When Best Practices Go Out the Window - Lead with a Fresh Mindset!
One of the best experiences I’ve had over the past year was serving as a mentor to high school students participating in a program called Build.org. Build’s experiential, entrepreneurship-based curriculum ignites the power of youth in under-resourced communities. I loved meeting weekly with my mentees, getting to know them, and watching them present to groups of business leaders. But, in mid-March, the need to shelter-in-place turned the Build model upside down. I had to throw out everything I’d done and start with a fresh mindset.
But crisis creates opportunity. While the change was jarring at first, I’m proud of what I’ve learned and how I was able to leverage my professional experience with my personal passion for mentorship -- and vice versa.
Lead with Values | Behaviors | Skills
Build’s curriculum is built around a core of six “Spark Skills.” Similar to a corporation’s values and behaviors, these Spark Skills remain consistent through every part of the program:
Collaboration | Communication | Grit | Innovation | Problem Solving | Self-Management
When our conversations got tough or we weren’t making progress, I brought us back to a conversation around Spark Skills. We discussed which ones could help us lead through tough times. I reminded them that showing up, completing homework, and giving a final presentation were ways they could demonstrate self-management and grit. In companies, values and behaviors should anchor us even when everything else around us is changing. Similarly, I realized I could use the Spark Skills as a compass to help my students find a way forward. Lead with your values and behaviors -- they remain consistent when everything else becomes adaptable.
Build Trust - Check ON people and then IN on them
Way before we knew there was going to be a pandemic, I built trust with my group of four inspiring students. I showed up for them every Tuesday night and I asked about their lives, friends, family, sports and pets. I checked ON them. Only after that would I check IN on their progress and see how I could best support them with their assignments. Trust is a foundation in all healthy relationships, personal and professional. If you’re a people leader, check ON your people, this is a time to lead with humility and empathy, and build trust.
Connect and Engage
When we made the switch to distance learning, I doubted my ability to keep my group engaged. The class meets at 5:30 pm. Students had been home all day with plenty of distractions. But since weekly attendance is part of their grade, I tried creative and new ways to encourage them to show up and be rewarded. I added new touch points and created a group text. Do we chat? Not much, but they do acknowledge my more-frequent outreach. I send the group one to three texts a week with words of encouragement and gratitude. This maintains their motivation for the weekly call and the program overall. We must do the same thing for our employees during this time -- show up for them and check on them more often than we did in the past. Ask them about their concerns: health, economics, work/family balance, and loneliness. Our job is to connect and engage!
Adjust Expectations and Outcomes
Everything has changed. My students’ final requirement of the program is a solo presentation. It’s nerve wracking in a normal situation. Are they ready? I’m not sure. But I can help them practice. During our final mentor sessions, I “flipped the script” of mentor/mentee. I gave a short ad hoc presentation and asked each student to share two observations that they liked about my presentation and two pieces of feedback where I could improve. This approach stimulated their thinking on how they could prepare and helped them overcome their fears for their final solo presentation.
Just as we would do with our teams at work, we have to find ways to engage and inspire. I threw out my “playbooks,” began with a fresh mindset, and used the principles I’d learned at work to lead and inspire my team.