It never ceases to amaze me how driven leaders in our community are to reaching their goals and how they rely on their passion to keep them moving forward. While challenging, leading during uncertain times can create an environment for big and innovative thinking.

On August 26, the virtual Thrive event gave participants the opportunity to hear from five speakers who get real with participants about finding their own path to lead and discussing how their companies are currently getting through the COVID-19 pandemic that feels like it will never end.

Jamie Tozzi, Leadership Speaker and Coach and Thrive Committee Chair, kicked off our virtual Thrive session with a discussion on leading from wherever you sit. Recognizing that some of the best things in life come out of challenging situations, Jamie emphasized that amidst the current state of uncertainty, change and ambiguity, leading now is more important than ever. She also made it clear that she believes that leadership happens at all levels in an organization – no matter what your job title is, everyone has opportunities to be a leader.

Here are a couple of tips from Jamie about how great leaders innovate during challenging times:

• Focus on the why, not the what – In tough times, going back to the why will keep you centered and driven; reconnect with the organization’s mission, develop your personal brand (your own why) and assume anything is possible. 
• Every view matters – Leaders at all levels have views that are critical to the organization. Your point of view may allow others to gain new perspective. 
• Overwhelming focus = focus + energy + speed – Incorporating the three elements of focus, energy and speed will allow you to achieve overwhelming focus, a term Jamie coined that describes the intense buy-in and force needed to accomplish major milestones. 

Once Jamie encouraged us to think about how we can be leaders in our own roles and drill down into our own why, attendees then moved to breakout rooms for small group discussions with one of three regional leaders to learn about their innovative leadership and how they have reinvented their efforts to address current challenges.

Katelyn Brewer, President & CEO, Darkness to Light

Katelyn Brewer is the President & CEO of Darkness to Light, the leading child sexual abuse prevention organization in the United States. Katelyn and the organization’s challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic were two-fold: in March and April, the organization became the focus of headlines across the nation.

Reporting of child sexual abuse was down, but there was a 22% increase in minors reporting their own abuse. On top of that, with schools closed, the main mode of reporting had disappeared.

The second major challenge that the organization faced was one of a temporarily obsolete business model and revenue stream: in one of the organization’s most important moments, its only delivery model was an in-person one.

Reporting was down because schools were not in session and the organization’s ability to offer training was hindered by an inability to meet in person. Katelyn outlined her team’s tremendous ability to pivot during this critical time: on March 12, Darkness to Light offices closed – within two weeks a new 30-minute online training on a completely new platform had been developed and was being rolled out. 

One of the most inspiring things about Katelyn’s story was how her team took this extremely challenging situation and turned it into something wonderful for the organization. Almost 9,000 people have taken their new online training since March – 9,000 people who are now in their communications audience and could be potential donors – 9,000 people they never would have reached before. The online training makes it easier for people with demanding jobs or other responsibilities to take the training; and it also addresses the issue of equity and inclusion. Overall, the new delivery model increased accessibility and helped the organization grow their audience.

Katelyn’s team put in countless hours to make this pivot possible, and she recognized the importance of prioritizing their mental health – and her own, too. She recognized that she couldn’t give raises, but she gave five extra personal days and mandated that they were taken in a block to ensure her team got the R&R they truly needed. She made a point to celebrate the small wins and above all else, approached her team with grace and empathy.

Katelyn’s leadership in this moment was a wonderful example of Jamie’s outline for how great leaders innovate during challenging times: she stayed focused on the organization’s mission, took into account every member of her team and did it all with “overwhelming focus.”

Candice Wigfield, President, Hamby Catering

As a family owned and operated business for more than 35 years, the Hamby family has seen ups and downs, but a pandemic isn’t something they originally planned for.

Their business typically consists of:

• 60% wedding-related events
• 20% corporate events
• 10% social events
• 10% retail events

In a span of 48 hours, Candice and her team lost around $1,000,000 in cancelled business and had to make the difficult decision to furlough 85% of their workforce. In a typical spring, they have about 150 staff on the payroll – now they had 20. Candice wanted to be transparent throughout the process and even though it was heart wrenching to furlough her staff, she wanted to ensure that she had a company for them to come back to.

Candice and her team had to dig deep to identify how they can keep Hamby continuing to serve the community, while also staying afloat as an organization.

She and her team utilized three strategies:

• Creativity/Operational Flexibility
• Team Group Think/ Buy In
• Lean on experts, as well as collaboration with other small businesses for best practices

By utilizing these three strategies, these positive outcomes have come out of such an uncertain time.

Hamby continues to provide wholesome meals to Lowcountry families.

Team buy-in was huge as the Hamby team adjusted and made big decisions.

After coming to terms with the fact that events as we knew it would be delayed for some time, they began to focus their attention on the retail portion of their business, which typically provides 10% of their business. Talk about a swift shift in funds and business planning…

There are currently three total retail markets for families to have access to their delicious food. Their partnership with businesses has been critical to the success of these retail shops around our region.

They are slowly starting to bring staff back on board.

It’s never easy to have to furlough staff, but Candice and her small team have continued to adapt and keep the business up and running so that job opportunities will continue to open back up to staff. The fall schedule is looking much better than the spring schedule was and they are hopeful that things are starting to look up for Hamby.

Her team continues to be creative and flexible to continue moving forward in this new environment we are living in.

They have donated and helped the community, especially the medical warriors and first responders.

Hamby values the opportunity to give back to a region that has given so much to them.

During this time, medical workers and first responders are working tirelessly to ensure that our family members are taken care of and their sacrifices deserve to be recognized and appreciated. To date, the Hamby team has raised over $6,000 to feed front line workers.

LaVanda Brown, Executive Director, YWCA Greater Charleston

LaVanda Brown joined YWCA Greater Charleston as executive director in February 2016, bringing more than 20 years of experience, leadership and passion for serving to the organization.

Like all organizations, YWCA did not see a pandemic in their future for 2020…

Here are a few ways that they are continuing to work:

• Even though they are virtual, staff has continued to be available via email and phone and ready to work.
• Their social media activity is on the rise! The YWCA team continues to help public officials get recommendations and resources to their constituents and potentially spot new, different ways to help those they serve during this unusual time.
• Many of their programs have moved online. This includes their WE 360 program, SheStrong and Y Girls Code. For events that are harder to have virtually, like #WhatWomenBring power lunch, YWCA has postponed the event until October 1, 2020.

Throughout LaVanda’s presentation, five key themes rose to the surface:

The impact of this moment in time is global and simultaneous

It is critical to first get all perspectives before responding; leadership starts with listening

Trust your gut, but also be flexible. Resist trying to control everything

Look for an accountability partner—not necessarily a mentor, just someone you can be real with and who will hold you to your plans

If you are missing something, or something is off, ask others for help and listen for what to change

Maggie Driscoll, Chief People Officer, Blackbaud

Maggie Driscoll joined Blackbaud as Chief People Office in January 2020 and is responsible for all human resources functions for Blackbaud’s global team. What a time to start in a new position…

While January and February brought exciting opportunities to meet the people throughout the country that work for Blackbaud, March came crashing in with the COVID-19 pandemic and there was work still to be done.

In this new environment, they were able to continue to focus on their goals:

• Support each other
• Support our clients
• Support our communities
• Support our employees and their families

Communication became critical and Blackbaud has never been more connected. Here are a few ways that they have pivoted:

Adapted to 100% remote overnight

Very early on, their team went to working remotely in abundance of caution. Now that they were remote, they had to find ways to stay in touch with each other and continue to do great work.

Re-packaged leadership training to deliver in a virtual environment

Empowering their people has always been important, but it was important to reach them where they were. They still found ways to connect and help their employees grow by offering leadership and other trainings online.

They continue to support and create an inclusive and thriving culture that empowers and engages employees, creates great managers and provides everyone with a sense of belonging.

Supported each other in unprecedented times

These times aren’t easy for anyone. Many of us are going through things that others have no idea about and it’s important for leaders in companies to understand and be empathetic towards individual’s situations.

Here are a few ways they are reaching their people:

• “Mindful Monday” – Blackbaud wanted to continue conversations with their employees by creating “Mindful Monday” posts on their All Employees Team channel. This has not become a part of the fabric of what they are going to do and the feedback and dialogue from this has been phenomenal.
• CEO videos – the Blackbaud CEO, Michael Gianoni, brings employees from around the globe into his home to have a discussion. He may not have the answers, but this encourages discussion
• Chief People Officer updates – Maggie continues to send emails and teams updates so that everyone is aware of what’s going on
• Coffee with Maggie – Since Maggie is 8 months in, in the midst of the pandemic, she is setting up virtual Q&A roundtables with employees so that she can continue to meet and get to know them

It is very obvious to me that, not only is Maggie passionate about being a part of Blackbuad (even in the midst of the weirdest year yet), the pandemic has continued to fuel Blackbaud’s innovation.

Interested in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training and discussions for your employees? Join us at our virtual Diversity, Equity and Inclusion conference: https://cmcc.flywheelsites.com/events/?id=1597