As the COVID-19 pandemic plunges the world into a state of uncertainty, we can all come to an agreement that this is the most difficult time to be leading an organization, especially those working in the nonprofit community. Around the world, leaders are dealing with threats to their personal health, the health of their staff, communities, and beneficiaries. They are also facing threats to their funding and threats to their operations.
In the midst of all these, I have a simple message to share: “as a leader, you have an important role to play, and it’s about time you roll up your sleeves because excellent leadership is essential.”
Leading your organization through the COVID-19 pandemic will require your team to act indecisive, innovative, and responsive ways, but they can’t do it on their own, they need you to take the lead. And Despite staring into the unknown, ordinary people like you and your team can answer the call for help.
In this bite-sized post, I intend and hope to inspire you as a leader to act now to protect yourself, your staff, the community you are serving, and the organization you are leading.
So how can you as a leader go about accomplishing that task?
First and foremost it is important for you as a leader to understand that leaders who take a “wait-and-see” approach are likely to find their organizations in serious trouble. However, those who act now may be able to limit the damage, especially damages that may result from the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a leader, it’s time to stand up from the crowd and act now. And the best place to start at is by looking for ways to manage the crisis before it escalates and gets out of hand. It is true to say that with quick thinking, nimble management, and smart policies; you can limit the damage this pandemic causes to your staff, community, and organization.
Therefore, to manage the crisis start by establishing a dedicated crisis management team within your organization. This is a group of management leaders from different parts of your organization who meet daily to set priorities, identify issues and make decisions. These leaders should be dedicated solely to managing this crisis for the next few months. Their sole duty should be to manage the crisis and establishing critical action plans. With a crisis management team in action, your team will stay safe, and your organization's revenues and operations will stay stable.
Develop ways to keep your staff and beneficiaries safe at all times. As a leader, you have the opportunity to create conditions that slow the spread of the disease and keep people healthy. You can do this by implementing smart and healthy policies within your organization. Such policies might include steps such as asking employees to work remotely, Shift services online where possible, encourage employees and beneficiaries to stay at least 6 feet away from each other, Clean and sanitize areas and surfaces that are frequently touched, Require frequent, thorough hand-washing, encourage sick employees and beneficiaries to stay home, suspend non-essential contact with high-risk populations, such as the elderly or medically ill, and finally share up-to-date information and provide enough education regarding the covid19 pandemic to both employees and beneficiaries.
It is very important for you as a leader to look for ways to avoid financial Risks. In the long term, almost every single organization will need to shift how it spends and receives money. You need to be sure of sustainability in the long run. Funding should be allocated to the core activities of your organization. If you need to begin cutting costs, begin with non-core activities, protecting core activities as long as possible.
Finally, as a Leader, you will need to develop a strategy that will enable you to protect your organization’s core activities. Core activities should be the activities that most directly lead to your intended outcomes. In times of crisis, it is critical to protect the core, and research has shown that organizations that focus on their core activities are more likely to succeed in the long run.
I hope that you will take these thoughts and put them into action during these difficult times to keep your organization running and effectively meeting the needs of those who you serve.
"It's my job to inspire you with time-saving resources like these ones. Thanks for reading, and please don’t forget to share with others who might find these articles interesting!”
Rumishael Ulomi
