Keeping a Positive Image & Influence During a Pandemic

There is no denying that we face uncertain and stressful circumstances as we continue to navigate COVID-19 and anticipate the fallout from it. It is all over the news, all over our social feeds, and all over our conversations. Let’s go ahead and say it together, “This sucks.”

Okay. We have that out of our system. Now for the next few minutes, put that aside. Let’s talk about something else. Whoever you are and wherever you work, every day you have a chance to lead. Right now, it is especially important that you lead from a standpoint of hope and positivity. When people—your teammates, your friends in the industry, your customers—when those people see you, do you want them to see a person in panic mode, or do you want them to see someone who is continuing to work hard and make the best of a difficult situation?

Think of the times you have faced a challenge or a crisis, one beyond your control. Do the people who make a better impact act out of fear, or out of hope?  Do they sit and remind people of how bad things are, or do they get to the work of solving the problem?

The construction industry is considered essential. That means we all have an opportunity to keep doing what we do and to do it well. When you see people working hard, what you see is people who have set their minds to solutions rather than problems. And that sort of image instills confidence and calm to the people who see it. Here are a few things that we at Southeastern Underdeck have done to send this message:

1. Communicate to your clients intentionally and with positive messages. Make sure potential clients know how to get in touch with you for estimates and questions, and make sure current clients know how to get in touch with you crews while projects are ongoing. If you are present and available, it sends a message that you are working in spite of difficulty. People will respond to that positively.

2. Make sure your staff is representing a positive and hopeful message. They are your ambassadors to your clients. Whether it is the person answering the phone in the office or the person swinging the hammer on a job site, make sure that they are representing your company well, and not letting their own fear or cynicism or frustration come through. Again, not that there is nothing to be concerned with, but when you’re at work, you show up to do work. When there is work being done, it means that you are working for tomorrow. When you pour a foundation today, you are anticipating building an house on it tomorrow.

3. Make sure people know that you are open and still doing business. If you have Facebook or Instagram, send out posts to your audience that let them know you’re there, you’re open, and you’re eager to serve them. If you do not have social media, then sign up for it. People use social media more than you can imagine to find reliable businesses and get recommendations from friends and neighbors. If you have a presence on social media, you have more avenues to communicate your message to others. Get it if you don’t have it and use it if you do.

Now, to be clear, none of this is not to say that we should not be prepared for the worst, or that we should ignore the difficulty. However, there is a difference in saying, “This is awful, there’s nothing I can do to fix it!” and saying, “This is awful, so I’m going to do everything I can to make it better.”

People can look anywhere to see what’s wrong. When they look to you—when they look to us—why not let them see people who are focused on making the world better around them instead of adding to the noise of what’s wrong?