Work smarter not harder
The time has come to practice your delegation skills and create time for you to dedicate to networking and getting informed on your company’s strategic survival plans. Visiting coffee machines, gathering around water coolers, joining the smokers outside and participating in receptions, celebrations and other company events: now is the time to invest in building and maintaining relationships, inside and outside the company.

Voice your ambition
Do not stay silent; make sure your plan for progress is known widely, within your work environment and at home. By voicing your ambition you do not only convince yourself what your direction will be, you also convince others. It increases the chances that you will get what you want, even or especially in times of crisis. When a manager needs to choose whom to let go, the one who is pro-active and ambitious may get preferential treatment over the silent and elusive ones. 

Manage your professional visibility
Being known for your achievements and professional skills provides you with more options to choose from. Check if your profile on professional online networks like LinkedIn is up to date and appealing. 

Become indispensable
This often relates to being unique in the way you execute your tasks. It is about having the key sales contacts or connections with top clients. Another way is to have unique skills or experience, which cannot easily be duplicated or replaced. It may also be that you are part of influential informal networks in the company or that you built a quality reputation in your field within and outside the company. Analyse if you are indispensable and if not, take action to become so.

Improve the transferability of your skills
It pays off to assess your skills and question their transferability to other companies, industries, sectors or self-employment.  We are often focused on acquiring knowledge to get the job done without paying attention to the qualities we have developed along the way that can be applied to other businesses than the one you are in now. Your “core competence”, which is the ability to combine your learning, education and skills to perform certain tasks excellently, is what makes you unique and survive this crisis.

Think outside the box
New initiatives for businesses are being developed as you are reading this; new concepts of financing projects and companies for instance, through the internet and by private individuals. It may be the start of a new industry of banking, community banking, close to home and without the complexities of the current banking system. Companies will become for sale, offering great opportunities for those who still have cash. In addition, new products will be developed as companies discover new client groups and markets. What about investment products for women for instance? Already in 2004, Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahnemann proved that women are better investors because they are more risk-averse and not inclined to take decisions driven by ego. No doubt a company, led by women perhaps, will start looking into developing and marketing a new product for this emerging market.

Numerous activities and events are being organised on and around IWD, including webcasts and webinars. These activities will provide numerous chances to get information, get connected, and get started on your action plan of your ‘career after the crisis’.

Read the full article 'Managing crisis: Reflections on International Women’s Day 2009' on 8 March on the Employment channel.

Mirella Visser, Former President of  EuropeanPWN and founder of the Centre for Inclusive Leadership, international management consultant and serves on supervisory and advisory boards.