A Leader’s Pandemic Playbook

  Once it became clear that the nation was shutting down to avoid Covid-19, many companies scrambled to put processes in place to continue operations remotely. Not Capstone Advisors: the company had already secured contingency plans for such an eventuality, though its professionals admittedly never envisioned the eventual reason needed to implement them.

“We were set up to be able to walk away from the office building and be fully-staffed and fully-operational and fully-effective in our homes,” says Capstone president and founder Alex Zikakis.

The actual reason, though, didn’t matter as the company set up its plans. “Good leadership is having contingency planning in place” long before you need it, Zikakis says.

Zikakis is among the many leaders within the commercial real estate industry who were able to successfully field a curveball that no one saw coming. As CRE was among the first industries to be affected, many professionals experienced shell shock, as fundamentals rapidly deteriorated.

However, executives such as Zikakis quickly regrouped and responded as best as possible as events continued to unfold. Now, having gained a bit of breathing room, they are cautiously making near-term and long-term plans based on the new reality.

In the end, that is a leader’s job. He or she should not assume the role if they are not able to quickly think on their feet.

But what has been particularly telling about the Covid-19 crisis is that it is fundamentally a public health crisis rather than an economic one. In many cases, CRE leaders are operating outside of their wheelhouses as they seek to both guide their companies and ensure the health of their employees, clients and tenants.

“Our first priority is making sure we’re keeping our team members safe,” Zikakis says. To that end, the company has outsourced counseling sources for its people if they choose to use them. Here too, Capstone’s foresight came in handy.  For several years, the company has maintained a nutritionist to assist employees with healthy lifestyles,  focusing not just on what they eat, but also on mindfulness, Zikakis says.

As the pandemic raged on, Capstone quickly established a new routine for its operations, one marked by frequent video conferences and additional strategies to ensure efficient remote work.

However, amid these unusual times, exceptions are made to accommodate the unique practice of sheltering-in-place—even in a routine business meeting. One of the first virtual meetings that the company held was with its accounting department, which kicked off with participants introducing their pets to their co-workers. Cats, dogs and birds were all in attendance, which was more than okay with Zikakis.  “Anything that helps,” he says.

Leaders, in short, are now creating a new tool box as they navigate this challenge that few ever envisioned happening.

That said, the fundamental principles of good leadership remain the same no matter how strange the circumstances are. Clear communication with a team. Compassion. The ability to admit when you don’t know something. Surrounding yourself with experts. Authenticity and passion. Leaders continue to rely on these core fundamentals as they adapt to the Covid-19 crisis.

STRONG INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

Since Covid-19 began its march across the US, Toby Bozzuto, president and CEO of Bozzuto, has remained in constant communication with the company’s nearly 3,000 employees. He continuously sends video addresses to employees via email, recognizing how important it is that employees understand his thought process and directly hear what is on his mind. The videos and various communications additionally serve to instill confidence among the professionals that the company will prevail against the crisis. “You don’t want to be on a ship that is sinking and have the captain running around screaming that we’re all doomed,” he says.

Mindful of the anxiety that their staff must be feeling, good leaders are currently relaying a vast range of relevant information: short-term company-wide steps, long-term industry outlooks, contingency planning, updated revenue reports, revised budgets and new statistics.

And with employees well-informed, leaders are able in turn to signal to the outside world that their company is on top of things.

JLL has been bombarded with client calls since the start of the novel coronavirus, according to Claudia Steeb, managing director of capital markets at the company. “Everybody’s calling, looking for advice, asking ‘what should I do, what should I do.’” She suggests the company has been able to field this mammoth wave of inquiries thanks to its own strong, internal communication network.

“We’re doing our best to prepare our people so that they know what our company’s position is,” she says. Regular briefings also do wonders for employee confidence, Steeb says, echoing Bozzuto. “One of our senior leaders today was speaking and he said ‘We will get through this. We’ve been here before, we’ve gone through these tough times, we’ve gone through the times where you don’t know where your next deal is coming from, what’s going to happen, but you maintain your calm, and we will get through this together.’”

The absolute essential ingredient to these communications, both internal and external, is transparency, says Camille Renshaw, CEO and Co-founder of B+E.

In times like these it can be a difficult balance to maintain a calming presence, while not hiding any truth from your people, she says. But give your listeners some credit, she adds. “People are universally aware that no one knows when or how this pandemic will end.”

To that end, Renshaw has been striving to offer sober, realistic, risk-averse advice to clients and shareholders. She continues to communicate with clients concerning current investment strategies, worst case scenarios and preparation for such scenarios, while offering optimism.

“People rely on us to help with their financial health and projections and decision making. So, that’s what we tried to focus on in our client communications,” Renshaw says.

Also key, according to Zikakis, is to first, personally establish and clarify your goals, prior to communicating with staff or clients. “The worst thing you can do is not have a clear understanding of what it is you’re trying to achieve with the people within your organization.”

BE COMPASSIONATE

These days, every email that Steeb sends out and every call she makes includes an inquiry concerning the recipient’s well-being. It’s not just lip service, she says. Especially in times like these, you have to acknowledge what is most important to people, she says. “The key thing is, listen and as you do, be a giver, not a taker. Not only do you have to listen, but you have to have empathy when you listen and when talking with people.”

This is not an attribute that you can fake, Bozzuto says.

An exceptional leader has a robust store of emotional intelligence and thus they are further able to connect with those that work for them, he says.

Balancing this empathy in the middle of a deep recession that is increasingly being likened to the Great Depression requires skill. A leader has to both serve the best interests of those that work for them, while at the same time ensure that the company can thrive through the crisis, Bozzuto continues. “It’s a tough balance” because sometimes those two goals do not always intersect. “Even when tough decisions need to be made, you have to be mindful of how you treat your employees.”

THE POWER OF ‘I DON’T KNOW’

It may seem counterintuitive as leaders are typically portrayed as sure and steadfast, but great leaders are not afraid to say ‘I don’t know,’ according to Steeb. Consider the alternative: it can crush your credibility in the long run if you routinely act as though you have all the answers when you don’t.

However, ‘I don’t know’ comes with a caveat. The statement must be followed by a ‘but.’ “What you want to say is ‘I don’t know, but I can find out,’” Steeb says. Good leaders have a network of in-house professionals or industry people that they can turn to for answers. Such connections are particularly invaluable right now when real-time information is the currency of the realm.

“Something may be correct today, but becomes incorrect tomorrow because the markets changed,” Steeb says.

Furthermore, do not underestimate the power of giving an opinion while acknowledging your uncertainty. “I’ve come to learn—even if you’re wrong, clients want to know your opinion,” Renshaw says. “They would rather you make a bet and tell them the truth, than not tell them anything.”

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH EXPERTS

It may be a cliche but effective leaders surround themselves with people who are smarter than they are, says Bozzuto—and just as importantly are receptive to their ideas and willing to listen to what they have to say, even if it doesn’t necessarily meet your own views. “Listen to them and let them be the ones to propagate new ideas. And then you can learn about these ideas more in depth, if you want to pursue them.”

It is equally as important to surround yourself with experienced veterans—especially now.

Bozzuto counts himself lucky to have his father to turn to for advice. Having launched the firm more than 32 years ago, Thomas Bozzuto is the chairman and co-founder of the firm.  “He has seen two or three or four crises of different sorts,” says his son, “and I’m able to draw on his wisdom and ask, ‘What did you do in this, how did you think about this, how did you do this.’”

Partnering with senior professionals, even for mundane decisions, is a useful practice to employ, says Renshaw. Such advice is exceptionally invaluable now. “For many in the industry, this is the first market cycle they have seen,” she says, pointing out that even for those with 11 years under their belt, which is more than a decade of a  career, nothing like this has happened.

Although no one in the past 100 years has experienced a pandemic that went on to upend a global economy, professionals are still able to extrapolate pieces and information from past crises and events, she says.

This is not to say that younger staffers have less to contribute. On the contrary, this cohort has an integral role to play during a crisis as well. The supposition that only executive leadership can generate ideas and execute decision-making within a top-down structure is old school, Bozzuto says. There have been many changes in the commercial real estate industry within the past decade, including an influx of younger people interested in CRE as a career choice.

These professionals have an enormous amount of insight and ingenuity to bring to the table, he says.

The unique skill for leaders is learning how to accept advice from younger generations, Steeb says.

“I think one of the hardest things that we all struggle with is to not be afraid of change and adopting new ideas and concepts, and to be a great leader, you have to do that. Sometimes that means, yes, you have to really listen to that 22-year-old that just came out of school, because they have great technology concepts and ideas that we didn’t even think of.”

“You have to be open to very different advice, and be able to listen to that, but you also have to, long before you get to this crisis, have attracted those people,” Renshaw adds. “I think diversity of all types—we do tend to talk about male/female, but I am including age diversity—is important to problem solving.”

We need to have differing opinions, we need to have various temperaments, we need to have an array of experiences, sitting around the table, she says. “This makes you better prepared, but it also helps you go faster and be more responsive, and that’s crucial” right now.

AUTHENTICITY AND PASSION

These traits are also essential to outstanding leadership.

“The underlying theme for being a successful leader in any industry, but especially in commercial real estate is you have to have a passion for what you do, because if you don’t have a passion for it, it’s very hard to put everything in perspective,” says Steeb. “Because when times become challenging, as they are right now, it’s very easy to say, ‘forget this, I’m just not going to do this’, if you don’t have a passion for your work.”

Authenticity goes hand in hand with passion, adds Bozzuto. “It’s important for leaders to really believe in something, stand for it, be unrelenting in their beliefs—in the sense that if it’s a mission for a company or an ethos for an organization that they continue to drive it. And then hopefully, those people that choose to work with that person, have a similar value set.” Of course, a great leader will ensure that they do.