Leadership Lessons from the Paris Terror Attacks
In times of crisis, be clear about where you
want to go and flexible in how you get there.
Leadership during a crisis is very different
to leadership in a normal environment. Tension and stress can prompt knee-jerk
reactions, but when an emergency strikes thoughtful, considered action is even
more vital. On November 14 last year, amidst the horror of the terrorist
attacks in Paris, I received a remarkable email, demonstrating a leadership
style that addressed crisis in a way that I have seldom seen and one that I
found to be both effective and very human.
Let me put it into context. Stéphane Girard
owns two wine bars in Paris. As he woke that Saturday morning, still dazed
as the horrific details of the attacks continued to roll in, he received an SMS
from one of his managers: “What do we do about opening?” The message caught him
off-guard. He hadn’t really thought there was an option: his immediate
reaction was, “We can’t let the terrorists win; we have to open.”
Increase perspective
On consideration, he recognised that his
employees may have a very different viewpoint.
His manager, for example, lived in a
working-class neighbourhood which was experiencing unusually heavy police
activity. Meanwhile, there was an official plea from the mayor of Paris
urging Parisians to stay home and refrain from going out.
Girard quickly realised that he couldn’t just
order his employees to work, nor was it appropriate, given they had sought his
leadership, to simply say, “Do as you wish”.
To get a broader perspective, he sent out an
SMS to people in his network asking their advice, “Would you open Wine-by-One
today?”
The responses he received ran the gamut from
his initial position to highlighting very important concerns about customer and
employee safety, as well as touching on issues of responsibility and employee
empowerment.
After considering his options, he sent
the following email to the bars’ managers:
“Good morning to
both of you,
I imagine that
you, like all of us, had a horrible night, and that you are still cloistered at
home, but safe at least.
What has
happened (and may still be happening) is really horrible – and could have
been even worse if the kamikazes had been in crowds and caused hundreds of
deaths, as was certainly planned. I also believe that we’ll see further
similar attacks in the future. My thoughts are obviously with all the innocent
victims that were murdered and their loved ones. We will all need time to
grieve.
We can’t do much
about what happened yesterday, but we can still shape the future, at least our
future, and make sure that Paris continues to live.
Keeping shops
closed today would contribute to making Paris a ghost town and hence handing a
victory to the terrorists who are seeking the demise of our country and our
civilisation.This is why I think we should open, even though my guess is that
we will have very few clients.Yet, it is showing our defiance to their grim
plans and our resolve not to let them win.
However, I also
understand that, after the terrible shock of last night, the mood to open
just isn’t there. I’d like to thank you as well for holding the fort
last night, and closing down responsibly, before going home to your families
and safety.
I’ve been asking
for advice since this morning, to get a sense of what people would do if they
were me. I am convinced that any decision to open should remain a deep
personal choice, which is why I do not wish, nor even can consider taking
a decision (on my own) that would require you to come to work; particularly if
you don’t feel safe, which is something I would understand and cannot deny or
even dismiss at this time.
We must make a
choice (together) as to whether to open tonight or not.
If we choose to
open, then I would suggest we do so without the temporary student interns, and
that we put up a sign and candles in memory of the victims, and explain
that it was important for us to be there and provide a place for people to come
and seek and share human contact. And, that we feel free to close if
business were to become too slow or simply too depressing.
However, this is
only a proposal on my part, based on my reflections, on the advice I’ve
gathered, and from my observation of how life is resuming back in our streets.You
are free to make your own decision, as managers of your bars, consulting your
teams and those around you. Be assured that whatever shape your decisions
take, they will be treated with utmost respect and I will fully and completely
back you up.
Take time to think
about it before making the call at 6.00 pm. I thank you and of course I am
available by phone if you wish to discuss further."
Beyond the humanism in the communication, I
was impressed by two things: the way he reached out to his extensive informal
network to get their take on a business decision; and the way he built employee
engagement by making them part of the decision process.
Clarifying intent in a crisis
By consulting his informal network, Girard
admitted that he was not an expert and was willing to take advice from many
divergent perspectives. He was also willing to accept the responsibility not
only of how the decision would be made but for the consequences of that
decision, acknowledging the expertise of his managers and conveying his trust
that they would make the right decision for their respective establishments. He
is effectively saying, “There will be no questioning of your decision” and
“I will bear the entire responsibility”.
Girard’s intention is clear. By telling his
managers, “I don’t want to contribute to making Paris a ghost town, yet I want
you to feel safe”, he displays great clarity in his objective, and the
flexibility to accept whatever decision they choose. While he cannot morally
make the decision for them, he can frame the issue and convey his resolve.
For teams to be effective, they have to
understand (and adhere to) an objective; have the skills and capabilities to
reach the objective; and the self-determination to make the right
moves. Leadership in this situation is not just about flexibility, it’s
about ensuring teams have a clear understanding of the situation, the mastery
to take the action required and the autonomy to make decisions. It is, in
effect, about Fair
Process, a leadership style that seeks to build
trust and commitment to produce voluntary cooperation.
Fair Process Leadership
The other point about Fair Process is that
Girard, having established the “burning platform”, allows different potential
solutions to be imagined and explored. Finally, as the leader, he takes
his part of the decision and explains it, stating explicitly how execution
would be rewarded (mostly in pride and active resistance to those that had
caused so much harm to Parisians the previous evening).
Hopefully, there won’t be a “next time” for
Girard to apply what he learned. But there are lessons to be gained in
complex and ambiguous environments, not least being: the importance of a clear
vision; the ability to create mechanisms for expanding perspectives; and having
an empowered team of people with the focus and skills to reach the goal.
Loic Sadoulet is Affliate Professor of Economics at INSEAD.
http://knowledge.insead.edu/blog/insead-blog/leadership-lessons-from-the-paris-terror-attacks-5042?utm_source=INSEAD+Knowledge&utm_campaign=7af206a79c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_11_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e079141ebb-7af206a79c-249840429
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