Leading Through the Chaos

 Leading Through the Chaos 

A mid-year reminder to lead with empathy, caution, and connection. 

We made it! We’re halfway through the year, a fresh quarter awaits us, and the economy and world are wacky, as per the usual. 

I feel like it’s a job hazard, but I am finding myself surrounded by people that are struggling in this world today. There is so much pressure for how we are supposed to show up. Mental Health is becoming a focus but so many are struggling with theirs. Financial aspects are at plan with many of our team members. And our world just seems tough. 

So, what do we do and how to we operate as leaders in this continuing environment that is volatile, new, a little scary (or a lot), and is constantly keeping us on our toes? By process of elimination, I would say it’s business as usual, with maybe a little more caution sprinkled in. 

And while caution can look a lot of different ways, I’m going to take this opportunity to remind you to be cautious with your people. I’m not saying to work around the disengaged employees or excuse bad performance or behavior. That would definitely fall into the business as usual category. Deal with it (and them). Now. 

But for the rest, let’s do practice more caution. Here’s what I mean by that. Take care of your people, lean in, listen, practice empathy. If this time is crazy for you, I bet it’s crazy for them too. 

• Consider regular one on one check-ins – This is a great tool to touch base on work stuff but it is also a built in placeholder to check on your people. 

• Ask real questions (not just “how are you?”) – They don’t have to be super deep but think about what could provide an opening for you to get a better understanding of how each team member is doing and how you can support them. 

• Pay attention – If they seem off (not THEIR normal), something may be going on. Ask about it. It can be as simple as saying, “You don’t seem like your usual self. Is there anything going on that I can support you on?” 

• Use empathy if they do open up – Empathy does NOT mean you have all the answers. So many leaders shy away from tough conversations with their team because they are afraid they may not know what to say, have the answers, or be able to fix it. You don’t have to. Listen, show them you care. Most of the time that’s enough. 

Leading is hard. And there are times in our world that make it harder than others. It’s ok if this is one of them for you, it’s definitely one for me. 

We can get through it together. Reach out if we can support you. We have tools available in all of our traditional offerings, and our new Playbook option has on demand training and Employee Engagement resources that are great for the above. 

I hope the rest of your 2025 (and mine) is cool, calm, and collected. 

-Kristi