During the current COVID-19 crisis, “How are you doing (as an organization)?” is a common question I receive from colleagues, friends, and clients. It’s asked in a genuine spirit of caring and concern. Given that most people are used to hearing how bad things are from leaders of other organizations, my response of, “We are doing pretty good actually,” typically surprises them.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s been hard and I would prefer we not be in this pandemic, but we are doing pretty good. We are finding new ways of doing things, and quickly learning to provide services and products in new ways. Our team has, for the most part, calmly and quickly adapted to our new reality of working from home. They are engaged and working just as hard if not with even more focus and passion than before the crisis. One of the key things I have observed is how willing employees are to pick up tasks that are outside of their job descriptions to help colleagues and our organization out.

Team spirit is high, and we are working well to manage the present and work towards the future. There is a genuine feeling that we are in this together and that we are the lucky ones. One of my staff told me the other day how fortunate she feels to work with us during this time. She noted that her friends complain of a lack of communication from leadership, and a lack of trust in the process that is unfolding in their organizations.

Healthy cultures create durable organizations!

In a conversation with a friend of mine who leads a large not-for-profit organization, he too noted that they are doing pretty good. He followed that up by saying, “It’s for times like these that culture matters most.” Both he and I have invested countless hours and a lot of energy in creating healthy workplace cultures, and in this time of crisis, we are clearly seeing the positive impact of the work we’ve done.

Healthy cultures create durable organizations! The businesses and organizations that get through this crisis well, will do so because of the seeds of culture they planted years ago and have tended intentionally ever since.

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