How to Manage People in Difficult Situations

No matter how well your company succeeds in whatever line of business you are in, you often don't get there without some sort of conflict. There are times where companies are hit with sudden emergencies such as a natural disaster or dire financial straits. As a leader, you have to find ways to "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" and get your people through those tough times. This article will show you ways to manage people in difficult situations.

Instructions

1. Assess the situation for what it really is. A large financial emergency is probably a large financial emergency, but maybe there are resources down the road that can help you out of it. Be real about the positives and negatives of the difficult situation and then write down the facts. By grasping the situation for what it is, beyond the surface, you will be able to communicate it better to your people.

2. Tell the truth. Don't try to sugar coat the bad news, but don't exaggerate it for greater effect, either. Just start with the straight truth with appropriate tact. For example, if a popular coworker was fired for stealing money, just say he was stealing money or committed grave acts of mistrust. Sugar coating it as "Well, he wasn't a good fit" will draw smirks from those who know exactly what happened and you will find that there are ALWAYS people who know what happened. Be straightforward and people will trust your words in the next step.

3. Offer every angle of encouragement you can. You already thought about it in Step 1 so just communicate it in Step 3. Offer encouragement and, if you have plans to fix the situation, say you do. If you don't, tell them you are assembling a team of people to create the best plan (you better be doing so!).

4. Offer counseling or one-on-one time and mean it! Maybe the difficult situation was the death of a leader or loss in the community. You really need to "be there" for your people. A little compassion and loyalty can go a long way for an employee. It doesn't mean you have to become an instant professional counselor with all the solutions, but offering a good ear is sometimes all that is needed. If your people need more than an ear, direct them to some good professional counseling and, if you can pay for it, do so. Also, if you say "my door is open", make sure it is open.

5. Grieve and then grow. There are going to be moments where you are going to think about that tragedy more than you want. It's probably because you haven't properly dealt with the pain. Find a moment to grieve over it. Deal with the realistic negativity that is attached with the difficult sutuation. But afterwards, grow from it and then apart from it. Constantly visiting and "camping out" on "Remember when Johnny stole $1 million out from under our noses?" will only demotivate you.