With apologies to my US readers, today's article has a few UK political references in it. But it's still relevant to every MSP, everywhere.
When Boris Johnson was elected as prime minister and given the power to do whatever he wanted for four years, I was aghast 😱
But I have to say, over the last two days I've been really impressed with the leadership he has shown.
We've seen big swift decisive moves by the UK's leadership team. Whether you agree or not with what they're doing about the virus and economy, at least they are taking BIG action.
This is what good leaders do in a time of crisis.
If you watch the daily Coronavirus press conference on BBC News, you can see that Boris is leading a team that is genuinely working together to achieve its goal.
Watching the Chancellor's announcements yesterday me feel proud of our government... something I haven't felt for many years!
This strong leadership is what your clients and staff want from you right now
They want clear direction. They want someone they can get behind because of the enormous sense of uncertainty and anxiety that many are feeling.
Already this week I have spoken to getting on for 40 different MSPs, some on video calls, some on email, or in my MSP Marketing Facebook group (670 members and counting)
The impact on most MSPs this week has been restricted to increased client demand, and lack of laptops. Because of course MSPs have been set up to work remotely for years.
But aside from the practicalities, there are also worries:
- What is it acceptable to do every day right now?
- Can we still go onsite if needed?
- Owners and managers know some of their clients could go under
- Staff hear this and worry about their jobs
- Everyone is concerned that there's no end date to this situation... it could go on for weeks or maybe months
Of course there are no answers to these fears. So a good leader acknowledges them, and then sets out a calming vision for how things are going to be.
For example, if I ran an MSP, this would be my 5 point vision for the next 90 days:
- We will work as a team to overcome any difficulties this situation throws at us. Our real life families come first. But our work family comes a close second
- We will constantly educate and protect our clients, so they can safely work remotely
- We will double down as our clients' most trusted partners. And show them how much extra value we add
- We will educate the whole market about how to safely remote work. Along the way, some of those businesses will choose to join us, and enjoy a better quality of service
- We will not be worried by this situation. Whatever happens, we will win by making big decisions and taking swift action. Most MSPs sit on the sidelines. We will lead the charge
Imagine the impact if you laid out a manifesto for the future, just like that, to your team?
(feel free to steal and adapt these ideas)
