Managing in Times of Unrest, Uncertainty and Change

September 11th Has Changed The Way We Manage
by: Thomas W. McKee

September 11^th has forced all of us to rethink what we are doing. We have been urged to get back to business as usual.

But business is not as it was. It has been dramatically changed. Classic management words like vision, growth, and expansion have been replaced by new management words such as healing and rebuilding. We can no longer manage our business and employees like we did before September 11. But what does this management look like?

This new style of management raises five significant questions:

1. In security matters, what is the balance between overreacting and ignorance?
2. What roles of management have changed?
3. What roles of management have stayed the same?
4. What is "rebuilding" management?
5. What is "healing" management? How do we manage the new stressors of fear, uncertainty, and unrest?

The answers to these questions are important for each company to address and for each manager to embrace. What do they mean?

Many roles of management have stayed the same. We still multi—task, listen, lead, encourage, facilitate meetings, and develop business strategies, coach and problem—solve. The changes are not a matter of practice, but of focus. The war on terrorism has emphasized how important it is for leaders to be leaders. A leader’s focus is HOPE. Offering hope has always been the job of a manager, but it is absolutely essential now.

People need to hear a strong voice of optimism and confidence. Former New York Mayor Giuliani demonstrated for us a great example of this kind of leadership. He emerged, after struggling with prostate cancer and backing out of the Senate race against Hillary Clinton, with a sense of purpose. He became the father figure for New Yorkers as he walked the streets, attended four and five funerals a day, and constantly held press conferences giving the people of New York City hope.

Although we have moved from the "thriving mode" of business to the "surviving mode," the changes are slight. It is not a matter of practice, but of focus. We have changed from focus on vision, growth and expansion to healing and rebuilding. Healing and rebuilding does not mean we don’t think about vision and growth; however, our focus is different. We are thinking about how we can work together with our clients and offer them the services they need. Although we have always sought to meet our clients’ needs and even developed unique services to meet them, now those needs have changed. We can’t assume that their needs are the same as they were before September 11^th. During World War II, President Roosevelt, who did not have a reputation for being friendly with business, joined hands with business to develop the products he needed to win the war. Production of automobiles was replaced by the production of military vehicles. The American auto industry changed clients from the American consumer to the government.

Although some people will try to make unbelievable profit at the expense of their clients, most Americans will see the war on terrorism as an opportunity to serve one another. On September 11^th, some gas stations charged from $5.00 to $20.00 a gallon for gas and a Starbucks near ground zero sold bottled water to rescue workers. Starbucks rebuked the franchise and told them to give the water away. Giving away free water was in the spirit of healing and thinking of the need of the client over the goal of making a profit. The mager role of management that has changed is the "rebuilding" and "healing" focus.

The major focus of rebuilding and healing management is problem solving. We often negatively call reactive management the "firehouse syndrome." But fire fighters solve problems when the alarm is sounded. The alarm has sounded and managers are called upon to heighten their problem solving skills and are ready to answer the new problems that are appearing daily.

Continental Airlines provides us an example of this kind of leadership. On the morning of September 11th, 91 Continental jets were forced to land at airports that were not their scheduled destinations. Thousands of customers were stranded. At Continental’s System Operation Coordination Center (SOCC), hundreds of workers gathered to figure out how to get these clients home. Mike Bleike, senior director of the SOCC said, "There was nothing in the book explaining how to do this." Wherever possible, Continental offered office space and reserved hotel rooms and one by one booked passengers on the limited flights that would be allowed on Thursday. Managers gathered several times a day to regroup through the week—and after each meeting, decisions were passed along to customers by e—mail, fax and phone. They had one goal in mind—to find a way to take care of their customers during this time of crisis.

• What is "healing" management? How do we manage the new stressors of fear, uncertainty, and unrest?

There are two ways that we manage the stressors of running a business in times of war. One way is to focus on what we are doing for others rather than our own hardships. People who focus on helping others often don’t have time to stress over their own inconveniences. The second way is to allow time for listening and acknowledging each other when we face fear. Most of us don’t want to be told what to do. We only want someone to ask, "Tell me about it, what are you feeling?" One effective way of listening is to let people tell stories of their fears. Many love to tell what they were doing on the morning of September 11^th and how it affected them.

Crisis Management International, Inc. (CMI), a tiny Atlanta—based firm, was called on by the giants of the U.S. economy to supply a critical recovery resource for the people of New York City. Their method of crisis counseling is a three—step program that has its roots in World War II and the Vietnam battlefield counseling. In sessions of 15 to 20 people, lasting between one and two hours, participants are guided through three steps: venting stories and feelings; "normalization," in which the counselor reassures participants that the range of their reactions is normal; and education about the typical course of the stress reactions.

Since managers are not professional counselors and the role of counseling threatens many managers, what can we do? Managers can meet with employees and use the three following questions to allow people to talk things out. The first two questions focus on what people have experienced and what they are feeling. The last question focuses on what they can do and how they can begin to get busy helping their clients.

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