Answer:
Listen!
Good communication starts with listening closely and asking lots of questions. Understand what is happening. Understand what people (coworkers, customers, etc.) are feeling and confronting. Care about what they are feeling and confronting, because it is their reality. Listen before you speak, and certainly listen before you make decisions.
Be as clear as possible.
If you have listened well and understand what others are facing, you will be better able to communicate clearly because you will be answering questions before they are asked. Through the year+ of running Treasury’s HFA Initiative, we held countless webinars with large numbers of participants. This was a primary method of group communication. We spent a great deal of time preparing for those.
Anticipate and plan.
Even if you are getting pressed from every side, you need to take time to think, anticipate and plan. Anticipate plausible scenarios and plan for those scenarios. Manage toward what you want to achieve, but also plan for other plausible scenarios and be prepared. If you have leadership responsibility, others are expecting you to be prepared.
Have resolve and navigate.
Know that you will face a series of challenges and resolve that you will navigate through those challenges. If you’ve taken the time to think and plan for scenarios, you will be better prepared to navigate through whatever comes your way.
Find ways to recharge even if the pressure seems relentless.
You need to find some way to disengage, even for short periods of time, to recharge the batteries and get perspective. Meditate, pray, take a walk… whatever works for you. Energy is finite.
Keep the end in sight.
When you feel overwhelmed, know that these challenges will pass. Do your best… listen, think, plan, navigate, and push through. In the end, you will be stronger than you were when the challenge started.
