First Steps for Thriving in a Whitewater Environment
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As we rebuild end-of-the-year school systems during the pandemic, we are faced with trying to plan for a very unclear future next school year. To deal with this, I was doing some reading about how to thrive during "permanent whitewater," a management term borrowed from the turbulence of whitewater rafting. While I had planned to share that piece today, we will share it in the future because there were two precursors that needed to be in place for organizations to thrive in whitewater environments. These are things we can work on now: 1) ensuring that everyone has the ability and responsibility to lead, and 2) building trust.
First, to ensure that everyone has the ability and responsibility to lead, your mission, vision, and values need to be crystal clear with all members of your organization. Whether it is an IT employee being invited into a child's home, a cafeteria manager being asked to pick up food for a parent's elderly family member, or a teacher facing an unanticipated event in an online environment, a command-and-control approach to leadership will not serve employees well during a crisis. If employees are clear on how the mission, vision, and values help us in making decisions in the current context, they can lead. If community and employee safety comes first right now and learning takes a backseat in the current environment, they are able to make decisions and lead from any seat at any time. During crisis, organizations need everyone to be able to lead at any time.
Second, leaders must build collective trust so that people feel like they are being cared for and are safe being vulnerable. The SHRM article linked here was framed in the context of the 2009 recession, but has great tips on Building Trust in Crisis.
As you work toward establishing organization-wide trust and ensuring all employees have the ability to lead, this will get your organization prepared for the next steps in thriving during whitewater environments.
Williams, M. (March 9, 2009). "How to Build and Keep Workers' Trust in a Crisis." SHRM Online. Downloaded April 27, 2020. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/behavioral-competencies/leadership-and-navigation/pages/buildtrustincrisis.aspx