For leaders in the long-term care industry, the past few years have felt like one crisis after another. In 2020 we had a sudden and urgent need to protect staff and residents from COVID-19. Shortly after, we faced a supply chain catastrophe, which then led to “The Great Resignation.”
Now we’re facing what many are calling the “The Great Re-Engagement” while trying to balance a budget with an inflation rate hovering around 8-10%.
How could anyone possibly be prepared for the diverse range of expertise needed to overcome all of these challenges? Epidemiology, logistics, human resource management, finance, etc. While we can’t be experts in all of these areas simultaneously, there are two things I’ve found all crises have in common – they’re stressful, and they require innovative thinking. Taking a closer look at these two characteristics is what can help you become a better leader through a crisis. There are three big-picture things we can do to become better leaders in today’s world.
Assess your emotional intelligence. There are two parts to emotional intelligence. The first is: “I know my limits. I know what I need to manage my stress, and I make time for it.”
The second part is: “I can ‘read the room.’” In other words, you’re conscious of how others are feeling and act appropriately.
If you’re a leader who is lacking in either area of emotional intelligence, your emotions may have you snapping at members of your team or lashing out in other ways. You may struggle to bring your A-game to work because you haven’t slept in weeks due to anxiety. It’s easy to see how this can negatively impact a team. However, an emotionally intelligent leader who is able to manage his or her own stress and empathize with others is a game changer when times are tough.
Embrace conversational leadership. Conversational leadership means that you recognize and value the personal relations part of your business – engaging with others, not just about work, but also showing interest in their interests outside of work. It’s not just about making an effort to reach out but also making an effort to listen.
Sounds easy enough, right? It’s not. Because even if you are interested in getting to know those you work with, finding time to engage isn’t easy, especially in the midst of a crisis. Prioritizing getting to know your employees can get in the way of other “more important” things like project deadlines, updates, etc.
The key is to get creative with incorporating into the organization. Do you have time scheduled to have a dialogue with employees? Building that time into my schedule and listening to employees has been the spark for many of the competitive recruitment and retention efforts at Loretto.
Become an innovative problem solver. Problems are unavoidable, hence why problem-solving is an important skill to master. However, the majority of problems that persist over time are not a single problem; they are complex problems. Complex problems have several elements to them, and they come with fire and a lot of smoke. If you don’t take some time to pull them apart and identify all of the elements of the issue and contributing causes, then you end up focusing on relieving the symptoms and only providing temporary relief.
For example, it’s easy in today’s world to say, “everyone is experiencing a workforce shortage,” but we can’t be willing to accept that reality. We need to cut through the symptoms we’re hearing: “I’m burned out,” “Why aren’t you hiring more people?” “This is the worst place to work!” and get to the root of the problem. This requires us to answer some tough questions.
- Is our pay competitive in the market? Do we offer a comprehensive benefits package?
- Are we offering the hours people want?
- Are we looking for people in all of the places our prospective employees might be? Or are we just putting an ad somewhere because we always have?
- Are we creating an environment that is pleasant for employees?
Innovative thinking requires digging deeper and creative solutions, whether you’re talking about workforce, supply chain, finance or something else altogether.
Emotional intelligence, conversational leadership and innovative problem solving are a powerful combination. Together, they can help us all become better leaders – leaders that are equipped to lead through crisis.
Dr. Kimberly Townsend is President and Chief Executive Officer of Loretto, a continuing care system located in New York, with assets in skilled nursing, housing, managed care, short-term rehabilitation and medical adult day services. She is also the author of “Lifecircle Leadership: How Exceptional People Make Every Day Extraordinary” and “Lessons in Lifecircle Leadership.”
The opinions expressed in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News guest submissions are the author’s and are not necessarily those of McKnight’s Long-Term Care News or its editors.
