If you are working in a company and managing a team, this article is for you.
I am coming from a servant-leader point of view. Also, I am also aware that I am impacted by the values of Japanese management, which takes a more caring, maybe a fatherly/motherly, attitude towards team members.
Rule #1:
Take care of yourself.
If you are anxious, fearful, sad, hopeless, you cannot hide these feelings, and you should not.
If you don't have enough emotional energy, you cannot go on supporting your team.
Put your oxygen mask first before you go and help others.
Rule #2:
Take care of your team as people.
Exhibit concern towards their and their family's well-being.
Be careful not to cross the professional boundaries around privacy, but show concern. The best way is to show this in a team meeting by asking, "How is everybody? How are your families?"
Then, it doesn't become personal.
Rule #3:
Set a routine to have a 15 min check-in without talking about the business.
Talk about the tips on coping, survival needs on cleaning or buying food.
Talk about good routes and self-care.
Share information and wisdom.
You don't need to provide all answers.
Tap into the collective wisdom.
Rule #4:
Create a team identity.
In social psychology, they say external threats create a good chance to consolidate a coherent team identity.
Do you think some of your team members are not too engaged? Do you feel you are distant from some of them?
As social animals, you can remember that in the face of danger, humans flock together. So, this may be a good time to close emotional distances.