This spring, the organization I lead was busy working to fulfill our mission: serving Oregon’s Latino and other low-income communities with programs providing affordable housing, community economic development and educational and social support services.

Then everything changed almost overnight. On March 23, the governor issued a stay-at-home order for all businesses and non­profits to telework to the maximum extent possible — effective March 25. We suddenly had to learn to work together in a completely different way.

Since then, I have learned a lot about the kind of leader my organization needs during a crisis, and it’s not at all what I expected. I can admit now that, in the beginning, I was focused on many of the wrong priorities. Our team adapted quickly to working from home once we had the right technology and tools in place to do our jobs, but I was obsessed with bringing people back to the office and making sure our work didn’t falter. We didn’t yet know enough about the pandemic, and my mindset was rooted in the belief that everything would be fine in a few weeks.

We are still in a time of great uncertainty, and I don’t pretend to have all the answers. I am still making mistakes, learning from them and trying to lead with humility, compassion and vulnerability. Here are three important lessons I’ve learned about leadership this year.

  1. Listen To Understand  
  2. Trust Your People 
  3. Give Time And Space 

Read the full article about leading during a pandemic by Ernesto Fonseca at Forbes.