What do you do lay off 20% of your workforce or bankrupt your company?
Dan Price CEO of GRAVITY PAYMENTS (A USA Seattle based Company) is no stranger to using his emotional Intelligence in his company he has a reputation as someone that has empathy and is a very intuitive and adaptable leader. He was faced with a drastic decision due to the unprecedented circumstances his company faced with revenue that had been halved due to the current world health situation.
He is a man who doesn’t believe in top-down decisions and decided to speak to the workforce and that meant 40 hours of talking by the time he had spoken with everyone about ideas and the companies finances, including that of the employees themselves.
Next leadership met with everyone, then with small groups and individuals seeking information and innovative ideas. Classic EI steps meant that they were able to identify, understand and manage the stress and resulting emotion. Some were financially able to take the hit, others, new mortgages, families, elderly dependants, etc. Everyone was given a form and wrote down what they could give up for the company and those who had more gave more and those that couldn’t give what they could.
The key message is transparency and listening is the best way to engage with people. Listen not to hear and pay attention and understand what is really being felt and happening, in other words, there are always consequences in any given situation so be bold and stay focused on the end game.
Or in another way remember VUCA – the situation is volatile, uncertain, credible and ambiguous; nothing stays the same, everything is in constant change and agility is essential or as the WHO spokesperson said a few weeks ago there is no time to wait for a perfect solution you need a rapid one and to keep assessing the momentum and impact of your actions. When you work together and you trust those around you and you know they have your back. In these turbulent times, it is essential to know your team and that they will deliver what they are meant to deliver.
Do not go outside the box until you have used the box that you are already in and know your preferred behaviors, avoided behaviors and adapt accordingly.
#weareallinthistogether
