A new set of leaders during Covid-19 in Sri Lanka?
Last month was one of the toughest times we have been faced with in our lives. I am sure you will agree with this statement. Fighting an enemy we cannot see. Not been able to step out of the home. Having a question mark on the person bringing the vegetables and groceries. Not been able to visit our good friends and loved ones are just to mention the uncomfortable parts that we had to challenge with.
Continue working
However, some of us got a permit and went to work and somehow found ways to keep our organization’s running. Some of us launched national campaigns like the STOP THE SPREAD by Rotary in partnership with the Sri Lanka National Olympic Committee to support the national agenda.
Poverty trap
A point to note is that many households are clustered around the poverty threshold and unless we move the country to ‘ near normalcy’ we will not be able to avoid the Poverty level going up from the current 4.6% to around 20%. Which is very serious.
Money or bodies
One of the most difficult decisions that leaders of the world will have to make is when does a country relax the LOCKDOWN and allow the economy to get started. It is very sad but the ultimate decision will be based on the maths of a country. Meaning, if a country is open for business like what we see in the United States, the economy will function but the bodies also pile up. Which is is why the US President is estimating 300,000 people to die from the Covid 19 virus when the current deaths are are sixty thousand odd. Going back to statistics the US fatality rate is at 7% whilst India it is at 3.7% and Sri Lanka at 0.3%. Hence, if one wants to predict the deaths in Sri Lanka an algorithm can be computed based on the current spread and how much of the Economy is open for business.
New skill set
If we focus on the last months performance of Sri Lanka, in my view we see a new set of leaders emerging in our companies and in society. The key skills of these leaders are as follows:
1. Quick decision makers
A characteristics of the performers last month was the ability to take quick decisions. The opportunities were thrown at the market place and the companies that were first time movers grabbed the opportunities. Be it a Supermarket, a delivery company or event the small Larry that distribute bread in the specific vicinity.
This requires the ability to gather data and quickly move through the decisions making process knowing that someone else can take that opportunity if one is a split second late. The business environment was ruthless and very competitive.
2. Forced Entrepreneurship
The second skill that we saw among the winners last month was the ability to take decision without perfect data. Meaning that there was a risk on the decision taken. People who had the streak of entrepreneurship inside them, tend to get a customer than those who tried to follow protocols and complex procedures. Companies who had this maturity realized there was a risk of failure to such actions but a conscious decision was made by the companies to allow people to innovate. Think about it. We were forced to practice Entrepreneurship. Let’s now develop on this base skill.
3. Don’t wait for others to act
A very important skill that I saw was that real winners did not wait for others to move and do task but ventured out and was a cashier, delivery boy, driver and sales rep if required. Hence job descriptions and titles were thrown out of the door. People who made it were those who got the job done. Not the people who waited for things to happen. I work for one of the largest fast moving companies in Sri Lanka and I lives this value system and showed the way. Then I found all following the same behaviour. This does not mean you have to sacrifice your health and safety. It’s all ability bring proactive and action driven.
4. Add value or shut up
We are in war with an unseen enemy. If you cannot add value to a discussion, then shut up. The logic being that, this is not the time for small talk but adding to an idea and building it to be a ‘ business model’. Hence, you must take time and read and watch TV or google the net to be conversant on a topic. Then, naturally you will become an important player in the company or social group.
5. Comfortable with technology
Let’s accept it, technology is not our best friend. However, competent you are the fact remains that there is so much to learn in a changing world. So don’t worry about the connection, Go ahead and get on to that Zoom conversation or the WhattsApp conversation on video which you may be not very comfortable. Do that electronic transfer of money. The world is getting safer on e commerce.
6. Working out
The last point I want to share is that continued performerce last month were people who kept fit. They some how found a way to do a run on the world, walk around the neighborhood, do the walker whilst watching TV and some like to practice on a punching bag. It was not for a life style but it was a way of life that one has got used to and no one can break the cycle of working out. It’s an attitude.
The author is the CEO of Artificial Intelligence( AI) for Sri Lanka, Maldives and Pakistan and involved in many projects related to Covid Management in the South Asian region. The thoughts are strictly his personal views and not the views of the companies he serves.