Be a Successful Leader During Quarantine

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The lucky among us are snug at our home offices still collecting paychecks during the coronavirus pandemic. We’re not in the line of fire working a high-exposure job, and we’re not laid-off. In exchange for a little cabin fever, it seems like a pretty good deal, doesn’t it? Even so, there are clear and obvious challenges presented by a stay-at-home mandate, especially for leaders. How are you supposed to maintain influence while still being a successful leader during quarantine?

Leadership is About Influence

If you’re the leader of your company, your primary job is to influence your employees. Leaders have followers. Good leaders inspire action and determine the direction the team and their followers will go. While great leaders maintain influence by making themselves visible to their team. We call it Management By Walking Around. Your employees need to see you getting out from behind your desk to evaluate, inspect, and make yourself available. This unstructured time with your team shows your dedication and gives you the chance to call-out their successes and correct your employees’ missteps.

Maintaining Visibility With Your Team

Visibility and transparency is a major hurdle with working remotely. To be a successful leader, your team still needs consistent interaction with you. It’s difficult, but not impossible, to make yourself available to your team. Here are a few tips and tricks that you can implement to maintain influence as a leader during stay-at-home mandates and quarantine:

Check in with your team repeatedly. Start the day with an email to your team. Reaffirm that you’re available for questions, comments, and concerns. Encourage them to call, email, or text.
Preach your team’s relevancy. People want to know that the work they do matters. Frequently remind your team of the importance of what they do. Let them know that they are having a positive impact on the team and praise what they accomplish.
Ritualize team video meetings. Set a schedule for team video conferences to update your team, field questions from everyone, and give people a chance to socialize. Schedule these meetings in advance at least weekly. Make it clear you expect everyone to attend. Explain the purpose of these meetings and how your team can benefit from participating. If you need resources, Zoom and Google Hangouts are great options.
Be open and transparent. Your team is certain to have questions about the company’s plan during this pandemic. Don’t shy away from explaining them. Your people will surely want to know what to expect in the coming weeks. You won’t have all the answers, but your team will be more focused on succeeding in their role if they have some clarity.