I recently went one on one with Dr. Rob Fazio. Rob is the founder and President of Hold the Door For Others, a 9/11 inspired nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower people to grow through any type of loss and adversity. Rob is also the is the Managing Partner at OnPoint Advising and the author of Simple is the New Smart: 26 Success Strategies to Build Confidence, Inspire Yourself.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth? 

Rob: Two parts of me growing up shaped what I do today. First, I was worried about everything, lacked confidence, and I didn’t want to live the rest of my life that way. I enjoyed sports but talked myself out of playing many times because I was so nervous the ball was going to come to me. The interesting thing is that when the ball did come to me, I knew exactly what to do and did it well. Second, my dad was an executive that commuted to NYC 2 hours each way from northern NJ. He was an extremely hard worker and was passionate about providing for and enjoying his family. However, he worked for a manipulative, power-hungry CFO that often took those very two things away from him. He never talked bad about his boss (my mom took care of that), but you could sense it and see it when he got home from work. 

Somehow it led me to want to be someone who could turn around dysfunctional and poor leadership because I knew first-hand how it impacted people’s lives inside and outside of work. 

Adam: What are the best leadership lessons you have learned from leading a non-profit organization? 

Rob: I have learned that no matter how passionate people are about your mission it is very hard to keep people engaged and deliver. Everyone is well-intentioned, but overtime work and life come before pure volunteer work. The hardest thing to do is to keep projects on track because the last thing you want to do is demotivate people that are taking their own time to do good. 

Adam: What are your best tips for fellow leaders of non-profit organizations?

Rob: Individual relationships are just as critical to success as team performance. Know each person well, have consistent conversations and be sure you know what is important to them. 

Adam: What advice do you have on how to lead effectively during times of crisis? 

Rob: Sacrifice and Show Up: In March 2020, CEO of the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC reallocated 85% of their resources to be on the front lines and battle COVID-19. This decision was not easy because it put our country’s elite surgeons and healthcare professionals right on the front lines in an uncertain time where the science and data were not yet there to rely on. He sacrificed elective surgeries for the greater good. Here is a quote from Mr. Shapiro who made the decision just before the peak of covid in New York.

“First thing is, 'What are your values and principles?' Second thing is, 'What decisions do you make against them?’ It has nothing to do with money. It has to do with winning this war. This war is against COVID-19. Period. End of discussion. All hands-on deck. No one is excused from participating to fight this battle.”

I believe in his courage to sacrifice revenue and “show up” by leading with a people-first approach with laser focus on safety and getting NY and the country through a devasting crisis. 

Don’t Hit the Easy Button, Explore Your Options: In turbulent times people want relief. This often causes executives to go with the first solution, rather than further exploring options. It’s key to have a diverse range of people who are willing to disagree to widen the options before a decision is made. People confuse the importance of acting early, which can just be effective communication, with being forced to make a decision too early. An example of this is Peleton’s decision during the treadmill crisis to push back and try to use logic and prove their treadmills are safe. The mistake they made was they brought data to a war that was going to be fought with emotion. 

There is Such Thing As Bad PR. Get Good at It: Perhaps if you are a movie star looking to build Instagram followers the lame advice, that no PR is bad PR works, but not when it comes to business. A company can work decades to build up a brand and a CEO can take it away in a minute. Think back to BP CEO Tony Hayward during the handling of the Mexico oil spill. The quote that he will always be remembered by is “I want my life back.” Not the best look when 11 people lost their lives. He and BP became even more of villain. 

Any executive that doesn’t actively train themselves and people who speak on behalf of the company on media relations are doing a disservice to the business, shareholders, and employees. Reporters are trained to make headlines and they love the “gotcha” moment. Having expertise in having emotional resourcefulness, how to present under pressure, and how to engage in an interview where you are not in favor is critical. 

Communicate with Calm Confidence: Lack of clarity, control, and capability is the perfect storm for anxiety, burnout, and disengagement. American’s are attracted to and addicted to confidence. But a certain type of confidence works best, Calm Confidence. Calm Confidence is fact based that provides hope and a plan. Mastering interpersonal effectiveness in conversations and presentations allows for your messages to be heard.  

Prepare for the Next Tough Time and Create Organizational Pre-Traumatic Growth: According to PWC,  20% of companies say that COVID-19 actually had a positive impact and they attribute much of it to organizational resilience. The framework used to build organizational strength is less important than having something that is simple and has a scientific basis. Turbulent times will continue to happen. Researchers Tedeschi and Calhoun at UNC have taught us about Posttraumatic Growth. Why not be proactive and build growth skills prior to the next event? You and your organization will be more able to not only remain resilient, but also able to lead others through the event. It’s important to know where your strengths lie related to the foundational skills that allow people to grow through adversity. The Growth Through Adversity Survey is a no-cost way to understand where a leader’s strengths lie related to 11 growth skills that are found to predict growth following adversity and overall well-being. 

Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level? 

Rob: Be Inclusive and Appreciate People’s Motivational Currency : What motivated people before COVID, may not be what motivates them now. Everyone’s life took on new responsibilities and complexities. One of the most inspiring leadership approaches is to meet people where they are and lead according to what drives them rather than what drives you. In his book Human Motivation, Harvard psychologist David McClelland looked at social motives and what drives our behavior inside us. His work led to the development of motivational currency, which is a simple approach to reading and leading based on an appreciation of what drives each individual person. The core four motivators are Performance, People, Power, and Purpose.  With fewer in-person interactions and more virtual interactions, it’s even more important to increase the probability of successfully influencing people by suspending your initial instinct and leading with intention.

Focus on the four areas of Growth Leadership: Personal Leadership – Ensuring that you have a strong sense of your strengths, weaknesses, and derailers is essential, especially in times of uncertainty and crisis. As a leader people will be looking to you for answers, and you need to minimize your blind spots and maximize the positive impact you have on others. You are the most direct link to the Organizational Atmosphere (OA). The more healthy, energizing and engaging the more motivate people will be meet the challenges of the crisis and grow through the experience. Personal Leadership includes managing and communicating your brand and taking care of yourself (i.e. managing your stress). The more effectively you are able to lead yourself, the stronger platform you will create for leading others. Everything will seem out of balance during times of crisis and that is because, most things are out of balance. It is your job to find a way to maintain some type of personal homeostasis in order to keep you grounded and allow you to make strong strategic decisions that will help your organization grow.

Team Leadership – Your ability to understand your direct reports and peers as well as rally their support will be crucial. You need to focus on taking care of your team as they take care of the crisis. Be sure that the messages that your team receive and send are consistent with your messages and are aligned with the overall organizations Crisis Growth Strategy.

Business Leadership – Business results are more important than most people would think when considering crisis situations. Safety and taking care of people are core components. However, if the organization fails, it will cause an avalanche of additional crises. It may seem contradictory to say to focus on the business and focus on people. They actually can go hand and hand if you think through the proper strategy and the implication of each step along the way. Growing the business may not happen within a short time frame, that is precisely why decisions made early on need to be informed by insights into the future of the organization. 

Social Leadership – Whether you care about making an impact on society or not, people will be watching how socially responsible you are in a time of crisis. How leaders handle crises become how outsiders permanently view the leader and the organization. Therefore, it is absolutely critical to ensure that you take steps to connect with people outside the organization. Depending on the crisis, this may include family members of those affected by the crisis, media, investors and other key stakeholders. 

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders? 

Rob: 

1. Master the art of conversations 

2. Focus on the balance between doing good for yourself, others, the organization and society

3. Learn how to influence challenging alpha personalities

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams?

Rob: Integrate humor and enjoyment in your leadership approach. Humor is the closest connection among humans and it creates positivity and increases productivity. 

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Rob: Indirectly Warren Buffet’s quote has been valuable advice: When people are greedy be fearful and when people are fearful be greedy. 

Adam: What should everyone do to pay it forward? 

Rob: Hold the door for others and find ways to do intentional acts of kindness based on people’s needs.