In this interview, Garie Dooley discusses how team and leader mindsets have shifted during the COVID‑19 pandemic. He observes two dominant extremes among leaders: (1) a growth‑oriented, reset mindset that treats the crisis as an opportunity to reinforce purpose, adopt new technology, and harden team identity, leading to faster recovery and growth; and (2) a survival or victim mindset where work is paused, blame and complaint dominate, and teams risk drifting into inactivity. Dooley emphasizes that a team’s direction mirrors its leader’s stance and warns against the middle ground where teams become passive. He highlights that leaders who actively adapt and connect their teams through technology maintain momentum, while those who wait for “better conditions” may miss critical opportunities. When asked for advice, he suggests leaders should consciously choose the growth/reset approach, stay connected, reinforce purpose, and avoid the trap of victimhood, thereby turning the crisis into a catalyst for stronger, more resilient teams.
Great to have you here today, Garrick. So I'd love to find out a little bit more about you and certainly the insights that have been going for you in the COVID period. So what insights or transformations have you witnessed in mindsets as it relates to the teams that you're working with?
It's been a fascinating period. If we just take a step back, teams look like their leaders. Let's reshape the question. What have I seen from leaders? During this period. And to be honest, I've sort of seen the two extremes. I've seen some leaders who see this as a wonderful moment to reset, reinforce, embrace, obviously adapt and adopt the technology. But it's a wonderful opportunity for them to harden up almost what they stand for as a team. So we've had leaders with absolute growth mindset. And economic history tells us that the organizations, let's call them teams for the sake of this, who do the work during moments, whether it be a recession, whether it be a depression, whether it be a COVID, whatever the moment is, the teams that do the work are the ones who come out of it the fastest and the ones who grow the quickest. So I've had leaders with that, okay, this is just a reset, it's going to be a challenge, but it'll really test our mettle as a team. So I've seen that extreme. On the other hand though, I've seen leaders almost go into survival mode where they have said, Gary, look, all the work we're doing, we're going to put on hold until we come out of this, whatever that means. And it's like, oh, you are missing such an opportunity. And it's almost like we will work on being phenomenal team when the conditions are right. Now, as we know, unfortunately, if it's not this, there'll be another moment. Might not be as dramatic as this one, but there'll be another moment. We're going to be careful of is that our teams don't drift into almost that victim mindset where they fall into a blame, complain, defend mindset. So why haven't we come together over the last 4 weeks? Because of COVID Really? Because there are some teams who are adopting and adapting the technology to make sure they stay even more connected. So I'm seeing the two. But keep in mind, Where the team goes is reflected on where the leader goes. And so really the question at the heart of this is where have I seen leaders take their teams during this period? So they're probably the 2 extremes that I've seen, not much in the middle. It's either one or the other.
With those 2 extremes, what is the biggest suggestion that you can provide for teams or the leaders of those teams to help themselves?
I think it's really simple to maximize These moments and to value them even more. Truly value now the strength of your team and act accordingly versus value survival. And so we'll do whatever it takes to survive. I would ask leaders to embrace— so find ways to stay connected, find ways to still talk about your purpose, find ways to— okay, what will our purpose look like now? You know, so it'd be just to value these moments, see it as just an opportunity to reset. And value the importance of being a strong team as we come out.
