Good - But good enough?

According to SEF.Interactiv participants, one of the crucial issues in a crisis is leadership; leadership in good times is not trivial, but leadership in a crisis is crucial. What does that mean? As one participant puts it, “you have to be incredibly close to the front line in order to be able to deal immediately with the smaller crises within the larger one. At times like as these, employees expect direction. You have to project calmness to provide reassurance in uncertain times. Communicating with conviction is crucial here.” MGB President Ursula Nold says much the same, as well as emphasising another aspect: the crisis has strengthened employee’s self-empowerment. Those who were able to

rely on good partnerships have come through the crisis well. Many SEF members agree: it was good to pass on responsibility to teams internally and let the employees get on with the job. It turned out that there was plenty of energy available to be harnessed. Good partnerships are important for customers as well as employees. Many SEF. Interactive participants spoke about the efforts they have been making to stay in touch with their customers, both now and more particularly in such crisis situations. Good relationships have not only proved their worth but in some cases flourished, quickly and pragmatically.

Ursula Nold underlines this development as experienced by Migros. She says that the crisis has cemented people together. On the one hand, intensive work has been done in-house, for example in logistics, to secure supplies. She has seen an unbelievably high level of employee commitment. However, at the same time, a strong trend towards local products was also observed: people wanted to express solidarity with local producers – as Migros itself had done. Her employees had received thousands of letters of thanks.

Leadership: awaken the strengths in your team

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