The past month of leading the @CUMCAnesthesia’s ICU response to the #COVID19 pandemic has been a crash course in #leadership.

Ten lessons learned.

1) Accepting change and managing change are daily activities.

What we planned in the morning is revised at noon; and irrelevant by sundown.

Never forget the importance of communicating with the team, as early and clearly as possible.

2) Emails must be short and sweet. No one has time for anything more.

A call is a must to work out complexities and nuance. But text quickly before you call to see if it’s an okay time.

3) You’ll notice quickly when you’re in a conversation with someone who has more time than you do.

Affirm them—sincerely—and then close it down. If you don’t protect your time, who will?

4) Leadership in a crisis is a laboratory in emotional intelligence (emotional competence)

Recognize when the emotions swell. Name them and identity why.

And then let them pass and speak calmly to make your point.

5) Communicate clearly all the time. Organize your points. Give appropriate support, either narrative or data, ideally both.

Acknowledge the strength of others’ ideas, but build your own argument.

If there is silence, propose a consensus.

6) Listen. Listen. Seek to understand, not to reply.

And once you understand, then respond.

Be open to having your mind changed.

7) Regulate emotions, but don’t be afraid to use them. Harness their power to make a case. Control the anger and use it for your ends.

But don’t damage the relationship. You will need to work with your colleagues again.

8) You need the people around you, and they need you. When you disagree, do it respectfully in a way that builds trust rather than destroys it.

When you say no, make the reason clear, and identify the idea behind your stance that you both agree on.

9) Do not seek the approval of others. Do what you believe to be right, without fear or favor.

Sometimes the most important thing you can do that day is to say “no” to a powerful person.

10) Every day, go in to work with a clear goal to accomplish, and with an eye toward strengthening the relationships with those around you.

Your day is not a success unless you do both.

Bonus) Organize. To lead is to facilitate others working well together. Ideal leadership is to be an organizer of organizers, all with a common aim.

You cannot do it all. But your team can. Make sure they do. And give your team the credit.