CEOs Discuss How to Be an Effective Leader During Turbulent Times

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...