How to Lead Your Team Through Choppy Waters to Stay Afloat While Navigating Change

A senior healthcare administrator client said something that struck me during our last goal-setting session. She chose the words “stay afloat” in regards to helping her team to navigate change during another surge of the pandemic.  

They were struggling to balance their day-to-day tasks during resurgence along with the list of strategic items now coming due that were recently released after the 15-month backlog.

The coaching session took place while she was vacationing at her lake house.  

While on her deck she was watching boats and other crafts ride by on the water. Then suddenly, she had an epiphany about anchors and buoys.

What are Leadership Anchors?

Anchors can represent two concepts in our leadership, positive and negative:

• The common goals, norms, and connection to mission and values that keep the team focused during times of crisis.
  In times of uncertainty, chaos, or stress, teams naturally come together to achieve a common outcome; this has been most evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders and teams drop anchor on these emergent issues to move toward viable solutions.  

• The tasks or goals that no longer serve the team especially during a crisis. These items are dragging the team down and keeping them from moving forward. They may need to be re-prioritized.

As teams stay anchored, the water continues to flow and swirl around them, pulling and tugging on their energy and resilience.

What are Leadership Buoys?

Leadership Buoys help the team float, rise more easily to the surface, and see more clearly across the water.  

Buoys not only float and serve as a resting place, but they also bob and weave with the choppy water, remaining flexible with the changing tides.

What’s important to note about buoys is, they vary from person to person. (More on that in just a minute…)

Anchoring Up and Anchoring Down

As we navigate this fourth surge of the COVID pandemic, leaders serve themselves by having a regular mechanism to evaluate their anchors. 

Starting with the negative anchors…

What tasks or projects are holding the team in place or dragging them down?  

What are the goals and tasks the team is still working on that are not aligned to the current need?  

Once you have identified them, how can you and your team re-prioritize (or de-prioritize) them? 

Ensuring that you have regular conversations and check-ins with your team about these items helps build trust and safety in the process and ensures your team knows they have your protection.

This is called Anchoring Up!

Regarding the positive anchors, it helps to understand and articulate the immediate and important work in front of you.  

Where does it help to drop anchor on those critical and emergent items?  

How can you help the team frame the work meaningfully, tying it to the vision and mission of the company or department?

Doing this will help the team stay focused during times of uncertainty and crisis.

This is called Anchoring Down!

Reaching the Buoys

To rest, renew, and manage their energy, leaders need to help themselves and their team find their buoys.  

It is only from a buoy that leaders and teams can see the broader surface of the water and gain perspective on the horizon.  

And it is only from a buoy that they can make informed decisions about where they may need to anchor up, anchor down, or take a moment to float.

What are your buoys?

What kinds of interactions and activities can help the team float to the surface, not only to see a broader perspective, but to be able to rest, relax, and renew their energy?  

Example Buoys

Buoys will be different for every team and every team member. Here are some ways you can use to identify them.

• What do we need to create rest and rejuvenation? Do we need time just to talk with each other and connect?

  Taking the time to understand what each person (including you) needs to renew energy, helps the team feel empowered and valued.

• How can we ensure we recognize ourselves and each other? Are there celebrations we need to have?
  Each person will have a preferred way they like to be recognized and rewarded.  Some will find meaning in connecting with others outside of work tasks, while others may value quiet time, meditation, or solitude.

• How can we be sure each of us has time to be fully away from work? Or alternately, what is needed to more effectively negotiate our work and personal lives?
  Is it important for team members to shut off completely every once in a while or is it more helpful for them to have more flexibility in how they work?  Understanding what each colleague needs to feel effective and efficient will help the team navigate the choppy waters.

Move Beyond Staying Afloat with Leadership Anchors and Buoys

Yes, change can feel like a ride on choppy waters when navigating it during times of crisis. The most important thing to remember is to get curious with your team. 

Ask them what they need, both individually and as a whole. Then, figure out what it would look like to deliver it to them.

Sometimes that’s easy enough to say, but difficult to execute.

So, if you’re at an Inflection Point struggling with anchoring up, anchoring down, or identifying your team’s buoys, I can help. I’m here to partner with you to find your best solutions. Schedule a free coaching consultation with me.