Who has time to manage their workforce effectively during a pandemic?
Corporations in America have faced many difficulties throughout history. No matter the nature of these challenges, it's clear that the tempo and morale of any firm falls squarely upon the leadership. Unsurprisingly, many leaders under duress are in doubt of their ability to provide top level care for their people, because they're scared it will take focus away from the customer. This is where it all falls apart, and leaders who still operate from this frame of mind are quickly falling behind. Thankfully there are a few innovators out there who are eager to show others the light when it comes to treating their staff right.
Enter Rabiah Sutton, CEO of FWD Think. As as small business CEO in charge of a government contracting firm working with the Department of State, Air Force and Army - she has experience delivering for tough customers. More importantly, she knows that she'd have a tough time taking care of those needs without addressing her team's needs first. So what's her secret sauce?
Trial and error during crisis is an art form. Get creative!
What this means quite simply, is that without creativity you have no differentiation. In the highly competitive market of Federal contracting, it's more important than ever to demonstrate to your potential workforce that you do more that host an annual kickball tournament.
You have to be willing to show vulnerability alongside your staff that you don't have all the answers, while at the same time presenting an aggressive plan for asymmetric ascension towards the team's ultimate goal. Now try to do this when your staff is under extreme stress and uncertainty not just for their jobs, but also their families safety during a worldwide health pandemic.
Well, that's exactly what Rabiah did. She deployed a structured communication system and feedback loop, that put her people first. She didn't stress a bottom line, she only sought to make sure that her people were doing fine. As she went through this process - it became clear that she had something of value that many other leaders and managers could use. Determined to not let the moment pass - she's packaged her proprietary method for pandemic management and will releasing the "Resilience through Crisis" toolkit later this week. Needless to say - we are ecstatic to see this make a splash throughout corporations nationwide. So what kind of mindset is needed to succeed in a pandemic?
A mindset free of limitations, always exceeds expectations.
Rabiah's current HR processes and systems aren't wrapped up an amorphous external counseling system. She took it directly upon herself to architect a different approach. One that is repeatable, scalable, and flexible for every type of corporation (assuming you employ humans, and not robots).
She brought in outside experts to offer fresh perspectives on inspiring her workforce while she simultaneously empowered her staff to change their limiting beliefs through a guided and structured process for self efficacy. All this is done to align employees first, and then there can begin a more effective and proper assimilation into the corporate mission.
After bearing witness to hundreds of different CEO's and leaders in the government contracting space, it's immensely refreshing to see someone finally get it right. Cheers to Rabiah for taking it upon herself to demonstrate deep leadership and a willingness to help others also win in this fight!
