Leading Teams Through the Valley of Despair
When guiding teams through significant organizational change, a common first step is to assess employee readiness for change. The COVID-19 pandemic however blindsided most businesses, leaving teams completely unprepared. Rather, teams have been forced to adapt and develop new habits, goals and systems in a very rapid way. As suggested in my previous post “Leading Through Chaos”, it is important to have an active Communications Plan to guide your team through the coming weeks and months. In my Executive Coaching practice, I find that teams are now in the midst of a very difficult period known as the “valley of despair”, marked by struggles with motivation and apathy. Good leadership during crises is the ability to reframe the crises for your team. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’s five stages of grief (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance) is a helpful tool for employees to make sense of and keep perspective on what they are feeling as they adjust to…