Berger Leadership Blog

A majority of your time as a leader is spent managing your employees – through good times, challenging times and, yes, even political times.

The election season, now heavily upon us, has the potential to lead to tough conversations and the unveiling of some interpersonal issues. But like any other challenging time, a leader can rise to the occasion and coach their staff through this season.

Author David Finkel provides four tips to help leaders successfully coach their staff through a potential tumultuous election year; however, I think these tips are beneficial whenever an organization comes into a challenging time. His tips include:

1. Focus on your core culture. A diverse workplace is important. It allows people to hear different perspectives and learn new ways of thinking. However, if tensions are running high, focus on growth and teamwork and celebrate the little victories.
2. Lead with integrity. And lead by example. If you're stressed out, your team will notice. Model the behavior you want them to follow.
3. Coach your key employees through times of fear, doubt and procrastination. This might include creating smaller, bite-sized tasks for those employees struggling to meet deadlines.
4. Give them space and time to vote. Encourage your teams to exercise their right to vote without any repercussions should that time cut into normal work hours.

Like any difficult time, make sure you and your employees exercise respect for one another. While we may have different viewpoints, when in the workplace, we are all on the same team and should be promoting each other's growth and successes.

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