Events such as the current pandemic emphasize the importance of strong communications skills. Whether you’re the CEO of a global corporation or a VP leading a small team, the way you talk to your people in trying times is more important than ever.

Maintain transparency: Companies are more transparent than ever with their employees, vendors, and customers.  Now is not the time for leaders to revert to the old way of doing things. CEOs need to overcommunicate.
Decisiveness in the face of imperfect information: No leader has a crystal ball into the future of his or her business. Still, leaders need to make decisions—sometimes bold—and then share those decisions with their teams, acknowledging that a million variables are at play.
Remember to be compassionate: How we work has been disrupted like never before. By some estimates, more than 90 percent of the employed world is working in a different way. All that is to say, patience and empathy are key virtues that must shine through across all methods of communication.