What kind of leadership will lead us into the post COVID world?
During the course of this self-quarantine I have had the opportunity to connect with many individuals. Leaders of large enterprises and start-ups. The one thing that they all are saying is “we were caught off guard this time and we need to be real about what the future holds for us”. For most of us this is a first-hand view of what uncontrollable circumstances look like, no longer is it only a bad boss, or a budget cut – but for so many of us it is about keeping a job and making a living.
There is no competition for who is going to come out of this for the better or for worse, because life itself is at stake. That said, it only adds to what leaders can continue doing for their teams and their organizations.
The need of the hour is to soften the blow and to be present. The need of the hour is to be tactical and not strategic.
Yes, you read it right. Most of us are focused on meeting the needs of today and tomorrow, and leaders have to be brave enough to anticipate what the next week could bring. They will have to go to the drawing board to reimagine roles and responsibilities and try to minimize losses as best as possible.
But keeping employees motivated to work in the face of imminent layoffs is no mean feat. Failure to imagine what could work for whom is a constant challenge leaders are facing today. These leaders who I spoke with are fluent in working this new language - imagination.
Apart from the viral pandemic out there, there is a fear pandemic in our minds.
As leaders and managers to all these people, and dealing with all of these misgivings ourselves, we really have to step up and own the situation.
The one thing that has taken a hit given the uncertainty all around is employee engagement. Even in the best of times, engaging employees remains an ambiguous activity at best. The challenge now is that fence sitters and actively disengaged people don’t have another pond to turn to and thus run the risk of bringing the entire team down. Add to it the fact that almost 60% of routines of daily life, for some maybe even 80% have been drastically and forcibly altered. Very few organisation’s had processes, policies or structures in place that ensured business continuity in such trying circumstances before this pandemic hit us.
What can leaders do to make this new way of working an eventual workplace adaptation?
The key to any kind of change in the workplace is “trust”. The leaders who can generate trust, and through that empathy and collaboration, are the ones the world will need in the time to come.
How does one generate trust though during such uncertain times?
The one thing that’s common to all these leaders who I have spoken to is being present. Michael doesn’t remember a single day in the last 3 weeks when he didn’t have weekly briefings with his team. What started as a ‘Digital coffee break’ has become a ritual most of the team look forward to. This informal break is in addition to the formal weekly briefing where he talks about what the organization is thinking right now, how they plan to attend to those who need help immediately, how to create support networks within the organization. He’s increasingly building in flexibility in the means of achieving targets through common sensical suggestions. He doesn’t let the team lose sight of deliverables, but isn’t adamant on how they are to be achieved. He’s constantly thinking “do the best that you can”. If I were on Michael’s team I would have felt good about being there.
The next thing is difficult conversations. As a practitioner of crucial conversations I know that this is the time where you can’t be subtle. And it is only through conversation that you will keep imagination and ideation alive. There is no matter or number that is too delicate to be disclosed. No matter how unsettling the news, it has to be communicated. It could create unrest with the employees, it does, but as a leader it adds to your credibility. Being transparent doesn’t mean sharing information on a need to know basis. In times like these being transparent means not judging what others need to know or not. Rayya, the head of the marketing function at her firm has been inundated with calls since this began. She was handpicked by the HR function because she’s a natural empath, but also because she calls a spade a spade. Straight talkers will lead us into the future. We’ve seen enough politics for a lifetime now. Both Michael and Rayya believe in close looping conversations. They may not have all the answers all the time, or they may have the same answers all the time, but their choice is never to stay silent. Never. Silence breeds mistrust and leads to further confusion.
The last thing that they all swear by is vulnerability. Not one of them said they aren’t feeling it. They are feeling the heat too. They are battling their own demons and running their homes while they are at it. Ella understands how crucial her role is, and at times when it feels like she’s losing it, she talks to her team about it. Her team huddle yesterday evening was awe-inspiring. She began the call by telling her team that she was just not feeling OK today and that the isolation was getting to her. One of her team members suddenly spoke up and said why don't we all share our first memories of the ones whose names are right below ours on the participant list. She started, and then one by one as people realized that these people had watched each other and had each other’s backs for a very long time, they drew strength from each other. By the end of the call, Ella was clearly emotional. In times like these, it is all the more important to bring your whole selves to work.
Inspiring trust sets you apart and not just as a leader. You don't have to have the designation to lead or to generate trust. We need leaders today who can keep it real and be unashamed of the realities today. All systems are overworked, people are overworked and there is no visibility on payments and salaries. But we are all in it together and we have some able folks leading us, and sometimes they need to be led too. Keeping it real is the only thing that will help us in keeping it together.