Give People a Chance to Lead in a Crisis or Disater
In times of unprecedented crisis, like the one we are living in, there are opportunities for true leaders to rise to the occasion.
That was one of my main takeaways from a conversation earlier today with Saudade O’B, the award-winning journalist who’s chronicled more than her fair share of seismic global events over the course of her career.
“Every disaster I’ve covered — the tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, Haiti earthquake — these are opportunities where I’ve seen leaders emerge,” she told me. "In a crisis ... how do you support those people who are stressed ... and how do you give people, hope and a chance to lead?"
This morning’s conversation with Saudade is part of our Leading Thru Change content initiative, aiming to aspire, inspire and help during this time of ambiguity, uncertainty and crisis. I believe that, for the content marketing community, it’s important to be hyper-sensitive now, to what people are going through. If you don’t have something relevant and helpful to say, consider taking a step back.
That said, the rules for content creators are radically changing in this new homebound economy. As CEO of Saudade O’B Productions, she sees opportunity for her 11-person company to be creative, with remote video interviews and marketing at the forefront.
“How do we think of shooting things that don’t require you to be next to somebody?” she said. “People can shoot themselves now and the quality of video is great — that kind of opens up a lot of new pathways.
That idea — creativity borne out of necessity — was also something I discussed today with Sheryl Crowe, the nine-time Grammy Award-winner who joined us from her home studio.
“When this whole thing started happening ... we made three lists. We made a list of things I have to do, things I want to do — like that I've never done — and ways to give back and go where I wanted to go,” Sheryl said. "I’ve always believed boredom is the greatest proponent for creativity. The mother of invention.Now [my kids] are literally using boredom to figure out ways to create worlds of there own, around them."
These are just a few of the many subjects we touched on in today’s discussion: from managing today’s deluge of news and infornation to supporting the small businesses that need us most to a little forecasting around where Saudade thinks things will land once this pandemic is over and the Saharan dust settles. I encourage you to watch the videos if any of this resonates. (Spoiler: Sheryl talks about the baby chicks her daughters and sons adopted so they can give eggs away to their neighbors in the midst of an egg shortage that need no refrigeration. Not to mention the baby ducks that follow them wherever they go and how they were taught to fly and migrate South via a motorized kite.)
Watch the complete interview with Soledad O'Brien and special performance by Sheryl Crow:
In this time of uncertainty and crisis, many of us are thinking about how to uplift those who need it most. That’s why we also asked those who are fortunate enough to be in a position to help to support Jose Andres’ Foundation & World Central Kitchen, whose mission is to mobilize local chefs and communities to provide first responder disaster relief in the form of hot, nutritious meals on wheels, from food banks. If you can, please make a donation and support their efforts.
Our Leading Thru Change series provides thought leadership, tips, tricks, love and resources to help business leaders manage through crisis. Check out some of our most recent articles:
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