Finding a New Normal: What Leaders Should—and Should Not—Do as They Lead into the Unknown

Given the events of 2020 and effects on the field of international education, many leaders are facing the same challenges and uncertainties as are their staff in their personal and professional lives. How can those tasked with planning and leading do so when the landscape keeps shifting? 

International Educator spoke with Cathleen Swody, PhD, an experienced industrial and organizational psychologist, about how international education leaders can help their teams navigate uncertainty and find a new normal as the pandemic enters its second year. Swody cofounded Thrive Leadership and provides executive coaching, workshops, and leadership development programs for clients across industries. 

Swody earned her doctorate and master’s degrees in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of Connecticut and her bachelor's degree from the University of Delaware. To share her passion for professional growth and development, Swody has served on the University of Connecticut faculty, where she taught leadership to MBA students. 

In an environment where everything has been completely upended, why is it psychologically difficult for people to make plans for an uncertain future? 

There’s so much uncertainty, and we don’t know where the light at the end of the tunnel is. I think that’s actually why this time period has been so stressful for so many of us. It keeps stretching out and stretching out. Our brains do better when they have a concrete sense of what is going to happen [and] how it’s going to play out. We have a little flexibility, but this is the time frame. We don’t have that time frame anymore. 

What helps people, psychologically, is if they can at least put a time frame around decisionmaking. [For example, it would help to decide that] in September 2021, we’re going to look at the data and make a decision at that point, whether it’s to go forward or press pause again. Create micro-decisions along the way, even if it’s just to make a touchpoint and say we’re going to evaluate these data sets, we’re going to talk to these partners, and then we’re going to make a decision. I’ve seen that work really well with people and with leaders especially. Because it gives a sense of progress. 

Why is having a sense of progress helpful?

That’s part of the difficulty with uncertainty—we feel that we’re stagnant in making progress. We’re not using what we call in psychology our agency, where we can influence what is around us. So even creating a set of small decisions, small steps forward, is helpful psychologically because we [can think], “Okay, we’re making progress here. We’re conscious of what’s going on. There are things beyond our control, but we’re influencing where we can.” That just gives us some structure, and takes it out of our subconscious as a worry, and gives us some attention, some focus back so we can apply it to other things.

How can higher education leaders help their staff deal with uncertainty, especially when leaders themselves might not know what’s happening?

International offices [are] all facing these challenges. I’d recommend that leaders first and foremost start with themselves. Recognize and acknowledge these are unprecedented times, and take care of themselves. Because decisionmaking, good communication, good management, doesn’t occur when an individual leader is anxious, not sleeping well, not physically taking care of themselves, distracted, ruminating over all the uncertainty, and going through all the possible scenarios that could come out in the next year. That’s not a good place to lead from. Give a little bit of space, where reasonable, to be self-aware of how they’re handling the stress themselves. It’s like the mask, the oxygen mask on a plane, do yours first before you help others. 

From there, the second piece is communicating with staff as much as possible [and] getting into regular cadence. There’s a lot of real uncertainty and unknowns. And there’s no way of knowing those things. However, there are probably some things that staff can know. 

What do leaders need to keep in mind about communicating to their teams? What happens when leaders do not communicate well with staff?

Many leaders assume that what’s floating around in their heads is just magically communicated and people are somehow aware of it. In reality, staff, when they don’t hear enough information, do what we all do as humans—they start to make up stories. And these stories are never positive stories. The stories are always negative stories, and this is [consistent] across different types of industry and personality. Where possible, communicate with people—what is known, what is unknown, the known unknowns—just to give people clarity and some insight to the situation and the reality of it. And part of that is definitely saying, “Here’s what we don’t know. And here’s what we can’t know.” Be really clear, making sure that this doesn’t become a vacuum of information with silence. It’s very hard to have silence in addition to everything that’s going on in the world.

In reality, staff, when they don’t hear enough information, do what we all do as humans—they start to make up stories. And these stories are never positive stories.

Leaders should also be cognizant that the staff is under pressure, too—that they’re worrying about things. We want decisionmaking to be objective for leaders, and for them to have clear insight into the context and the situation, to make sure that the communication and interactions with staff have a level of empathy. To say, “I know we’re going through a lot. I know you’re going through a lot.” Recognizing that helps people feel like a human being at work, and not just a number. I think it’s important to deliberately value people and to express that value during every opportunity.

How can leaders maintain workplace morale among staff who might be worried about job security and are possibly dealing with an increased workload? 

The people who are still there might feel survivor guilt: “Okay, I’m overworked and this is not enjoyable, and I’m living through the pandemic, but at least I have something right now.” They [feel like they] can’t feel bad for themselves. So there’s a lot of stress going around. Again, [one of the things you can do is] show empathy and be specific about what’s making this challenging. Help people see the positive in what they’re bringing. 

Conveying people’s value to them can go a long way in people feeling seen and heard. And that’s what I see a lot in surveys across industries—[people] want to be recognized. They don’t want to be rewarded. That would be nice too, but it’s not so much the reward as they want the recognition, to be seen for their effort. And the fact that you’re doing this during a pandemic, when there’s all of this going on in education—they just want to be appreciated for that. It’s not the same as worrying about their jobs, but at least they can know, “I’m making a contribution here. And I’m doing what I can.”

Change can be slow within higher education, but the pandemic has forced innovation and entrepreneurship. How should institutions and higher education leaders approach change management at this point in time with so much in flux?

That’s a big question. Change management is never easy, especially in higher ed. Communication is always a huge, huge part of change management, as well as helping people know why the change is being made and what’s the upside. [Be] realistic. People do not do well with Pollyanna, everything is positive, this is great. They do well with a message that is realistic, that [they] feel they can trust, [that] has credibility, but is also forward-looking. 

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For example, for the faculty member who has all of a sudden had to create online and in-person syllabi for the semester: Yes, this is a lot of work. Yes, this is challenging. We don’t know what direction we’re going to go in, but this is going to give us different options for keeping the faculty and the students safe. Again, keeping it to the bigger picture, recognizing the challenges, and empathizing with people, but also realizing something good is coming out of it. This isn’t just survival. These are some choices that could help the system going forward. And that’s an art form—to balance realism with the optimistic way of looking forward. 

In times of crisis, which we’re in, decisions have to be made quickly. In March, decisions had to be made quickly. But not all decisions have to be made that quickly. So recognizing different contexts, and also realizing the bigger picture of higher education and [identifying] where things need to change and evolve so that these organizations can be successful in the future—so that they can build these communities and keep faculty, staff, and students engaged, contributing, and prepared for the world, which is also evolving at the same time with everything else going on. 

The nature of work is changing tremendously. [Leaders should] not just put on tunnel vision and think about how we survive 2020 and 2021, but where do we want to be in 5 years? What’s beyond that? What’s beyond this crisis? And what do we want to say we grew and thought about? I would encourage leaders to be, on a regular basis, thinking bigger and thinking more strategically. 

How can leaders handle effective communication and messaging in a virtual format?

Zoom fatigue is real—that’s absolutely true. But I have seen a lot of organizations get creative with how they talk with people. And sometimes it’s been really short emails or texts. Just a regular cadence, a quick update. But I’ve also seen where people have done a town hall, [where] there is some kind of way that the audience can ask questions. That’s a really important part of the process—not just pushing out information from the leadership, but it’s also getting feedback and ideas from people. 

One of the worst things that leaders can do in all of this is assume they know—assume they know what it’s like to be a student making a decision of where to go to school in the fall; assume how people are going to view study abroad programs; assume the faculty is going to be just fine.

Of course, that needs to be managed, because you don’t want complete conversations going in the chat on Zoom. However, [there are] ways to moderate it and ways to get information from stakeholders. Like [for] students: What are your thoughts about coming back or not coming back? Or what do you think about studying abroad? Asking some good questions to have them be part of the process for generating solutions. 

One of the worst things that leaders can do in all of this is assume they know—assume they know what it’s like to be a student making a decision of where to go to school in the fall; assume how people are going to view study abroad programs; assume the faculty is going to be just fine. Find a way to ask questions that help people engage. 

Most international educators are no longer in crisis mode; the pandemic has been going on for almost a year. How do we find a new normal?

One positive [thing] that we are seeing is that there is a bit of a return to basics. People are questioning, “What do I really want out of this?” Leaders are saying, “What do we really want from this study abroad program? What are the key elements we need to strive for? Is there another way to do it?”

I think a lot of people have learned what relaxes them, what stresses them, when to take a break from social media, when to stop binge watching. We’ve learned a lot about ourselves and what’s really important. I’ve heard people say they’ve lost a lot of the busyness, and they feel good about some of the things they’re working on. 

A lot of people have learned what relaxes them, what stresses them, when to take a break from social media, when to stop binge watching. We’ve learned a lot about ourselves and what’s really important.

The question then becomes, “How do I continue this when the reality of busyness comes back in?” People should really think through what’s important for them. What are the key ingredients they need in their daily lives? What are the key ingredients they need in their work life? What’s really important for them, and how do they go about doing it? That’s going to change. Whether it’s online or physical, or it’s going to be a mix of both for a while. We can’t really influence much about the how and the method, but what do we really want? I think that will help us feel better about the new normal. 

What advice do you have about navigating the blurring of boundaries between our professional and home lives? 

The psychological research tells us that we all have different boundaries. Some people like to have rigid boundaries, some people like to mix it up, and some people are in the middle. So it’s understanding what we need as individuals to get our work done and get a sense of relaxation. If we feel like we’re always on, if we’re always “in the office” even though we’re home, stop and have that recovery period that we need to be reenergized when we need to reengage in work. 

[One thing] that research points to that helps is setting a time frame. Just like we would if we were at the office, at a certain point we’d head home. Create those time frames, put in on your calendar. I know some people have set a little alarm clock so they know it’s time to start wrapping up and switch over. And vice versa getting into the day too. Create other cues to let us know we’re switching from work to nonwork. That could be putting the computer in the other room or changing clothes. As simple as that sounds, it cues our brain. 

Some people are finding that the coping mechanisms that worked last spring are not working now as the crisis drags on. Has your answer to the question of how to find a new normal changed over the course of the pandemic?

Absolutely. And it’s going to change for every single person, because it’s so ongoing and it’s so extensive....I like to think of it as having a toolbox of coping mechanisms. Have some different things that can work, [that can] work for you, and know that they get old sometimes. They’re going to wear out and you move on to another tool. And that will feel fresh and that will feel good. 

For example, my family decided we were going to have family bike time. And that got old after a while. It wasn’t as soothing. It wasn’t as different. Then we decided to watch all the Oscar winners from over the years as a way of relaxing. Or meditation, which is a great habit to have all the time. There have been people who say, "It’s not working for me, so I’m going to take a break and do something else and then come back to it." Recognize that these solutions don’t work 24/7, especially for everybody. Get a selection of different things work and know [that] things wear out. You can revisit them in a month or two, and it’s going to be fresh, and you’re going to get that relaxation that you need, that coping that you need.  •