At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we set out to learn from Spontaneous Leaders — people who had started a grassroots response to help their community. We gained a clear understanding of what support they need (Learning from grassroots leaders in COVID-19, Part 1), and about what services we might offer to help them (Learning from grassroots leaders in COVID-19, Part 2). We also identified seven behaviors that they consistently identified as being critical to their success.

Here is their collective advice.

7 Tips for Being Effective in a Crisis

1. Just start
   Take a step. Take another. Keep going. Don’t let not knowing hold you back.
2. Don’t be afraid to fail
   If you do something, you may succeed. If you do nothing, you’ve already failed.
3. Don’t go it alone
   Get others to help. Collaboration will make it easier, and help you do more.
4. Build on what you have
   Use the skills, resources, and relationships that are available to you. Develop new ones as you go along.
5. Focus
   Tackle one problem at a time. Don’t try to do everything at once.
6. Iterate
   Get it out there. Get feedback. Adapt. Don’t polish it too much.
7. Don’t be afraid to lead
   Leadership is about helping the group to succeed. You don’t have to be a boss to lead.