As Bob Dylan first sang in 1964, “the times they are a-changing’,” and leaders across the nation are bucking up to lead their staffs through these evolving times.
The emergence of the novel coronavirus and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement this year calling for increased diversity and opportunity in business, while being starkly different from one another, are upending how American workplaces—Baton Rouge included—operate.
While authenticity has been a buzz word in leadership trends the last few years, it can be a tricky trait to master as a boss. As the Harvard Business Review discussed in a 2018 podcast, women leaders may juggle expectations on how they are expected to look or behave, or may not even know who their “true self” is. Now, throw in a pandemic and we’ve got a party.
We asked three women leaders from three different sectors—nonprofit, higher education and industry—how they lead effectively and with authenticity during these trying times. Answers have been edited for grammar, length and clarity.
“People crave real. They crave honesty. It’s OK to sometimes to say, ‘I don’t know, but let’s figure this out.’ They want to be on a winning team that will somehow, some way, figure out how to help, how to grow, and how to win.
I don’t believe in leading through doom, gloom and death. It’s about inspiring the team to be part of solutions, against all odds, despite how hard it may be. Women are resilient. We are makers of the world go ‘round.”
—Jennifer Maggio, CEO of Life of a Single Mom
“Make a habit out of explicitly caring for your people and creating an environment where they can care for each other. Share a little bit about your life and ask them about theirs and use that to inform your decisions about how you can collaborate virtually—synchronously and asynchronously—in a way that works for caregivers in context, be it homeschooling your children during the day, caring for a parent or loved one, or even watching over a stressed-out pet. We are living in a VUCA world—volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous—and the only way for us to survive and thrive is to find a new way of being. And that starts with talking about how the world is different, and how we can now be different together in more effective ways and become more resilient—even stronger—by being different intentionally.”
—Sasha Thackaberry, vice president of Online & Continuing Education at LSU
“For me, the biggest focus has been finding ways to connect personally to ensure we preserve team idea generation, to allow space for unique perspectives and to foster stress-relieving comradery. As a leader, I’ve allocated extra one-on-one time with team members to discuss work goals and to discuss job and personal challenges. Our team is dedicating time on Monday mornings to a virtual book club on race relations. And I’m trying to preserve connectivity through park lunches and by encouraging interactive games on our Zoom calls. To me, empathy, flexibility and encouragement are paramount to ensuring my employees remain motivated, physically safe and mentally healthy during this time of high stress and social challenges.”
—Stephanie Cargile, public and government affairs manager at ExxonMobil Baton Rouge.
Check out the Harvard Business Review’s podcast here.
