How to Not Waste a Crisis: Mindfully Manage ‘In-Betweenness'

 

All the companies have had their plans, strategies are thrown totally out of gear with the epidemic raging across the world and having to resort to total lockdown and social distancing for the safety of individuals. This requires a new way of working, to keep the business going, to survive if not prosper. at present everyone is facing a certain "in-betweenness" where the old ways of working are no longer workable and they are yet to come to terms with the new way of working. This is very similar to the concept of liminality from social anthropology, to describe the transition between two phases of life.

During a crisis, liminality can be a shared experience for people across communities. learning to harness the benefits would help cope with the epidemic and its associated constraints. 

One should learn to harness the benefits for coping the challenges of the disruption, and it is also of importance beyond the immediate need, as there could be other disruptions or other uncertain events in the future.

Taking charge of this transition requires managing both the challenges and opportunities. 

• This transition is a period of great creativity for people as people explore new possibilities but it can also be disorienting causing panic.  
• This period also offers scope for collaborations even with nontraditional allies but it may also lead to complacency as people ake additional support for granted. 
• This period can also lead to capability building for teams and people as prior expertise may have to be modified, augmented to meet the challenges in future. But this mat misfire if people improvise too much.

The leaders must balance the upsides while avoiding the corresponding pitfalls. The following strategies can help companies meet the demands of the current crisis. 

Pivot calmly using the resources at hand

The best way to manage the crisis and the associated panic is to work with what is at hand. This could mean augmenting a solution with readily available and relevant components. Another way is to redesign an existing offering in one segment of the market to apply it to another segment. 

Working with resources at hand instead of hard-to-obtain resources helps team leaders to enhance the belief that they can control the outcomes. This can mitigate the initial anxiety or panic brought on by the crisis. 

Connect actively, recognise support may be temporary

recognising that the crisis is temporary and the available support and collaboration equally so, Could prompt a proactive change. Recognise that the support may be temporary and instil a sense of urgency so that one does not become complacent.

In times of crisis, early investors and advisors can provide advice and prove to be a good sounding board. While partnering with organisations that are dissimilar from one's own, tapping the expertise inherent can help match solutions with corporate needs can help greatly. It is important to recognise that the transition does not have to be lonely but ensuring collaboration would require active effort and engagement.

Learn without being overreaching

If companies follow the strategies of calmly yet proactively working with internal resources, they are more likely to avoid reckless overreach.

For managers, a subtle understanding of the transition is critical. There is a need to guard against panic, complacency, and impulsivity and take care to do so so that the efforts - in terms of creativity, cooperation and capability building - is not wasted.

How to Not Waste a Crisis: Mindfully Manage ‘In-Betweenness’

Shameen Prashantham • MITSMR blog August 20, 2020