PREMIUM SEARCH Search by job title, geography and build a list of executive contacts
"Instinctually emotional" is how one of Rudolf Giuliani's deputies described the New York City mayor's response to the World Trade Center attack. Giuliani may have earned high praise for his cool-headed mastery of the massive response to the disaster. But it has been his emotional dimension -- his empathy for the fallen, his sense of humor in the midst of calamity -- that has elevated him to heroic status.
There's a lesson here for managers, says Peggy Klaus, head of an eponymous Berkeley (Calif.)-based firm that has provided communications guidance to the likes of Goldman Sachs, Cisco Systems, and Levi-Strauss. In advising these blue chips on everything from presentation skills to crisis management, Klaus emphasizes that the best managers tap into their own emotions to connect with their staff. She recently spoke with Industries Editor Adam Aston about what managers can expect in the current crisis. Here are edited excerpts of their conversation:
Q: In the wake of these tragic events, how do workers react?
A: For one thing, people are likely to be less motivated in the near term. A highly successful senior investment banker mailed me the other day saying, "I know I will not have the same motivation I had before the disaster for some time to come."
And in general, people are feeling incredibly vulnerable. Many will want to hunker down -- to stay home and work, and not many will want to travel. It's even as simple as fear of tall buildings. There's also survivor's remorse. One associate said she feels guilty -- sad and depressed -- even though she didn't know any of the victims.
Q: How can a manager handle such an unprecedented situation?
A: Well, many people are feeling the need to talk more, and you can help with this. One investment banker said on Monday and Tuesday, when the markets reopened, he spent the entire day talking with his team. He felt it was the most important thing he could do.
The keys are to be both flexible and sensitive. I heard about a conference call that Monday. One of the executives said, "We have to move on. We can't let this incident bring us to a halt." Of course, several others on the call were very distressed. They said, "Wait a minute. This is not something that will go away."
As a supervisor, you have to be able to deal with both sorts of people. You can tell the first to have patience. And to those who are overwrought, you might suggest taking some personal time. Co-workers must learn to be adaptable too. They have to take into consideration the way others feel -- and that can be a challenge with a very aggressive staff.
Q: Do men and women deal with this sort of crisis differently?
A: Yes. A senior Wall St. executive observed that the men in her group don't want to talk through their emotions. They want to move on. Even though this is consistent with gender behavior, she wasn't prepared for that. So as a way to check in with them, instead she asks, "How are your wife and children?" That lets them speak about those they love and eventually leads back to themselves.
Q: Stress has been a problem across the board.
A: People are having plenty of physical difficulties -- stress and insomnia. I'm suggesting mediation and exercise. And of course, it's also helpful to call people -- check in with families, friends, and colleagues. In addition to therapists, religious counseling is key too.
Q: Yet managers can't be counselors. How can they handle some of these situations?
A: Let your team know that you really are available to talk. And when workers come in, you should be good a listener, a good receptor. You don't need to be a therapist -- simply listen, or offer advice about where to seek help. It's important to ask questions, and to be nonjudgmental.
Q: But managers may need help too.
A: To help manage the situation, it's typical for managers to put their own needs, and the grieving process, aside for the moment. But in seriously affected companies, managers need to reach out to professionals to help their teams cope as well as themselves. It may be group-therapy meetings or a one-to-one hotline with therapists.
Q: What if workers are reticent to come to work or to travel?
A: Certainly those who saw the disaster may not want to come back. A client who watched one of the planes hit the World Trade Center from her apartment can barely let her daughter out of her sight. So she's working at home three days a week. And as people become more comfortable in time, schedules can be adjusted.
It's the same with travel. You can't penalize people who don't want to travel. Minimize travel for now: Use the phone, e-mail, and videoconferencing.
Q: How can employers prevent discrimination against Arab-Americans?
A: A zero-tolerance policy should be clearly stated -- and reiterated -- from the top. Let everyone know there will be immediate repercussions if that policy is breached. There should also be a conversation about how it is human nature to be angry and to want revenge, but we must remember that simply isn't acceptable. Education is also a wonderful idea. There's a lot of complexity here that Americans aren't familiar with. So information and discussions about racism, the Middle East, Islam, and the roots of this conflict would help folks to sort out their anger.
Q: Are there any long-term implications from such a incident?
A: It will be a mixed bag. Most people simply want to get back to work -- to be surrounded by routine and by people and things they know and like. Plus, people are insecure about the economy. So I don't think we'll see a jump in turnover.
A smaller group has been so shaken by this event that they are thinking -- some for the first time -- about what's truly important to them. A contact recently talked to me about his thoughts on how he has been leading his life: too much work, not enough time with this family and friends. He's thinking about getting off the fast track. There may be more people like this out there than you'd guess.
Q: What advice do you offer to managers who, amidst an already grim national crisis, are faced with issuing layoffs?
A: In these times, I've found that executives tend to resort to giving just the facts about a situation. So their heart and compassion is not delivered with their message. Their biggest mistake is not to take their own emotional temperature, or not to consider what their audience -- the workers, the shareholders, the public -- is thinking, feeling, and fearing. In they don't, they lose the empathy that is vital in such a situation and very robotically read the numbers, the layoffs, the losses.
Q: So what would you tell an airline executive who's facing both the death of staff and is now looking at layoffs?
A: It has to be done with great care. Put together a message that has both heart and the facts of the decision. If you don't, your audience will never connect with you -- they may even become angry. Acknowledge that this is one of the most difficult things you'll ever do -- not to do so is to really rob the employees of what they need. That's how you can build a bridge with them.
Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.
Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed.
Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video.
To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here.
Copyright 2001 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
Printer-Friendly Version
