Nothing reveals character and skill more than a crisis, and the pandemic has truly shown which businesses and even individuals have the resilience in the face of insurmountable odds. Yelp.com reported that over 100,000 establishments closed down for good in 2020—that’s a lot of jobs lost and investments that never saw returns.
We’re about a year into the pandemic, and no matter how the COVID-19 crisis hit your business, it’s never too late to start all over again. If you want to find success as an entrepreneur despite these unprecedented circumstances, and if you don’t want this pandemic and recession to continue derailing your dreams for your business, here are some key traits you need as a leader, businessman, and entrepreneur in the time of a crisis.
Flexibility
One key trait of businesses that survived the pandemic was the ability to pivot and ride the waves of change. These were restaurants that immediately partnered with delivery services or provided curbside pickup options and grocery stores that transitioned to e-commerce.
It’s not unreasonable to assume that this is the same trait that marks a good leader and entrepreneur in times of crisis. You need to be able to adjust according to the number of cases and state-sanctioned restrictions. Your ability to decide well in the face of pressure will also make or break your business’s chances of survival.
Excellent communication skills
A good leader must always be a good communicator, especially in times of uncertainty. He or she must have the ability to convey facts with both accuracy and empathy, especially if they’re communicating hard truths. They must also be able to listen well, especially to their team or employees who have more to lose than them.
Mental and emotional health literacy
We need to do away with the notion that we always need to power through pain, confusion, loneliness, and frustration. In the same way that physical pain signals our mind that there’s something wrong, our negative feelings also signal that we need to process things in our inner lives.
We don’t need to shy away from feeling our feelings, grieving our losses, and acknowledging our pain. As long as we keep invalidating our sorrows, we will never truly heal from them. Let 2021 be the year you finally learn how to manage your mental and emotional health, not by going through the motions or simply powering through the pain, but by going through the process so that you can truly heal. A mental health professional may be essential for having these necessary tools for mental and emotional health literacy.
Social responsibility and empathy
Since we live in a time of so much suffering, true visionaries are those who see beyond themselves and their own needs. While your business’s survival is essential, it’s also important to place people over profit.
In 2019, some of the world’s top CEOs signed a statement saying that they will prioritize their employees over income. Among their commitments involved delivering value to consumers, investing in their employees, sourcing ethically, and supporting their local communities. How can you live out these commitments in your own company? How can you show empathy to those around you, who stand to lose so much more than you ever can?
Creativity and resourcefulness
Desperate times call for creative and novel measures. Running a business in a crisis entails looking at things from a new perspective and finding innovative solutions because these are problems you’ve never encountered before.
Good leaders can also look into all of their options and look at problems from all possible angles. A resilient entrepreneur will never shy away from receiving help where it can be found and will always be resourceful enough to still think of long-term solutions. Being a good entrepreneur during a crisis means staying calm and choosing paths that will help the business in the long run.
Resilience
If your company or small business fails, the ability to bounce back and pursue a different passion is also important. Some people need more help than others, and it’s OK to admit that. If you find yourself lost, a career development coach might be able to help you find your way back.
There might not be a guidebook for how to run a business during a pandemic, but you can leverage the wisdom of others and even your experience to navigate this difficult time. So don’t give up just yet, and invest in yourself so that you have enough resources to get back up every time your company falls.