3 Ways to Manage Your Team During Uncertain Times
Whether your business is going through unforeseen changes, you’re dealing with challenges personally or the world and economy is experiencing hard times, we’ll all walk through uncertainties at some point in our business journeys. And, it can be really scary.
It’s easy to panic and jump into fight or flight when hard times hit, but that’s exactly what we need to avoid during unprecedented periods.
Even if things seem to be moving quickly around you, I want to share three approaches to instead slow down, reflect on your business and make wise decisions for you and your team’s future.
1. Keep calm and carry on.
There’s a part of me that has always loved this British mantra from World War II. When times are tough, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to lose our minds freaking out about things that are happening or might happen.
Depending on how the consequences of the difficulties you’re facing may affect your business, holding steady with your current team may be the best option for you.
Additionally, there are a couple solid benefits to carrying on…
You maintain good relationships with your team.
As challenging as uncertain times are for business owners, it’s important to remember that the same is true for freelancers.
They are facing many of the same unknowns and navigating how to come out the other side securely just like you are. If you have the wherewithal, leaning on your team right now will grow their confidence in you, as well as position you as a steady client for them in the freelancing field, where things are often fluid and even unreliable.
If you and your team can make it through this, then you’ll be set up for success when you face future bumps in the road (as all business owners do) and better equipped to get through it together, and stronger for it.
You’re ready for the rebound.
Know that with every economic downturn, there is an eventual rebound. Every recession and downswing in the past has had a coinciding upswing. It’s not a matter of “if,” but “when.”
While we don’t know how long these uncertain times will last, if you maintain the status quo with your team, you’ll be ready to charge full steam ahead when the economy turns around.
However, if you panic and release your team out of fear of what’s happening around you right now, you’ll have to start from ground zero when things do move back to normal.
If I know one thing, it’s that we work better when we have the right people supporting us. Even when things are stressful, doing it alone will always be more overwhelming than figuring out a new way to manage and maintain your team through a difficult season.
And, you’ll be prepared to jump back in, feet first, with a more tight-knit team than ever, when this is all over.
2. Think about trimming back strategically.
Instead of making big, drastic changes, consider trimming back strategically.
Maybe there is a project you can postpone. Perhaps you can delay adding a role to your team that you were planning to hire soon. Or you can trim hours across your team without cutting any positions completely.
With this approach, you get the same benefits outlined above as if you maintained the status quo. Your freelancers will appreciate the work during uncertain times, it can build a new level of loyalty and trust between you and your team, and you will have an effective team in place when everything turns around.
3. Consider whether it’s time to cut ties.
Finally, this in-between period can be a good chance to evaluate what’s working and what’s not in your business and with your team.
Perhaps you’ve been dragging your feet on making a decision about parting ways with an ineffective freelancer. Or you’ve hired a new team member recently who can take on the work at a significantly lower rate.
Regardless of the situation, it can be easier to let go of these team members right now because it’s not personal. However, I would caution you to only use this as a last resort, and only if you were already feeling a pull to end the relationship prior to all the chaos.
There’s a saying that goes: Never choose to quit on a bad day. I would say the same for making business and team decisions right now. Wait until you feel of sound mind and confident that you’re making a choice based on informed opinions, not out of fear or stress.
For more on how to know when it’s time to go your separate ways and how to kindly release a team member, check out this blog post.
Manage your team with confidence in hard times
Feel free to take these tips and make them your own. Of course, you could always take a hybrid approach and implement a couple or all of the approaches outlined here depending on your current team and needs moving forward.
The goal is to remain level-headed and confident amidst the chaos, in order to make the best strategic business decisions and protect what you’ve built for years to come.
Regardless of the approach that’s right for you and your business, I believe that you and your team will come out of this stronger and ready to serve your audience better than ever.
