This was announced by NEDA Acting Secretary Ken Chua via Zoom Webinar organized by the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines last May 28.

He mentioned the 3 phases of the government's economic plan for the country as we face the battle against Covid 19.

1. Emergency Stage (March to May 2020)

2. Recovery Stage (June to December 2020)

3. Resilience Stage (2021 onwards)

While we were encouraged to stay at home, our economy also slowed down, which was caused by very thin opportunities for companies to generate sales, no income for the employees under "no work, no pay" status, and the daily expenses did not stop.

This led the government to initiate some financial support for the poor, affected employees, and small businesses, such as the DSWD's Social Amelioration Program (SAP), DOLE's COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP), Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged / Displaced Workers, Barangay Ko Bahay Ko (TUPAD #BKBK) Program, SSS's Small Business Wage Subsidy (SBWS) Program and more.

Aside from these, local leaders like Mayor Vico Sotto of Pasig City pushed their own version of SAP as supplementary financial aid for those who were not included under the DSWD's master list.

Although the government is persistent to do its best to support the needs of the people, most experts claim that these are not long-term solutions.

During these months, many businesses were bleeding. There are some firms that have already filed for bankruptcy, some decided to temporarily close, and some are currently going through a retrenchment.

If you are a business owner or someone who has an access to the highest level of your company, you would understand. You would feel that the decision was made out of Solomonic wisdom because you see the entire picture.

But for an ordinary employee, that's a selfish decision. We are not exactly sure what's going on in the mind of the employees. People are naturally biased toward their personal needs and agenda. Therefore, some employees have the highest tendency to not accept the decision.

Be ready to hear some backlash like, "I did my best for this team... I sacrificed my time with my family for this company... I deserved this spot more than this particular employee who would stay... and so on and so forth." 

In the next coming days, there will be more online meetings with your bosses and staff. More documents need to be signed. Noise within your organization will start to scream! You have to be fully prepared.

Just take a break. Have a deep breath. Stretch out. Grab a coffee, and let's talk about how we can be better business leaders these days.

As discussed by NEDA Acting Sec. Chua, June - December 2020 is supposed to be the Recovery Stage. In this blog, we will not focus on what the government will be doing in the next 6 months.

By this time, let us zoom in on your plans. Plans that you have full control of. These are the habits that you can do to put your team in order again.

The community quarantine provided me with much time to read more books, and articles, attend webinars, and be updated on the trends in leadership from all sectors of society.

This is what I have discovered. In terms of leadership, nothing has changed. Hmmm.. Yes, nothing, aside from the fact that empathetic leadership works best in this season.

Why? Because your people are disoriented. They fear the loss of their jobs. They worry about their families' lives and own health since Covid 19 is hyped to be a virus that cannot be seen and is deadly. They are uncertain of what will be the next move of the management in which most of their bosses are also uncertain.

Uncertainty develops stress based on the study. World Health Organization said that fear, worry, and stress are normal responses when we are faced with uncertainty or the unknown.

While I was talking to some business leaders these past months, one mentioned that the problems of our organization before the Covid 19 happened will still be our problem in the next few months. Lack of communication, personality clashes, office politics, management issues, and more. 

All these concerns would rise again if we failed to properly address them before the lockdown. It just happened that another problem came into the picture - Covid 19. Therefore, people are now overwhelmed with concern in the office and concern in their personal lives.

In 2015, CNN Philippines found out through a survey that 23% of Filipino workers cited their job or studies as their main source of stress. Most of them said that the main source of stress comes from their bosses or supervisors. 

So the question here is, "how not be an additional burden to your employees?"

Simply increase your empathy. Be more compassionate. That's where you can increase your influence and be able to encourage them to be more productive at work.

Empathy happens when you first detect the current emotion of your people. Ask them. Check if their actions are consistent with what they say. Feel and read between the lines. Have a deep discernment. Look at the defense mechanisms. Sometimes, they hurt other people because they are hurt.

Second, just allow them to speak. Create an atmosphere where it is ok not to be ok. Initiate the conversation that would encourage them to be more vulnerable. Be genuine with your emotions too. Remember, leaders should have high emotional intelligence. It is not only the ability to have a strong personality but also skill in how to facilitate the emotions of the people.

Lastly, dive deeper. Ask them about their families.

Throughout my journey as a leader, especially in the context of business, I can say that the openness of our staff about their families determines the level of their trust in us. The more that we know about each other's families, the more that we trust and respect each other.

Empathy starts in asking about their family's conditions. You may not solve everything about their personal concerns, but just the act of asking and listening, that really works!

As the leadership gurus would say, "touch the heart before you ask the hand."

After you connect to them emotionally, the second move is to improve their change management muscle.

Our current new normal is always subject to change. The current situation is still unstable. Expect that another big shift is always possible. A leader's role is not only to prepare for it but also to include his team in the process.

I love what John Kotter of Harvard Business School said, "Leaders don’t make plans; they don’t solve problems; they don’t even organize people. What leaders really do is prepare organizations for change and help them cope as they struggle through it."

As I have talked to some employees these past few days, I learned that people don't need motivational speakers or managers. They need leaders in these trying times.

Motivational speakers can just hype your people to move. But leaders will inspire and assist them in going through change.

Managers will just direct people on what they should do and how they should behave. But leaders will join their people to struggle with the process of change.

As I said, "champions love the process more than the end goal. They enjoy the practice more than the trophies. They enjoy every pain from it. They love the journey more than the destination."