Leadership lessons from coronavirus pandemic guest column

THERE’S no better time to show your extraordinary leadership qualities than in the middle of a crisis. Leadership is a complex topic, but what does it mean to be a good leader in a crisis? During times of crisis, leaders often look back to previous experience to help them chart the way forward. The COVID-19 crisis has been like none other, which has meant that leaders had to be comfortable making decisions in a rapidly changing environment in order for their organisations to be able to respond to the pandemic.

The pandemic sparked innovations in the delivery of services and a transient change in how our organisations are managed and led.

Many organisations credited their successful COVID-19 response to leadership in terms of the flatter hierarchies, a sharper focus on what really matters, and quicker decision-making, rapid response to situations. In fact, it was all about leadership.

From the beginning of the pandemic up to now, people are learning and, in this article, we will explain some of the leadership lessons learnt during COVID-19.

Agility from all ends is crucial

Coronavirus has taught us the real meaning of being agile. The way it is transmitted from one person to another and one place to the other, it is the epitome of speed and swiftness. In our personal and professional life, we should adopt speed and swiftness as a matter of principle.

This is not mere adapting but constantly evolving the organisation and its processes. Indeed, if the COVID-19 pandemic has brought one thing into sharp focus, it’s that businesses must be more agile.

They must be versatile in order to react to persistent change. Whereas agility had become something of a buzzword for doing things better, it is now a business imperative.

Create a culture of preparedness

In the midst of a pandemic, the most pressing issues are containment and mitigation both in terms of the virus itself and the economic costs.

Nevertheless, it is also in the midst of a pandemic that one can learn important lessons about preparedness for possible future pandemics. Everyone in an organisation should know exactly what to do when a major crisis happens.

People should understand their roles and be in the right place. Prepare for the worst you can possibly imagine. It’s like setting aside money for a rainy day.

Strategic planning

The lesson hinges on the importance of strategic planning, a process in which a business defines its course guided by vision and mission. A strategy will outline the long-term plans of the organisation and will also contain tactics to be implemented to achieve set business goals.

The greatest lesson for business executives is that although there is a culture of conducting strategic reviews or retreats at each year end, it is not enough anymore. The process of reviewing strategy, which requires leaders to conduct environmental scanning and frequent reviews, would have meant identifying the threat of COVID-19 and taking proactive decisions.

People first (wellbeing matters)

In many organisations, leaders talk about putting their people first, but their actions don’t necessarily support the words. In normal times, this is very unfortunate, but in a crisis it’s a potential disaster.

Left unattended, the uncertainty of the moment, coupled with remote working while caring for families can lead to unpredictable behaviour, decreased productivity and loss of loyalty.

Leaders have to ensure that employees’ health and well-being matter and must demonstrate appreciation of their hardships.

Honesty and confidence

These are some of the most important attributes a leader needs to possess, especially in times of crisis. During a crisis, everybody looks to leaders for the next step or reassurance. If a leader is gripped by fear and uneaseness, it permeates the whole organisation much like a contagious disease.

Leadership means employees have someone they can rely on, not someone they have to reassure. But confidence is not the only thing leaders need.

Honesty is key as well. While they assume that “everything is going to be fine” it is important for leaders to be realistic. They need to tread a fine balance when stating the magnitude of a situation.

Going digital is imperative

Adopting technology and have employees trained to use it may have been the difference between shifting to remote work and lagging behind. Our workplaces have to adopt technology and adapt so that they can provide information in real time.

Some organisations are investing more in technology than others, but I think it has to be on the agenda of all human resources teams. Technology can be used to cement and reinforce internal structures to ensure employees feel secure and supported during the shift to a digital workplace.

By embracing IT as an enabler of workplace change, forward-thinking businesses will be able to move forward swiftly, empowering a new generation of staff through flexible and productive working practices.

While remote working is now more widespread than ever, it is inevitable that new communication methods such as WhatsApp, zoom, etc, facilitate faster decisions, more streamlined processes, and instant approvals and are superseding email in many cases as the preferred tool for communication.

Communicating and having an open door policy is key

A clear lesson from the pandemic is that good communication can save lives. The pandemic made us realise the importance of communication. It has showed that it is key to provide facts and figures so that everyone has the resources they need.

Good communication is vital during these times. Organisations which invest time and energy into delivering clear communication will rapidly build trust with their employees and customers.

Effective communication with employees has been particularly important in the past few months as normal routines have been disrupted.

Decisive and adaptable

There are a few situations where leaders are supposed to make quick, hard decisions. A crisis is one of them. The pandemic taught us that leaders need to be able to make decisions on the fly, and in some cases, they might need to make hard decisions which they know may not win them any points.

Leaders who take action, who are decisive and who are open to change their decisions to suit the needs of a situation are likely to be more successful in weathering a crisis than leaders who choose to wait and not take action.

The most important thing to remember is that all crises pass. When a crisis occurs, don’t ignore it or avoid. Instead, tackle it head-on, and use it as a stepping stone to enact change.

A crisis is always an opportunity to acknowledge responsibility, take ownership and do better. The real test of leadership does not occur when everything is smooth sailing.

Rather, leadership is oftentimes tested during a crisis. The way a leader behaves and acts during a crisis will

 Emmanuel Zvada is an award-winning Most Fabulous Global HR Practitioner 2020, HR disrupter and trusted coach. He writes here in his personal capacity.