Leadership: COVID-19 and Beyond

Crisis elicits real leadership, and when crisis is of this scale, it becomes a leader’s moment of truth.

At a global scale, we are seeing leaders of different countries responding differently to COVID-19 pandemic. Countries like New Zealand where leadership is proactive and empathetic, we see limited impact compared to countries where leaders continued in denial mode before initiating actions to control the pandemic.

For organizational leaders, the old playbook may not be relevant anymore when people return to work after lockdowns are gradually lifted. Opening again after such an unprecedented shut-down of activities means people will return to work with fear of the unknown and anxiety about the future. Remote working will be a norm and many people are not yet comfortable with the blurred line between work and life. Leaders may find it difficult to build trust in virtual environments. Many careers may be disrupted, people may lose jobs and businesses will be impacted by the overall slowdown. Slowing businesses would also mean leaders will be challenged to do more with less.

“The winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators” – Edwards Gibbon

What mindset should managers and leaders adopt in a post-COVID19 world of work to be able navigators into the future? Here are a few recommendations based on my experiences and understanding:

Put human element at the center of efficiency in business.

Uncertainty shakes people up and when it happens, people need someone who they can relate with, someone who trusts them, someone who listens and understands their points of view. Leadership has always been about people, but more so when we navigate together through a crisis like this. Able navigators of crisis are leaders who can empathize with people, acknowledge their changing priorities, help them stay on track with priorities and ensure their safety (physical and psychological). Even when business must take tough people decisions which may be inevitable at times, executing them with grace and decency is a choice leader makes.

Help people adapt to new realities

Uncertainty, by definition, is a situation that evolves constantly and with it, our understanding and response evolves as well. When people deal with uncertainty and fears associated with it, they need some handholding on how to think about what needs to be done. Leaders do this handholding through regular and open conversations that are rooted in the context of work – and use this as an opportunity to help them adapt to change. It is easy to simply push people into change, but rather difficult to build the context, share openly and handhold them into it.

Get comfortable with remote working

Remote working is here to stay, and this crisis has clearly shown us that it is possible. However, working and collaborating with people virtually is way different from working under one roof face to face. Leaders will need to understand the nuances of working remotely, create moments of connection online, build rituals for people to share freely if they must succeed at keeping the team together, engaged and on track.

Be flexible and empower others

When people decide the place and time of their work, leaders cannot afford to rigidly hold all the strings. Leaders will have to be flexible and open minded when working with a remote team. So, instead of trying to control the finer methods of getting the work done, leaders need to focus on people, their alignment with the purpose, their involvement in providing solutions and the outcomes they deliver.

Step up on communication

In rapidly evolving times like these, leaders cannot hide behind carefully worded corporate emails. They should talk to people openly, honestly, courageously, and transparently. Credible and consistent communication that puts people first is at the heart of creating alignment in a team. This also means leaders should be radically transparent about the company context, be intentional about connecting with others, courageous in communicating tough feedbacks and honest when dealing with difficult situations. They will need to keep communication lines open with their people through team meets, informal one to ones and organization level communications.

Manage your own emotions

Leaders cannot expect calm from their colleagues when they exhibit their own anxiousness. Therefore, leading in a crisis starts from acknowledging the self, being self-aware and having the right emotional control when dealing with uncertainties.

Build and nurture trust

When business situation is challenging and people are working remotely, trust erodes quickly. Trust building with remote teams in the times of crisis is the #1 leadership challenge. Leaders earn trust of their people when they exhibit warmth, care for people, communicate clearly, set right examples, demonstrate integrity, enable their team’s performance, and help people accomplish meaningful progress/growth while dealing with the unknown.

Simplify everything

These are great times to focus on essentials. Why block someone’s calendar for an hour when the same thing can be done through a quick check-in with a team member? You may have processes, rituals, communications, and organization structures that are redundant. The time people may lose while adjusting to new realities might be offset by the time they gain from eliminating the unnecessary. Simplicity breeds focus.

The real impact of COVID-19 on businesses will be visible only in later part of 2020 and early next year but till that time, we need leaders who are calm, courageous and focused. Crisis like these have the power to unite people to a common purpose and having right leadership mindset makes all the difference.

Here is a short summary of key points from this article.

BONUS

I wrote an article for People Matters Magazine in December 2015 titled “12 Critical Competencies For Leadership in the Future” (along with a sketchnote) and I find that a lot of those insights are also very relevant for the kind of leadership required in a post-COVID19 scenario. Do read it!

Over to You!

What according to you needs to change and evolve in leadership mindset across the organizations as we face new realities of work post the pandemic?