything we know about doing business changed in 2020. Had we not been agile and adapted to each new challenge thrown at us, Novolex would not be in the steady state that it’s in today. Being able to...

Drew Falkman of Modus Create

Always put people first. During the pandemic, we have seen how the people on the front lines — nurses, like doctors, Instacart shoppers, restaurant workers — are the ones who are taking the risk, and keeping their companies (as well...

Cauveé of Cauvee Global

Recalibrate — Once you have determined where you can focus, pivot and go full steam ahead. We did this with our Community by hosting free consulting calls and giving a ton of value. Additionally, we started reaching out and supporting...

Ryll Burgin-Doyle, Author

Short term “blinders” — This is where a business owner or leader loses all perspective, having only the short term “blinders” on, where they cannot see anything past what they are dealing with right now and right now. They completely...

Glen Casel of Embrace Families

Be confident. When people feel uncertain and scared, they look to their leaders for reassurance. Even if you’re not 100% confident, project that decisiveness and that authority when you take action.

Dr. Benjamin Ritter of Live for Yourself Consulting

Be aware of the work your team is doing, and ensure that your employees strengths and interests are being matched with the right work, and that they are able to delegate or are at least being recognized for work they...

Dave Krepcho of Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida

Embrace failure and fail fast — we learn twice as much from our mistakes than we do from successes. Nobody is perfect. If you can embed this thinking into your culture, you have created a safe space to operate within....

Clif Smart of Missouri State University

Rely on your team. Trying to do everything yourself doesn’t work. To be successful during a crisis, everyone has to row together in the boat. Then, give lots of credit to others when they do good work.

Borys Pikalov of Stobox

Treat challenges as fun. The harder it is to win, the bigger the price, the greater you feel after accomplishment. The atmosphere of playfulness encourages experimentation and creativity — they are your key assets that differentiate between winners and losers...

Ani Manian of Primal Six

Shift from control-based leadership to empowerment-based leadership — Great leaders aren’t measured by how many followers they have, but by how many leaders they create. While one person may not be able to shift the course of the company single...

Andrew Stanten of Altitude Marketing

Be authentic. While many agency leaders hide their numbers, I openly share the monthly, quarterly and YTD P&L and provide updates on the balance sheet and exactly how many months of expenses we have in the bank for that proverbial...

Andre Basso of Mountainside

Be adaptable. When the pandemic started, we faced several challenges. How were we going to continue to engage people in the company if they worked from home? How would we still make people feel like they are connected to Mountainside?...

Peter Ross of Senior Helpers

We made safety our number one priority. We at Senior Helpers are committed to providing exceptional care for the seniors and families in our communities, and know our efforts are inherently valuable during this COVID-19 pandemic — when our clients...

Martin Mendez of NEORIS

For instance, we launched HealthCheck, a platform that emerged aiming to solve the challenges the pandemic brought to the workplace by using artificial intelligence, machine learning and contact tracing, while still being user-friendly. The app guarantees a safe return to...

Brandi Gregge of Mint & Needle Medical Aesthetics

Remove emotional triggers from your life. Perhaps you find that there is a specific person, situation or environment that is a triggering experience for you. Be aware of the triggers and remove or limit them from your daily life.

Yuchun Lee of Allego

Build a team and a business that can withstand challenges. In my experience, it’s much harder to build a company that is timed to be sold and make money than it is to build it right for the long haul...

Sarah Gulbrandsen of RingPartner

Transparency is key. Your team can sense when you are holding your cards too close and it can cause unnecessary spin. Rather, it’s better to address a situation upfront, lay out the facts and let your team know how you...

Jennifer Laloup of the Mobile Growth Association

Listen. Encourage your team to contribute to the conversation and listen to what they say. Leaders and managers should look to understand what their team is telling them. This means listening to verbal and non-verbal communication. Tactics that have worked...

Gunter Swoboda, Author

I’m probably going to repeat myself here but the key in leading in turbulent times is having put the groundwork in when there is no crisis. Envisage being the leader you want to be in good times and the bad....

Dr. Tanya Kormeili of Derm & Rejuvenation Institute

Humility. Being able to admit you don’t have all the answers but are willing to learn and serve on good faith is important. I have been very truthful to my staff about the pandemic. No one really has the playbook...

Cheryl Chester of KardasLarson

Do not micromanage. This is a challenge when your employees are remote, and you may feel that you have lost some control of their performance. You may have. But this is only a problem when you have not communicated very...

Anthony Casablanca of GriefLeaders

By being vulnerable, I am not talking about being weak or scared or incapable of making hard decisions. It takes a strong leader to be vulnerable. Vulnerable, in this sense, means being willing to let people know you care and...

Tom Skelton of Surescripts

Be visible. When COVID-19 hit, the Surescripts leadership team responded to the uncertainty by engaging with the team through a variety of channels like town halls, all-employees emails, virtual social gatherings, etc.

Steven Seiden of Acquired Data Solutions

A leader needs to be able to sit with themselves and reflect, be at peace and have space to think. Without giving yourself that space there’s no way to create and perform. That’s why meditation has been a huge part...

Ryan Alovis of Lens Direct

Be smart and cut unnecessary costs immediately. Focus on affordable ways to increase the business, like referrals, hitting the phones, focusing on free channels to increase exposure like social media. The possibilities are endless when you need to get creative....

Ray Williams of Springfield Clinic

Stick together. When we first started working on how to respond to the COVID-19 challenge, we had different team members doing different things. There was a tendency for team members to challenge each other more than support, understand, and rapidly...

Leesa Schipani of KardasLarson

Encourage innovation — in this current economy, we’ve looked at the way we deliver our services via virtual platforms and on-demand products. Without in-person networking events where we generate the majority of our leads, we’ve needed to look for new...

Joseph Mannello of MYOS

Don’t assume everyone is dealing with turbulent times the same way. You don’t know what is going on at home, family, health, etc. Everyone deals with stress differently. We have been flexible and empathetic as we know that many of...

Henry S. Givray of SmithBucklin

Replenish your energy — Time is finite. We all have exactly 24 hours in a day. We can’t alter, manipulate or recover time. But energy can be expanded and regularly renewed. Therefore, rather than fret over time, we should instead...

Diana Allen of The SSI Group

Celebrate your teams. Share successful ideas broadly, giving credit to the people who came up with the ideas or helped execute on strategy. Doing so builds morale during tough times and encourages employees to continue to innovate — critical for...

Daniel Beer of Beer Home Team

Collaborate. Great leaders don’t magically have an encyclopedia of knowledge in their minds. They are always learning and growing through a collaborative process with like-minded people. I have always aligned myself with people who have already accomplished the goals I...

Clayton Durant of CAD Management

I think the most important role as a leader during this time is to remain optimistic about the future. Negative energy can spread fast throughout an organization and can put barriers upon the creativity that can drive organizations to survive...

Scott Deviney of Chicken Salad Chick

Remain Flexible — In a crisis, things will not go as planned. Therefore, create the framework for your plan while also having a plan B, C and even D in mind. Even as an idea begins to roll out, you...

Ryan Skinner of Summit Financial Partners

I think that the bad times are what define you. They are what separate the good from the great. During the hard times it is important to push harder and dig deeper in order to get to that next level....

Dave DeRose, Author

Prepare your self and consider all the situations you may encounter. Spend time making yourself a better person, manager, boss, and visionary. I have spent many hours in thought as well as prayer and also reading and listening to books...

Anne Carlson of Jiminy’s

Follow your “North Star”. At one point we tried a recyclable bag, but it didn’t work. The color was off, the print was blurry, so our product wasn’t as appealing to the eye. Our North Star isn’t making recyclable bags...

Lisa Dahl of Dahl Restaurant Group

During difficult times it’s not always a good idea to reinvent who you are because that can throw off your customer base. They’re looking for the identity and strength of the brand, even if that means that we have to...

Jerry Mcglothlin of Special Guests

While it is best to get our value from our good works and not from praise, there is something to be said for giving credit where credit is due. That sort of ‘praise’ is just and also quite motivating.

Branden McRill of Fine-Drawn Hospitality

Set goals. Determine as a group what’s important, and what rules can be bent and broken and then bend and break what needs to be. Don’t use old practices because they’re old. Don’t use best-practices because they are no longer...

Vivian Chan of East Meets Dress

Find ways to recharge so you can continue to operate at a high level. No one is superhuman and it’s just as important to not burn out as a leader during tough times. Treat your body and your mind well...

Marie Olesen of La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre and Medical Spa

Stay focused on your mission…do not let the uncertainties damage your core systems, in our case caring for patients with kindness and competence. With COVID safety protocols, we cannot care for the same number of people, so we had to...

Klemen Zupancic of SciNote

Find opportunities — Every crisis is good for reevaluating if what we are doing is still relevant. We took this opportunity of a few slow months to optimize our internal processes and to plan out product expansion that we talked...

Kim Woods

Double down on your company’s purpose — Recommitting to your company’s purpose removes doubt and uncertainty for you and, more importantly, your employees and customers. Providing inspiration for the purpose through passionate communication demonstrates commitment. In recent months, as President...

Greg Samios of Wolters Kluwer

Use data to make thoughtful decisions. Quick decisions in turbulent times can easily lead the business down the wrong road. I’ve seen this play out time and again. I recall a situation when a recommendation was based on a narrative,...

Gardar Stefansson of GOOD GOOD

Build a good team that you can rely on — This is a key feature. Your team is the key in any situation, hard times, and good times. Having a trustworthy, reliable, and hardworking team that has shared vision and...

Ellen Yin of High Street Hospitality Group

Be consistent. Making sure we are consistent in applying all our policies and procedures with regard to customers and staff helps people know what to expect and create less opportunity for misunderstanding.

Chuck Stokes of Memorial Hermann Health System

Leadership visibility — Deliver good news and bad news but deliver “the news.” I have had to deal with many layoffs and restructurings during my 40-year career. They are always painful for those affected and those left behind. Be sensitive...

Bruno Pešec of Pesec Global

When there is such uncertainty as there is right now, some things might be just out of the window. That project that you have been working on, maybe expansion in certain territories or expansion of a certain product line, maybe...

Cristina DiGiacomo of MorAlchemy

Educate. Plato said one of the most important roles a leader should embody is that of an educator. Leaders who are open, transparent and communicative at all times, who take the role of the teacher, gain a closer connection with...

Richard Atkin of Greenway Health

When things are uncertain, acknowledge the uncertainty, determine the facts and identify what is known. Improved outcomes are achieved by focusing on improving the input. This has been our core priority at Greenway during the pandemic, and as a result,...

Ivy Slater of Slater Success

Keep connecting, building, enhancing and nurturing old and new relationships. When you have those moments of needing to pull together a support team or resources, they will be at your fingertips. These relationships also give you the power to connect...

Greg Moran of OutMatch

Business leaders always say employees are our number one asset, and that’s truer than ever. Today, the primary concern has to be the health and wellbeing of your team- mental and physical.

Dr. Jodi Berg of Vitamix

Help people identify their OWN personal purpose and their OWN super powers and then help them discover the symbiotic nature of their purpose and the company purpose and the powerful fulfillment and energy that comes from living with purpose.

Violette de Ayala of FemCity

Give gratitude to others and put them on the stage. When we praise others for the work they have done and we do so in front of others, it motivates, inspires and lifts the work ethic of others. We all...

Paul Miller of Questex

Be transparent, authentic and honest — When it became clear that the Covid-19 pandemic was going to have a deep and elongated effect on the live events business I decided to create an informal blog named the “Quarantimes” that allowed...

Patrick Carroll of CARROLL

Above all, the most critical role of an employer and business leader is to communicate and be transparent with your team. Reassure them and make sure they know everything will be fine, especially during challenging or uncertain times. You must...

Kristin Karst of AmaWaterways

Be “Hands-on” With Your Team — My management style includes spending a great deal of time interacting with our employees and crew onboard our ships as well as being present whenever new employees join the company. The benefits of being...

Kelly Chambliss of IBM Global Business Services

I think it is critical for leaders to provide a clear, honest, and transparent view of a situation and the challenges, then provide a path forward that builds confidence in the future. And you can’t just be optimistic — you...

Janine Garner, Author

During times of uncertainty leaders have to manage the disequilibrium that is being experienced. It requires leaders to work hard to create a safe holding environment, one of security and trust. It requires decisiveness but with compassion for how people...

Colin House of Intellibed

Communicate communicate…be transparent with employees: Treat employees like you would want to be treated. Being kept in the dark is the worst experience, so being open and transparent is key to morale. Communicate to them not only in the good...

Robert L. Blankenship of WebFindYou

Stay Focused — You have to remember your goals and not let bumps in the road detour you from your end game. Hard times are a part of life, but if you have the drive and a solid foundation, you...

Pankaj Talwar of Copperstate Farms

Maintain an active dialogue and communicate with as many of your leaders as possible. Find as many forums as possible to engage with your people leaders and employees as you can — conference calls, virtual video conference calls, emails, newsletters,...

Nicole Jeffrey of RED South Beach

Evaluate constantly. With things being so volatile, it’s important to look at things that worked yesterday and make sure they still work for today.

NFL Pro Corey Lewis

A business leader should be calm and collected throughout difficult situations. Although these challenges aren’t always quick fixes and may require a little more work, you’re bound to figure out if you stay calm. Implement best practices for your business,...

Michael S. Seaver of Seaver Consulting

Know Thyself. I supported the COO of a consulting firm two years ago that was known to play favorites with her staff. As time passed, her favorites began to feel ostracized, overworked, and underappreciated. Their department revenue dipped, employee turnover...

Kym Gold of True Religion Brand Jeans

I had a great team at my last business and have the same now. When you have reliable people on your team that feels appreciated and empowered, your business can be unstoppable. Surround yourself with competent and dedicated members that...

Howard M. Shore of Activate Group

Be Ambitious — It is easy, in stressful and uncertain times, to lose your ambition. This is a test to stand tall. It is a test of courage, creativity, and initiative. More than ½ of the S & P 500...

Flynn Zaiger of Online Optimism

The first thing is to be open and honest with your team. It’s fine to admit that things are uncertain. When we first realized we’d have to be remote, we set up a structure for frequent, recurring updates to the...

Bryan Peña of MBO Partners

Make Hard Decisions First — Our CEO Miles Everson has a saying that unlike wine problems tend to not age well. For example; if an organization is going to have make the difficult decision to reduce staff, it is important...

Ayan Birimzhan of HEALTH PROJECT

Don’t panic. Difficulties and problems will always happen, even if you are prepared. Assess the situation soberly and only then make decisions rationally and not emotionally.

Author Shep Hyken

As leaders, we need to be optimistic. I mentioned this before. We need to be realistically optimistic. We must instill confidence while being realistic about what’s happening. Author Jim Collins shared a great example of this in his book, Good...

Alex Rowland of NewTropic

Stay present. Being the boss doesn’t mean taking time off and letting the staff handle things. Particularly during an uncertain time, being onsite and visible to employees, leading by example, and maintaining the pace is crucial. Every day in a...

Adem Selita of The Debt Relief

Courage is the largest prerequisite to make plans when the future is so unpredictable. Courage is a mission-critical quality in that any great leader which is an exemplary of courage knows how to guide their team into the unknown and...

Philip Meer of PatientKeeper

Communicate calmly, transparently, regularly, and empathetically: Uncertain times invite people to do more interpretation (potentially to make up concerns that may or may not be valid), and could, psychologically, result in serious anxiety and strain to mental health. As a...

Anthony M. Drago of GPS Lifestyle

First and foremost, take some “ME” time by being an early riser, doing some form of exercise and practicing gratitude. I know this might not seem to fit into the traditional idea of a successful leadership strategy, however, if you...

Shannon Gabor of Clever Creative

During the first 3 to 5 weeks of this incredibly difficult, an uphill moment of my business as an owner, I knew quickly that I needed to identify one to two people on my staff that I knew I could...

Ritch Eich, Author

Be highly visible and keep a steady hand on the till. And don’t panic…maintain your composure. Be courageous, honest, transparent, candid, reassuring and show you are genuinely empathic; always keep an open mind and solicit others’ ideas; remember to use...

Raphael Crawford-Marks of Bonusly

Express your good intent. Start the feedback conversation by sharing that your intent is to help the employee improve, learn, and grow. Setting this tone for the conversation will get you in the right mindset and make it clear to...

Peter Polizzi of Splunk

Take some time for your own intentional “airplane mode” to stay balanced. There is a reason why “you should put your oxygen mask on first” Start planning for the new normal and leave enough tolerance for the unknowns.

Michael Saulpaugh of Elegant Music Group

Find the Levity. Exploit the Levity. — Remember to laugh. We’re emotional beings, and this can be a lot easier said than done. I grew up in a household where no situation, no matter how dire or terminal it was,...

Karen Elmir of The Elmir Group

Reevaluate Your Goals — Take a look at what you are doing and if your goals fit the current environment. Make a Plan — Set new goals if applicable and determine the action steps to reach those goals.

John Mackel of Weaver

As the CEO or other executive, be available 24/7. Now more than ever is a leader’s time to build trust and show they are available to work side by side with employees and customers to manage through this difficult time....

Jeff Gill of Germinator

Don’t live in denial — When COVID-19 hit and the phones stopped ringing at Sir Grout, we did not hesitate to acknowledge the circumstances and allow people’s imaginations to run away with them. We brought everyone together and enacted a...

Aaron Velky of Ortus Academy

It’s critical to understand that you and your team have different life priorities. I personally live and breathe my businesses, for better or worse. And while that’s the phase of life I’m in, that’s also a choice as an entrepreneur...

Tiphani Montgomery of Millions Conference

Be Transparent — Honesty and integrity go a long way to building mutual respect in relationships, whether it is your team or customers. When we decided to move Millions Conference virtual due to COVID-19, that meant that I needed a...

Patrick Henigan of Jacksonville Fitness Academy

You can’t accomplish what you want in life if you’re afraid of what other people think of you. You can’t reach your full potential if you’re always planning and never acting. Action and work ethic are the great equalizers. You...

Michael Brown of Children’s Lighthouse

Stay calm and make the right decisions for the right reasons. A decision based upon emotion can get you into a lot of trouble. When the crisis broke out and we started calling each owner one on one, many were...

Matt Altman of Sportiqe Apparel Company

Early on when the pandemic hit, there was a bit of survival mode that kicked in and I used that adrenaline to push forward at a quick pace.

Kevin Crawford of Kevin Crawford Consulting

You must wall off criticism, you must compartmentalize, you can’t get wrapped up emotionally. That goes with leadership and managing in general — must not allow the emotions to run away with you. Good things happen when you’re objective, bad...

John Hartsell and Jeff Scrabeck of DIZPOT

Experiment a lot and be willing to make mistakes (fail forward). In all walks of life, experimentation makes up the elasticity of any personal and organizational growth. Stretching the limitations of an organization is the only way it can determine...

Jason Westhoff of Cousins Subs

Lead by example. During the pandemic, we knew we couldn’t survive without out employees. We also knew many of them didn’t have a choice whether to work or not. Instead of running our business as normal or cutting pay to...

Dan Clark of IBH Population Health Solutions

Be resilient and be adaptable during difficult times. As leaders, we always need to be open to changing our course as the environment changes and that requires a certain amount of humility, self-reflection, internalization, and requires you be adaptable and...

Brittany Merrill-Yeng of Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey

Do not make long term fixes for short term problems. Many people urged us to make steep discounts to allow people to buy the product as the bars re-opened. While this is noble in some ways, our quality ingredients drive...

Brenda Neckvatal

Control what you can control. That’s all you can do. It starts with you. The only thing that is really in my control is how I respond to life and life circumstances. You can choose to be negative in a...

Austin Denison of Denison Success Systems

By far, the most critical role of a leader is to instill a dedicated culture into the organization. Many people say that a leader’s true role is to provide direction, although this is true to an extent, that direction quickly...

Kathleen Black of Kathleen Black Coaching and Consulting

The number one principle that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times is agile focus. We need to be compassionate, we need to be connected with our teams but we also need to be...

Andrea Martin of Success Blueprint Vault

Focus on what you can control”. It is about knowing that no matter what there is valuable work to do. As a leader, is it our responsibility to ensure we don’t lose sight of that and allow noise to take...

Thomas J. Giordano, Jr. of Pond Lehocky Giordano

Growing your business is an exciting time, but there are common pitfalls that we all must be aware of. First and foremost, if you have clients, make sure your service to them does not slip while growing. Second, don’t always...

Pete Warhurst of Red Rover

It is tremendously important in difficult times to make sure the team feels your confidence about weathering the storm. Even if we were discussing difficult things, I always tried to maintain a positive outlook.

Kimberly Roush, Author

I think one of the most important attributes of a great leader is emotional intelligence. I can’t just tell you my point of view without considering yours. I can’t move you from point A to point B without starting at...

Ed Krow of Ed Krow, LLC

Stay focused. The Sky is not falling, this too shall pass. While we do have to be flexible and be willing to pivot it does not mean that we give up our core values or the mission of our organization....

Amara Luciano, Author

Take risks because things are uncertain, not only despite uncertainty. When I first started my short fiction publishing company, debt was my personal pandemic. I had debt coming out of my ears and no way to pay it off. I...

Kevin M. LaChapelle of the San Diego American Indian Health Center

Stay anchored in the mission, purpose, and vision of the organization. Remain true to that and be proactive in the customers you serve, and they will not forget how you rose to the occasion to continue to care for them...

Bronwen Sciortino, Author

Always safeguard the health and wellbeing of your greatest asset — your people. Teach them to put in place a life structure that supports great energy and health levels all the time, and they’ll be able to ebb and flow...