Leading in Crisis: Creating Emotional Safety

When times of crisis arise, leaders often have limited time to get their thoughts together. In those moments of urgency, you have to be able to rely on your values and your mission to anchor yourself and your team–and, you need a plan. This past Spring, when the country was ablaze with protests following George Floyd’s murder, many leaders felt the pressing need to address their communities. Julene Robinson, Executive Director of the region for IDEA Public Schools Tampa Bay, practiced exemplary leadership communication during a team building workshop in June. From the remarks Julene gave her team, we have broken down the three most important things your team needs to hear from you.

She began the meeting by speaking to the weight of the situation:

“As we enter another work week during this pandemic, please know I am very aware of and sensitive to the battles our Black co-workers, families, sons, daughters, students, and neighbors have had to endure the past seven days. On top of working from home during a global pandemic, the community is experiencing a range of emotions in response to the killing of a Black man, again by police, combined with a long history and series of actions reinforcing that their lives are somehow less than that of their non-Black counterparts.”

1. Honor the difficulty of the present challenge and name your shared experiences. Julene practiced this step beautifully by being upfront about the challenge at hand, and then sharing a piece of her own life that was affected. Don’t be afraid to use terms like grief anxiety, and trauma to describe the situation and your own feelings. It is important to acknowledge that this issue is and will continue to be exhausting, so hearing the leader be authentic about current challenges builds trust and connection. As COVID-19 continues to impact our communities and classrooms, we encourage you to be open and share honestly, as Julene did. ex) "I know everyone is deeply concerned, and rightly so, about their children’s safety and the wellbeing of the country.”

Then by sharing her own experience, she modeled great vulnerability and authenticity:

“As a wife and mother of a proud Black man and daughter, and as a leader and educator serving Black and Brown communities throughout my almost 30-year career, I would like to publicly check-in with you. In my own home, the range of emotions have included anger, fear, distrust, inner turmoil, sadness, and mourning.”

2. Give permission to feel the emotions of the moment by modeling vulnerability. When a crisis hits, the leader can never avoid or back down. Lean into the fact that your community is relying on you to be the model, and use that opportunity to show your team that vulnerability is essential and welcome. Just the relief of getting permission to really feel during painful situations can be powerful. Feeling vulnerable is incredibly difficult, but for the leader to show up with personal vulnerability gives permission and encourages others to feel vulnerable, and feel safe doing so. We all recover differently, and safety looks different for everyone, so modeling openness in your own unique way as the leader will tell others that they are safe to do the same. ex) Julene shared the anxiety and sadness she is experiencing in her home and how it is directly impacting her family.

Finally, she verbalized her dedication to the team through the sentiment of hope:

“Please know I see you. I hear you. I respect you. I am proud to be with you here today. I am proud of the incredible and diverse talent of our team. IDEA Tampa Bay is committed to building a better, a more just, today and tomorrow for all.”

3. Bring people back to safety and positive/hopeful emotional states. Once your team is comfortable being open and authentic about their feelings and you have recognized the challenges of the present, you also need to ensure that there is safety and hope ahead. When people have open emotional wounds, it gets harder to connect to their sense of mission and do the important work for students. You, as the leader, must form the narrative and demonstrate a mood of confidence. Julene connected people to each other and to the mission that is their common purpose and gave her team a reason to feel stronger, supported, and hopeful. To help your team come back to a feeling of safety, give them a positive state to connect to–for example, remind them of a challenge from the past that you have surmounted together. Another way to help people feel safe is to open the opportunity for everyone’s voices to be heard. ex) Virtual Town Halls, or weekly staff calls, allow people to ask questions, hear updates, voice concerns, and offer ideas–this gives all team members the chance to be a collaborative part of the restoration process.

During times of crisis, when you honor the challenge and pain, model vulnerability, and offer a future of hope, your action as a leader keeps your team connected to each other and to you, and enables them to return to their important mission for the next generation.