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A GUIDE TO LEADERSHIP RECOVERY & REINVENTION:WHAT FOLLOWS
CRISIS LEADERSHIP
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RESETTING YOUR LEADERSHIP7 practical leadership tips from
neuroscience to deal with chronic stress from the Covid-19 crisis
03Understanding the impact of enduring uncertainty on your brains,
to help you make decisions by re-directing your focus to
re-engaging your wise guide and dial down your threat expert.
Self-Compassion: Try a Little Tenderness 05To move from crisis
leadership into a new phase of leadership can be overwhelming when
you are starting from a feeling of exhaustion. Setting realistic
expectations of yourself in this time will set you up well to lead
your people into a new future.
Adaptive Thinking 08You know you need to re-evaluate your
business, but do not know where to start. Adjust your focus from
the present to adapt to the future, with three vital thinking
strategies.
RE-ENERGIZING AND REFOCUSING YOUR TEAMMaintaining Momentum
10Resilience is not isolated to a crisis response; leaders and
their teams need to maintain a focus on practical strategies, to
continue to support each other, manage energy and learn together to
find new ways to thrive and create a sustainable future.
Maintaining Productivity and Engagement 12Ongoing remote working
presents challenges around maintaining focus on value adding
activity. We offer five tips to ensure you are helping your team to
prioritize and stay engaged.
Navigating uncertainty with Curiosity, Courage and Connection
14Long periods of remote working increase likelihood of unfounded
assumptions or beliefs eroding relationships in teams. Apply these
three inclusive leadership practices to ensure you foster
connection and harness diversity.
REINVENTING YOUR ORGANIZATIONLeading Recovery 18Research into
businesses that thrive during a recession point to three business
behaviors to focus your leaders on, to ensure your organization has
a future.
Decision Making Amidst Fast Paced Change and Ongoing Uncertainty
20The importance of anticipating value drivers of the future to
make good decisions, when there is no right decision. Three
questions leaders can ask of themselves and their teams, to move
their organization forward in the face of ambiguity.
Creating a Post Covid Culture 22How to identify the elements of
your culture that you want to take into the next normal, to embed
the positive changes accelerated through remote working.
Leaders and their people were thrust into a firefighting mode in
reaction to the unprecedented global pandemic. There was little
time to plan. COVID-19 presented leaders with multiple, unplanned
and uncontrollable wildfires. Leaders needed to react quickly to
ensure business continuity where possible, control costs and ensure
their people’s safety.
Whilst crisis leadership is by no means easy, there are
advantages for leaders. In a crisis, people rally together, leaders
have the licence to make quick decisions, provide tactical clarity
to direct activity and prioritize people’s safety. People are
running on adrenaline, so they have capacity to take on more and
teams collaborate better than they have previously, channelling
their energy into immediate needs. Unfortunately, putting out the
fire may, upon reflection, end up being the more straight forward
part of the COVID-19 journey. The phase of leadership that follows
the initial crisis reaction, that determines how you move forward
as a leader and an organization, is more demanding and complex.
Most leadership teams are now left with burnt out parts of their
organization or parts that are no longer required. So, what now?
Tear down the building? Try to salvage parts? Create something
entirely new? Build a replica of what was there before? Use the
land? Pack up and get out completely? To recover, and where
relevant, reinvent organizations, leaders need to envision a future
for people, customers, partners and shareholders when large
elements of the future are still unknown.
Leaders know they need to create some form of clarity for their
people around the change to come but are finding it hard to create
the thinking space and difficult to know where to start. Depending
on where you are at in this journey, this guide provides frameworks
and practical advice to reset your leadership, refocus your team
and start the process of reinventing your organization. It is a
collection of short articles for you to dip into at different
points along your journey. They provide guidance for individual
leaders, teams and organizations.
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Whilst many of us are used to managing stress and change in our
workplace and daily lives, the layers of uncertainty and volatility
the pandemic has created, have intensified the amount of stress we
are all facing. This means even if you had good strategies to
manage pressure before the pandemic, the unrelenting uncertainty
and related insecurities are causing prolonged periods of stress
and for many, extreme levels of pressure. Our brains are designed
to handle short bursts of stress; which can have benefits such as
enhancing learning. We have personal ways of recovering from short
periods of stress but what happens to our brains when we are in a
chronic state of threat, uncertainty and fear? Understanding what
is happening internally, enables us to create new strategies to
proactively manage the impact of chronic stress.
The brain excels at spotting threats in our environment. Our
‘threat expert’ in the brain is a small but powerful
region called the amygdala. Once it perceives a trigger, it
rapidly gets us ready to fight the threat or take flight away from
it, to ensure survival. To enable a fight or flight response, the
brain shuts down all ‘unnecessary’ complex thinking that takes
place in our prefrontal cortex (PFC). Unfortunately, this part of
our brain is our ‘wise guide’ that we usually engage to strategize,
innovate and integrate our thinking into informed decisions. In
short, under stress, we become reactive, impulsive and anxious and
less creative, resourceful and flexible.
If we do not interrupt our automatic ways of responding to
threats, we risk staying in a reactive thinking space when we need
to take a longer-term view. We can, however, find ways to
intentionally activate the ‘wise’ part of our brain and stop the
‘threat expert’ from dominating. This is a bit like building
muscles in the gym. The more we put our ‘wise guide’ to work, the
stronger it gets.
7 PRACTICAL LEADERSHIP TIPS FROM NEUROSCIENCE TO DEAL WITH
CHRONIC STRESS FROM THE COVID-19 CRISIS
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Partner up to find more than one solutionIt is easier to stay in
black and white thinking when problem solving alone. Find a partner
or work with your team to identify multiple solutions. This process
activates your ‘wise guide’. Solution focused coaching questions
help us step back:
• How can we use the crisis to make positive changes?
• What do I need to accept about this challenge to find another
way to solve this problem?
• What are other ways to help me see a different
perspective?
PRACTICAL TIPS TO OVERCOMING UNPRECEDENTED STRESSLeaders who are
finding themselves in the reactive space, can decrease the strength
of overactive ‘threat expert’ and put the wiser guide back in
charge. Here are a few practical things to do and why they work
from a neuroscience perspective.
Acknowledge how you feel We can’t ignore what we really feel, no
matter how much we try. Negative emotions stay in the subconscious
and continue to fire up the threat response. Research has shown
that naming our feelings makes negative emotions less intense. It
calms down the amygdala and increases activity in the ‘wise guide’
region of the brain that processes emotions. By taking the time to
acknowledge and courageously name what you are really experiencing
makes you feel better. Leaders can role model this with their teams
and create space to name what is difficult before moving to a
solution focus.
Be fully present and don’t multi-taskOur ‘threat expert’ can put
us into constant fire-fighting mode and as a result, we try to do
too many things at once. Constantly switching from one task to
another decreases our effectiveness. Consciously separating
‘fire-fighting time’ for immediate demands from long-term planning,
will enable you to differentiate the approach you bring to complex
problems. Having discreet times for different activities creates
intentional choice, to engage a different part of the brain.
Focus on what we can controlThis is not about ignoring the
gravity of the situation but rather a way to stop being reactive
and become open-minded and grounded. By proactively focussing on
what we can control, leaders regain a sense of calm and put the
‘wise guide’ back in the driver’s seat, allowing access to their
deeper resources. Ask yourself and your team: what is within my
control, and how can we channel our focus there?
Build a culture of care and support Leaders need to continue to
make sure people feel connected and supported. This need was clear
in the early stages of responding to the pandemic, but it is still
just as important as we manage the ongoing uncertainty and change.
Positive emotions of care and compassion counteract the negative
response of the stressed-out amygdala. Positive relationships play
a significant role in regulating our emotions and helps us to
engage the ‘wise guide’.
Tie up ‘open loops’Take a step back to organize and clarify your
thoughts to avoid overloading your brain. All unfinished tasks that
float around in our mind take up limited ‘brain space’. Tying up
open loops gives a sense of clarity and control, as it frees up the
‘wise guide’ from having to hold it all. The brain actually treats
all unfinished tasks the same, so ruminating about “buying milk” is
taking up as much thinking space as ruminating about “fixing the
budget”. Try writing down all unfinished tasks, no matter how small
or insignificant they seem. Then go through the list and decide
what to delegate, what to action, and what to do later. Organizing
our mental space frees up space, and reduces the stress that comes
from an overloaded brain.
Look for the positivesThe brain has a strong negativity bias,
meaning it is much more likely to focus on what is bad than what is
good. Leaders can actively counteract this by openly celebrating
what is going well and where positive change has taken place, in
spite of all the difficulties. Recognizing positive changes helps
others to move away from the brain’s default negativity. Of course,
this needs to complement the earlier point about acknowledging the
difficulties.
IN SUMMARYLeaders can proactively take charge to direct their
brain to re-engage their ‘wise guide’ to enable their solutions. In
doing so, they inspire others to do the same. This is by no means
easy, as we are wired to focus on fear and negativity. However, it
is possible, with a proactive and practical approach. The more we
do it, the easier it gets – the brain adapts and changes in
response to the choices we make.
YSC has a variety of Executive Coaching programs that can help
your leaders in these stressful times.Email [email protected] to find
out how we can support your leaders. YSC.COM
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Still too often dismissed as weakness or self-indulgence,
self-compassion is actually a fundamental strategy to maintain
personal and professional resilience. At YSC, we encourage leaders
to see its value in helping to manage ourselves and our people
successfully through the COVID-19 pandemic.
SELF-COMPASSION: TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS
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WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?Resilience is a big topic right now, and
unlikely to change any time soon, as we continue to adapt to
unprecedented uncertainty. Many of us are juggling child-care and
education responsibilities with our work. The ability to retain
self-confidence and manage our energy is fast becoming an essential
capacity we need to cultivate in both ourselves and our teams. We
are trying new forms of exercise, new ways of connecting virtually,
but we overlook the impact our self-talk has on our resilience. How
is your self-talk helping or hindering your effectiveness at this
time of increased pressure?
The concept of self-compassion has benefited from recent focus
on academic research and has been found to have positive effects on
physical wellbeing and psychological functioning. Yet it is still a
rather unpopular concept – not a strategy that we typically think
we should draw upon to improve our resilience, leadership
effectiveness and business performance. It is time to start
applying that strategy to ourselves.
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY SELF-COMPASSION?Compassion is defined as “a
sensitivity to the suffering of self and others, with a commitment
to try to relieve it”. The need to engage with our emotions, to
apply self-compassion is often seen as soft, at odds with our
“achievement mind-set” and perhaps even for the “weak”. Compassion
is not, however, about being nice, soft, or even weak. It is tough,
and it takes courage. It requires a dedicated commitment to behave
differently. Not only do we need to tune in to the very things that
cause suffering (and the things we spend time trying to avoid), but
we also need to do something about them. Dr Kristin Neff, pioneer
in modern self-compassion practice, defines it as being composed of
three elements:
YSC’s research into resilience, shows that many highly empathic
leaders spend time being caring about others but forget to look
after themselves. During the COVID-19 crisis, this behavior is more
pronounced than ever. Leaders are investing in supporting their
teams, making time for virtual coffees or check-ins, walking the
virtual floor to ensure they remain visible and connected. Many
leaders are finding work a relentless barrage of virtual calls,
with days seeping into evenings and a blurring of boundaries.
Putting it simply, leaders are over-stretching themselves, feeling
exhausted and lacking the head-space for the most critical
leadership activities of reprioritization, creating clarity of
focus and purpose for their people.
SELF-COMPASSION IS HARD. IT IS NOT THE EASY OR LAZY OPTIONWe
often beat ourselves up to motivate ourselves, as a spur to action,
or to punish ourselves for our mistakes and inadequacies. We
believe that by letting go of it, we are exposing ourselves to
negative consequences. However, research suggests the opposite is
actually true. Have you ever beaten yourself up and felt more
motivated or engaged? In reality, self-criticism makes us feel
depressed, anxious and de-motivated.
To be clear, we see a critical difference between helpful
self-observation, self-analysis and self-evaluation – all effective
ways of motivating ourselves, holding ourselves to account, and
helping to maintain our standards – versus self-attacking and
beating ourselves up, which is ultimately undermining and damaging.
Studies have found that, far from lowering their standards,
self-compassionate people are more likely to see their weaknesses
and mistakes as changeable and are thus more likely to work to
improve them and avoid making similar mistakes in the future.
Self-kindness: Being understanding towards ourselves when we
fail or feel inadequate.
Common humanity: Recognizing that all humans suffer, being
“human” means that one is mortal, vulnerable and imperfect.
Mindfulness: A non-judgmental, receptive mind state in which one
observes thoughts and feelings as they are, without trying to
suppress or deny them.
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Don’t let our inner-critic run our lives
We often have beliefs about it being useful in some way (it’s
motivating, stops us being lazy or complacent, keeps us on your
toes, makes us keep high standards etc). But in reality, it has the
opposite effect, is demotivating, and makes us afraid of stepping
out of our comfort zone. Have compassion for your “inner critic”.
It is trying to help you, but is it doing a good job?
Forgive ourselves
When things go wrong, far from lowering their standards,
self-compassionate people are more likely to see their weaknesses
and mistakes as changeable, and are thus more likely to work to
improve them. Focus on the small, positive changes we could make,
rather than berating ourselves for the things we did badly in the
past. Ask yourself, ‘should I expect to be as productive as I was
pre-COVID-19’?
Treat ourselves as you would treat a friend
When we make a mistake, take a few deep breaths. Stop and ask
yourself: “What would I say to a friend/spouse/child if they were
feeling this way?” We are often a lot harder on ourselves than we
are on other people. Why the double-standard?
Perhaps the simple solution is the next time things go wrong, or
you are feeling overwhelmed from the uncertainty surrounding the
crisis – ask yourself this: how can I acknowledge how I feel and
then learn from this? Try a little tenderness. You might find it
helps you feel that you are thriving more so than you are surviving
through COVID-19, and also become happier and more effective in the
longer-term.
The good news is that self-compassion is developable. We offer
five simple practical suggestions that, when practiced regularly,
will build a more self-compassionate mind-set. Our experience is
that very quickly, you will find yourself easier to live with and
more open to allowing yourself to succeed, fail and change.
Truly accept that failure is part of life and essential to the
learning process
We often try to ameliorate our discomfort by criticizing
ourselves or moving too quickly to resolve the issue. But if we can
sit with an issue and understand our own pain without judging, we
can learn how to bounce back much faster. In a moment of failure,
simply notice what happens to you, your heartbeat, your breathing,
your inner voice; acknowledge that feeling, recognize its power,
then move on. It does not define you any more than success defines
you.
Stop trying to control how we feel
Remember our emotions are not shameful. We didn’t choose to feel
anxious, worried or angry. Evolution gave us these emotions to keep
us out of harm’s way. The trouble is, they don’t always work in our
favor and can fire off too quickly and for too long. Paradoxically,
mindfully noticing how we feel, and accepting that it’s OK to feel
this way, often results in feeling calmer. If we self-reflect with
contempt and anger, make broad judgements, blame ourselves and
assume mistakes will be permanent, we will find ourselves unable to
develop encouragement for ourselves and truly learn.
SO, WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT? HERE ARE FIVE TIPS TOWARDS
SELF-COMPASSION
YSC has a variety of Executive Coaching programs that can help
your leaders in these stressful times.Email [email protected] to find
out how we can support your leaders.
YSC.COM
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Organizations and their leaders have been grappling with the
need to adapt to constant change for many years now. Emerging
competitors, digital disruption, increasing regulatory and public
scrutiny have created a need to continuously innovate and
anticipate consumer demands. Then the Covid-19 Pandemic happened,
fundamentally challenging every aspect of a business – operations,
logistics, engagement with customers and generating revenue all
whilst protecting costs. The pandemic has accelerated the way we
connect and operate virtually and has forced many companies to
re-think their business models. It is unlikely that the world will
ever operate like it did pre-pandemic. No longer is being agile or
adaptable a desired skill, it is now essential.
ADAPTIVE THINKING
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ADAPTIVE MINDSET IS HARD TO DO ALONEWhilst an adaptive mindset
puts a spotlight on our internal thoughts and feelings, it also
requires us to assimilate external perspectives in our thinking. To
adapt your thinking, you must seek out difference. Staying open to
other people’s opinions and ways of viewing the world that is
different to your own, provides broader input to your ability to
see possibility in the future.
Leadership Tip To seek out difference, you need to create a
psychologically safe environment for others to bring their thinking
and share their working assumptions. Bring new people into your
decision making as they will not have the attachment that your team
has to your current plan or priorities. Ensure your team has a mix
of people who project their mind into the future, and those who are
identifying what needs to happen in the present to move to that
future.
Leaders will need to face into what is not known for some time
to come. They need to make a conscious choice, to ensure their
decision making is no longer reacting to the change in context but
responding to ongoing change. Leaders who have the courage to
challenge their assumptions, seek out difference of opinion and
create space to hypothesize about future possibilities, will adapt
and keep moving forward.
As businesses settle from responding to immediate demands of
Covid-19, leaders now must think about how they respond to shape
their ‘next normal’, to survive and thrive through the enduring
uncertainty of the pandemic. Whilst managing one’s well-being is
important to maintain resilience during this time, there is also a
need to evolve ones thinking. Many leaders are wondering how they
can keep up with, and respond to, a vastly different and
ever-changing context.
One way for leaders to succeed is by letting go of a need for
expertise, and instead apply an ‘Adaptive Mindset’ to inform their
decisions. An Adaptive Mindset is about seeking out new contextual
information in the present to anticipate the future, and
consequently, generate new ideas or opportunities to go after.
Adaptive decisions apply a learning approach, to enable confidence
in making decisions when the context is changing. This sounds
straightforward but there are three things you need to apply:
ADAPTIVE THINKING IS HARDIt requires you to challenge and let go
of existing judgements that are no longer relevant to the current
context. To make our daily lives easier, our brains take a lot of
mental short cuts which results in us over-valuing information that
confirms our hypothesis and undervaluing information that is
contrary to our view. It is easy for us to become wedded to our
existing strategy when our brain focuses on the data to reinforce
our original thinking. It is much harder to direct our attention to
new data or different opinions that suggest we need to adapt to our
changing context. It demands an intentional focus to seek out
different data and alternative ideas.
Leadership Tip To develop an Adaptive mindset, you need to
dedicate time to scan what is going on externally in the world, and
then to stand back to evaluate how that differs with your
‘internal’ world view. It requires you have the courage to
challenge your previous convictions and be open to evaluate whether
your goal or strategy is still relevant for the future. Leaders
with adaptive mindsets are able to let go of their past decision-
making assumptions, to envisage future opportunities. The current
context of ongoing uncertainty makes it harder to let go of our
past assumptions. In absence of clear insights to how customers
will behave, what government policies will be put in place, it is
easy to hold on to our previous data sets. Consider some of the
macro changes you are seeing in the media, or personally
experiencing in your own life. Use these inputs to create new
hypotheses about the future.
ADAPTIVE MINDSET IS MORE THAN A THINKING PROCESSChallenging our
thinking requires us to connect with our emotions. To identify need
for change, leaders need to recognize how they feel about a change.
It is easier to pretend that decision making is purely rational,
than to acknowledge any emotional attachments that may prevent a
shift in thinking. And yet, we know from neuroscientific research,
that our thoughts and emotions are intertwined. It is a natural
human response to feel some resistant to change. In fact, the
discomfort we feel on encountering a need for change has an
evolutionary role. It is designed to motivate us to learn a new
behavior to overcome the pain of the current situation and move
into the future. We often interpret this uneasiness as a stop
signal to avoid something when it is meant to push us out of our
comfort zone to adapt.
Leadership Tips Our emotional response happens within
milliseconds, so it is difficult to notice how it influences our
thinking. To make adaptive decisions, leaders need to create space
to step back and consider:
• How do you feel about the change that has ensued from the
pandemic?
• If you are feeling any negative emotions, what have you lost
or are missing from pre-Covid life?
• If you are feeling positive emotions, where do you see an
opportunity? What would give you courage to act on that opportunity
and create a new future?
By recognizing our emotions, we can acknowledge what we are
attached to in our past, which frees us up to look to create new
possibilities for the future.
YSC has an Adaptive Mindset Virtual Workshop, as well as other
Resilience interventions to help you and your teams thrive in these
uncertain times.Email [email protected] to find out how we can support
your leaders.
YSC.COM
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The COVID-19 pandemic has catapulted a lot of businesses into
unchartered territory. It has brought a whole new meaning to the
phrase ‘change is the only constant’. Living and working in the new
normal of radical uncertainty is a true test of our ability to deal
with high levels of anxiety and ambiguity. As the virus spreads its
way across the world, we see different countries and their people
at different points of the change spectrum. Some have been through
the worst of the crisis and seem to be emerging at the other end of
the tunnel whilst others are seeing a resurgence of the virus.
Our initial response to a crisis was one of an adrenaline surge;
many organizations and leaders did what it took to ensure safety
and care for their employees and business overall. But as economic
and health implications unfold, we are realizing there are no quick
fixes or easy answers. Moving from a crisis response into a period
of ongoing stressors, constant ambiguity creates a state of chronic
anxiety. Many leaders have accepted that they will need to find new
ways to lead through the crisis and into a changed world over the
next few years.
Resilience is not isolated to a crisis response; resilience
encompasses our personal resources that help us to grow, learn and
adapt to change. Leaders can build more resilience in their people
by practically supporting their people to strive to survive through
these tough times, so they can thrive again and create a
sustainable future.
MAINTAINING MOMENTUM
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SUPPORTMost leaders did a good job at reaching out to their
people when we initially responded to the crisis, to ensure they
had enough emotional and infrastructural support at hand. Our
client conversations show that this is a lever that most leaders
are struggling with at a personal level. Whilst they are offering
support and compassion to those around them, they are failing to
access similar support for themselves. Leaders need to recognize
that they are also going through significant change, and to
identify who they can confide in to process their emotions and
concerns. Also, as teams look at a prolonged period of social
isolation, leaders need to be creative in terms of how they create
a culture of support. Teams need a mix of formal, structured
support and informal support. For formal, leaders can set up peer
coaching pairs or create a space on their team agenda to share
personal challenges. Informally, leaders can continue to bring as
much fun or humor to other virtual connections. If you work in a
global or regional organization, reaching out to someone who is at
a different phase of the crisis, it helps to look at our experience
through a different point of view.
CONFIDENCEMany leaders responded to the crisis by addressing
short term concerns with a focus on securing people and teams, but
uncertainties about the business and the future still loom large,
especially in the minds of senior leaders. Anxieties that were
originally about health and wellbeing have now morphed into
uncertainty about the economy and jobs of people we lead. This is
the time to separate our anxieties around that which we can control
and that which we cannot. Reverting back to purpose and values and
taking decisions in the present while keeping future options open
is critical. Leaders need to constantly reframe and simplify the
situation for their teams, to ensure their confidence is built to
keep progressing one step at a time into a new future.
STRIVINGLeaders and their teams found new ways of delivering and
collaborating in the need to rapidly move to remote working.
However, after a prolonged period working in uncertainty, most
goal-oriented individuals will start to feel lost as the business’
objectives keeping shifting and leaders need to keep reforecasting.
Traditionally, successful organizations may have reverted to
scenario planning but given the nature of this pandemic, while
scenarios can be planned, the probability of any of these being
reality is unknown. Hence, the best thing leaders can do is to
simplify goals, both for themselves and those around them. Becoming
sharper about immediate priorities and defining actions for the
team that help them keep their purpose alive is the best response
to keep the momentum. For example, in the next 4 weeks we will
focus upon XYZ… (This requires a shift away from a perfectionist
mindset and a constant review of what should be aimed for in this
time and what needs to be deferred). This is a time where not just
what we take up, but more importantly, what we let go of becomes
critical.
RECOVERYThe move to remote working forced people to review their
understanding of what energizes and de-energizes them. Some people
have adapted good habits whereas others have struggled to create
new rhythms for themselves. The ongoing stress of social distancing
and broader uncertainty means that good recovery habits are
essential. Leaders need to encourage their people to experiment
with new routines that are manageable during these times. Teams can
share resources, their own personal tips on what they have found to
work and to foster habits that help maintain energy and
positivity.
ADAPTINGThe earlier phase of responding to the crisis pushed
everyone to quickly adapt to a completely new way of working, but
as we look to the future, acknowledging that we will not be
returning to pre-COVID life, we need to pause and learn from this
period to ensure we adapt to a new context. We can learn from
people and countries at different phases of managing the crisis to
observe how their organizations are responding with their own
change. This requires us to stay aware of our assumptions, be open
to letting go and changing perspective, and constantly
communicating the shifts in thinking to our teams. Establishing a
rhythm through which leaders can learn with their teams and stay
nimble to make changes is critical. If leaders feel they do not
have the time to stop and step back, they can add reflective
processes to existing meetings to ensure people are developing
flexible thinking strategies.
Maintaining momentum during these times means we need to keep
prioritizing our resilience strategies. In doing so, we need to
learn to access them and use them in different ways. As leaders, it
means being ready to question our assumptions on a daily basis and
being open to change our decisions. For teams it means using every
element of virtual connection that we can to constantly re-frame
the situation to stay positive and keep each other supported to
adapt to evolving situations.
YSC offers a range of Leadership Resilience interventions to
help individual leaders and their teams maintain momentum and
continue to have impactEmail [email protected] to find out how we can
support your leadership teams. YSC.COM
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Initially, when we were all responding to the crisis, the
challenges around maintaining productivity and engagement were
primarily concerning operational transitions to working remotely,
access to systems, and adapting to virtual ways of working. Now, as
organizations have addressed initial adaptations to remote working,
leaders are needing to address productivity through ongoing remote
working.
So just how do you maintain productivity and engagement levels
in a world of social distancing? Through working with leaders
across the globe, we have found five key things that most
distinguish productive teams...
MAINTAINING PRODUCTIVITY & ENGAGEMENT
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Many leaders are reporting being pulled down into tactical
operational matters that they normally would not get involved in,
limiting their ability to look up and ahead to more strategic
matters. In fact, most leaders experienced this to some extent when
the crisis first hit, as there was an urgent need to focus on
operational crisis issues. In this sense, the step down into
tactical matters has been thoroughly appropriate. However, what we
heard from a lot of leaders was just how hard it has been to then
step back up into more strategic matters. Some leaders have had
less resources at their disposal, with employees self-isolating,
and so have had to pick up some of the slack. Others have spoken
openly about wanting to show their people that they are in the
trenches with them. Again, these may be good reasons to step down
into the detail of operations, but they are not good reasons to
stay there. So, rule 1 of being productive is to make sure you
don’t stay down too long in tactical matters. Review your
priorities. Make sure you have a plan to transition to a new phase
of working and as ever, delegate and empower wherever you can.
The second thing productive teams do is to meet online at least
once a week and importantly to do so via video conference. This
seems to create a greater sense of team plus some peer pressure to
be productive, as people hear what their colleagues are up to.
Having more conversations than normal about non-work things also
seems to be related to greater levels of productivity. For example,
giving everyone in the team space in the regular video conferences
to share their experiences of working at home, or asking everyone
to share tips for how to keep kids occupied, or sharing tips for a
good Netflix series to watch. Or even just using WhatsApp groups to
share funny pictures and videos about life in lockdown. It may seem
off-purpose, especially to the more introverted and task-focused of
us, but the activity of doing this pulls people together and
creates a greater sense of everybody being in this together.
DON’T STAY DOWN LAYING OUT THE CHALLENGE
MAKE SURE EVERYONE FEELS USEFUL
GET EVERYONE TOGETHER
TALK MORE ABOUT LIFE
Leaders with the most productive teams do not just support
people, they also lay out the challenge ahead in no uncertain
terms- and therefore the opportunities. Most commonly, they make it
clear that crises and recessions produce clear winners and losers –
at the organizational, team and individual levels. That it is these
moments when businesses and their people show their true colors,
and that they need to put everything they have got into ensuring
they are one of the winners.
Even if people do not have access to business systems, it is
important that everyone has something to do and that no one is left
feeling that they are on a holiday, overlooked or undervalued. It
is important for morale and engagement, and for ensuring people
feel that they have a fair chance to contribute. It is important
for ensuring that momentum is not lost to the extent that it takes
people longer to get back up to full productivity when they do
return to work. Ways in which leaders can do this include:
• Ensuring that they distribute work evenly (the risk of leaders
operating mainly through favourites is likely to be exacerbated in
the current);
• Asking all team members to identify one thing in their daily
routine or span of control where they can improve efficiency or
quality;
• Asking people to do a piece of market or technical
research;
• Asking people to identify one thing that they have been
meaning to do for a while and to then go and do it;
• Asking people to look at their customers, review which ones
are best placed to recover most quickly, and then have a plan for
what they need to be doing now with these customers to ensure that
they can pick up their business as soon as the recovery hits;
• Asking people to do a piece of self-development – for
instance, read a book and then come back and do a brief
presentation on what they learned and how they could apply it at
work.
YSC’s Team Dynamics Diagnostic, team coaching and workshops can
help individual leaders and their teams maintain focus and
thriveEmail [email protected] to find out how we can support your
leadership teams. YSC.COM
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Social and political shifts have disproportionate impact on
different groups, but the COVID-19 crisis has amplified some of
these patterns and added further complexity to how we interact and
perceive others. With so much uncertainty clouding every decision
and action, general suspicion and mistrust of others is on the
rise. We should, therefore, stop to consider the threat – not of
the virus itself - but the threat of fear, panic, and widespread
distrust, which runs the risk of creating lasting implications for
organizations and their people.
NAVIGATING UNCERTAINTY WITH CURIOSITY, COURAGE AND
CONNECTION
14
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© 2020 YSC© 2020 YSC © 2020 YSC15
What we know is that the human brain is wired to react to threat
with a flight or fight response. As the threat of the COVID-19
virus continues to prevail across the world and the impact widens –
people and organizations are hard-wired to either run (flight) or
respond with hostility (fight). Running sends signals of panic and
closes down any opportunity for growth. Fighting, on the other
hand, creates hostility and breeds behaviors such as blaming and
shaming. These aspects of our psychology can be even harder to
manage when our usual opportunities for connection and cues for
compassion are restricted. As physical distancing and virtual
working continues, the risk of unfounded beliefs and assumptions
taking hold in our psyche increases dramatically. Without
opportunity to sense check these beliefs, our unconscious biases
have an uncanny knack for trumping our rational thinking. Swept up
in the collective fear and panic, it would not be uncommon for many
of us to “close our borders” to others.
YSC’s Inclusive Leadership Model offers three pillars of
inclusion that leaders, teams, and entire organizations can
leverage to bolster inclusion in times of uncertainty. Whilst these
behaviors are developable, having a level of self-awareness is a
core starting point. Inclusive leadership is vital at this time to
ensure all communities (marginalized and otherwise) are supported
and seen despite social distancing. This is crucial for instilling
a sense of security and belonging. As more and more people spend
time away from their usual workplace due to illness, caring
responsibilities or government guidelines, and with the impact of
this disruption likely to impact us far into the future, we all
need to find ways towards curiosity without suspicion, courage
without drama, and connection without consequence...
At times of crisis, leaders are likely to focus on action and
rapid response. Many leaders are finding they have less time for
considering alternatives or exploring what others think. The risk
is that action orientation, without transparency and opportunities
to contribute, isolates others and creates mistrust. People are
likely to keep their thoughts to themselves, which results in
missed opportunities for proactively sharing ideas and solutions to
the problems facing businesses right now. Added to this is the
challenge of virtual working, which requires intentional efforts to
set up forums for collaboration. Teams can no longer just ‘huddle’
spontaneously. Instead, virtual collaboration requires more
logistical coordination and its success is subject to the
heightened level of attentiveness that a leader demonstrates when
tuning in to all voices.
How to respond:
As action and response is demanded, leaders should draw on broad
sources and provide a clear rationale for any decisions taken.
People can be united through clear processes for responding to the
situation. Inviting ideas and alternative ways of resolving issues,
signals openness and a willingness to learn from the challenges.
While pace and action are critical at this time, inviting “bite
size” contributions from broad groups makes a material difference
to people’s sense of inclusion.
• Formal & Informal channels: Set up new ways of engaging
your teams through virtual methods, both formal avenues like video
conferences and informal avenues like blogs and videos. Regardless
of the platform, remember to start with simple check-in’s, what are
people’s peaks and troughs (personally and professionally)? This
will help to gauge energy levels and surface potential challenges
that may be standing in the way of others bringing their full
selves to the fore. It may also be important to follow up group
sessions with individual check-ins to provide extra support where
necessary.
• Space to be heard: Within teams, agree ways to bring all
voices into the virtual “room” – having mechanisms to ensure
everyone is heard will minimize the risks of marginalization and
isolation. Using chat and assigning smaller breakout groups into a
private virtual room, can help elevate idea generation and creates
more intentional opportunities for fluid thinking and discussion.
Alternatively, you can remain attentive to the dynamics of the
group and create space for quiet members to share their thoughts
first, by proactively calling on them: ‘I would love to hear your
reactions’.
AWARE REL
ATION
AL
RE
CE
PTI
VE
CLAR
ITY VULNERABLE
GE
NE
RO
US
CONNECTION
CU
RIO
SITY
COURAG
E
C
reat
e th
e co
nd
itions
Embrace the uncomfortable,
fo
r lea
rning
and take risk and
cr
eativ
e th
inking
empower others
Understand yourself
and leverage the rich
diversity of others
INCLUSIVELEADERSHIP
© 2019 YSC
THE CHALLENGE: CURIOSITY (WITHOUT SUSPICION)
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© 2020 YSC© 2020 YSC © 2020 YSC16
Leaders will not always immediately know the best course of
action. Under pressure, we can easily be tripped up by our natural
biases and our derailers. Some leaders may find themselves
withdrawn, heads down to solve the crisis, and forget the need to
reach out and connect. Others may become domineering and
micro-manage the situation in an attempt to create certainty. In
many instances, leaders have needed to revert to
command-and-control styles to manage the initial impact of the
crisis. However, if this becomes a more permanent operating style,
leaders risk allowing power plays to override humility.
Accumulatively, these behaviors risk closing others down and
damaging the psychological safety that was established in steadier
times. This is likely to disengage critical contributors to the
recovery and redefining phase as organizations seek to establish a
new normal.
How to respond:
Demonstrating a willingness to challenge usual ways of
operating, show vulnerability and taking some risks into the
unknown, can inspire others to do the same. Leaders should call on
people to leverage their strengths in new areas and amplify small
but impactful contributions. Humility remains a critical balancing
factor here to ensure genuine courage that is not driven by ego,
but rather by a desire to influence for the greater good. Leaders
who establish psychological safety will signal to others that it is
safe to take interpersonal risks. Having the courage to demonstrate
vulnerability will create an open, non-judgemental space for
others, thereby diffusing misunderstanding and interpersonal
drama.
• Reflect on biases and derailers. Creating time for reflection
on your leadership impact is critical in a crisis, but often the
first to go when pressures rise. Each leader should establish good
habits for reflecting on how they react under stress, recognizing
the triggers that may lead them to close down openness and
interpersonal risk taking. This might involve reflective
journaling, prioritizing coaching sessions and sharing personal
learnings with others in a spirit of generosity and care. When
personal self-reflection is proving difficult, identify an
‘accountability partner’ who can help to hold up the mirror to your
biases and derailers and gently nudge you into awareness and
action.
• Share experiences and reactions. Leaders should talk about
their own reactions to the current pandemic, sharing their
vulnerabilities and the challenges they are personally facing in
terms of balancing caring responsibilities, supporting loved ones,
and acknowledging the impact on their communities. This will help
to deepen trust and humanize the diverse challenges individuals
experience, helping to ease the pressure that others may be
facing.
• Acknowledge difference. Recognize and acknowledge the impact
this current state has on different populations and communities;
consider who may be ‘the forgotten groups’ in all of this and
identify a strategy for how to keep them connected and engaged.
Reach out to diverse groups and/or leverage internal employee
resource groups (ERGs) to determine what specific support may be
needed.
AWARE REL
ATION
AL
RE
CE
PTI
VE
CLAR
ITY VULNERABLE
GE
NE
RO
US
CONNECTION
CU
RIO
SITY
COURAG
E
C
reat
e th
e co
nd
itions
Embrace the uncomfortable,
fo
r lea
rning
and take risk and
cr
eativ
e th
inking
empower others
Understand yourself
and leverage the rich
diversity of others
INCLUSIVELEADERSHIP
THE CHALLENGE: COURAGE (WITHOUT DRAMA)
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© 2020 YSC© 2020 YSC © 2020 YSC17
AWARE REL
ATION
AL
RE
CE
PTI
VE
CLAR
ITY VULNERABLE
GE
NE
RO
US
CONNECTION
CU
RIO
SITY
COURAG
E
C
reat
e th
e co
nd
itions
Embrace the uncomfortable,
fo
r lea
rning
and take risk and
cr
eativ
e th
inking
empower others
Understand yourself
and leverage the rich
diversity of others
INCLUSIVELEADERSHIP
THE CHALLENGE: CONNECTION (WITHOUT CONSEQUENCE)
In response to threat, individuals may respond by flight –
receding further into isolation, or by fight – becoming
increasingly hostile or aggressive as they grapple with their own
fears. This can lead to relationship breakdowns and dysfunctional
behaviors in teams. This can be exacerbated by the physical
distance and the adjustments people have to grapple with as a
result of virtual working. There is a risk that people are being
asked to connect more in the virtual space, but meaningful
connection is lost, as social cues are affected, and people lose
their voice in the collective. Leaders have a role to play in
ensuring that individuals remain connected to their colleagues and
their purpose, despite physical restrictions on movement.
How to respond:
Organizations will benefit from leaders who are able to
acknowledge their own tendencies towards fight or flight in
difficult times and are willing to make this part of open dialogue.
This will help to normalize the difficult emotions people may be
feeling and bring people closer together, regardless of
geographical barriers. In turn this allows leaders to remain open
to the diversity of experience and genuinely connecting with people
where they are. Leaders will need to dial up their capacity to tune
in, spotting those who may have receded and finding ways to connect
with truth and meaning.
• Regular connection moments. Leaders should leverage technology
to foster “little and often” touchpoints so that help people feel
connected. Extending this beyond your immediate area by encouraging
others to set up virtual coffees with a colleague abroad or setting
up more formal buddy systems will support broader, business-wide
connection and untap opportunities for collaboration.
• Don’t skip the small talk. Start every meeting with ‘how is
everybody doing?’ and ensure there is time to share stories,
concerns, personal challenges to build team resilience and
connection. Making use of more informal communication channels to
encourage colleagues to share pictures and stories of the
innovative ways they are coping with the circumstance, can open up
global connections and create cohesion through shared
experiences.
• Channel your connections. Demonstrate the value that comes
from different perspectives by spotlighting global colleagues
during business updates and inviting regions to share their unique
experiences. Respond to these stories with genuine empathy and
invite broader conversations around shared challenges to build
unity and cohesion. YSC’s offers a range of
interventions based on validated Model of Inclusive Leadership
to develop your leaders to value and maximize the diversity in
their teams.Email [email protected] to find out how we can support your
leadership teams.
YSC.COM
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How do you do more than just survive? How can you actually
thrive? Businesses are in the grips of an unprecedented health,
social and economic crisis. For some, it has brought unusually
heavy demand and with it an extraordinary opportunity for growth.
But for most, it has brought a sudden stop or abrupt change, and
with it much pain and challenge. Employees are dispersed; supply
chains disrupted; customers disappeared. Simple survival or the
implementation of some sort of continuity plan was step one. But
while that may be a win in its own right, it is not enough. And the
key question facing many businesses now is what to do next, either
as the recession elongates or recovery comes.
LEADING RECOVERY
18
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To answer this question, YSC teamed up with IMD Business School
to research crises and recessions of the past 100 years to see what
could be learned from these past events about what businesses need
to do now. Examining previous studies by economists into acute
crises such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, as well more prolonged
recessions such as the Great Depression of the 1930s and the 2008
financial crisis, we discovered three things:
There is a small group of businesses that are clear winners in
recovery periods. While around one in six firms effectively
collapse, and around three-quarters struggle but survive, about 9%
seem to thrive, significantly outperforming competitors.
How businesses act in recovery periods is more important in
determining which businesses are part of the 9% that thrive, than
pre-crisis performance or structural factors such as business size
or age.
There are three business behaviors that are most commonly seen
in the 9% of businesses that thrive:
Knowing these things is one thing; making them happen is quite
another. The challenge for businesses and their leaders then, is
how to drive efficiency, evolution and empowerment. With this in
mind, YSC have been working with clients in four main ways:
Participating in business recovery teams, contributing with
advice on best practice and guidance on leadership strategy and
behavior-change.
Evaluating business’ and leaders’ operating environments for the
degree to which they drive and support the 3E’s of efficiency,
evolution and empowerment.
Providing high-touch coaching support to CEOs and Senior
Executives to cascade the 3E’s across their businesses.
Delivering brief, targeted online training in practical
techniques for leaders and managers for how they can drive and
support the 3E’s in their teams.
EMPOWERMENT
EVOLU
TION
EFFI
CIEN
CY
3E’s For more information on the research, its findings, and how
your business can drive efficiency, evolution and empowerment to
ensure it is one of the 9% that thrive, please contact us at
[email protected]
YSC.COM
Efficiency
Firms that succeed focus not just on managing cash and costs,
but on operational efficiency – on using the crisis to make their
business fitter.
Evolution
Output-side investment in things like product development and
marketing tends to deliver higher profits and market share
increases in recovery.
Empowerment
Businesses that are decentralized and empower employees to make
use of this tend to do better in recovery periods, regardless of
size or market segment. And the positive effect of this is
primarily driven through creating local discretion over outputs
(sales and new products) rather than inputs (like labor and
capital).
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The COVID-19 crisis has put leadership decision making under a
spotlight. Decisions need to be made at pace in a context of
continuous and unprecedented change, with a high level of scrutiny.
Across the world, governments, economists, medical professionals,
and organizations are informing and debating critical decisions
that have significant consequences. Our society is so
interconnected, these decisions often involve tradeoffs, and these
compromises and consequences are visible to the world.
Most leaders and organizations are now moving on from the triage
mode of managing basic safety and solving immediate problems to
making decisions that will shape the future of their organizations
and the shape of society. The enduring uncertainty of the future,
means that a new approach to decision making is required. Here are
some key questions that leaders can ask themselves to inform
decision making, and move from addressing immediate problems to
shaping future outcomes.
DECISION MAKING PRINCIPLES AMIDST FAST-PACED CHANGE AND ONGOING
UNCERTAINTY
20
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© 2020 YSC© 2020 YSC © 2020 YSC21
WHAT WILL BE VALUED IN THE FUTURE? As leaders navigate the
disruptions of their current reality, they need to frame their
decisions today in the context of an unknown future. They need to
create space to reimagine a vastly different world, in which
societal trends and preferences will change. Organizations whose
leaders take the time to envisage a post-COVID future will have an
edge. No one has clarity, so when thinking through what the world
is going to value coming out of this, it is important to think from
an ‘outside in’ lens. Taking time to understand the value your
business needs to deliver to various stakeholders – customers,
employees, owners, vendors, partners, the community that you are
part of in a disrupted world will help you to anticipate changes.
Considering these various expectations can help you to spot new
opportunities to thrive that are sustainable and enlivening. If
anticipating their changing needs feels opaque, you can bring these
multiple voices into your organization. A client in the AI sector
regularly brings their customers into brainstorm future product
ideas. They realize the value of partnering in creating a future
within an industry where there are few precedents. The current
uncertainty around the future is an opportunity for a variety of
industries to adopt such strategies. Having ‘conversations of
curiosity’ with various stakeholder groups, bringing listening
without providing an immediate solution, will help create a picture
of the future landscape.
WHAT DO WE WANT TO RETAIN FROM THIS PERIOD OF TRANSITION? The
obvious choices are around the use of technology and virtual
working. Contactless delivery and virtual workouts are here to
stay. There have been some great examples of repurposing existing
facilities e.g. alcohol and personal care plants switching to
manufacture hand sanitizer, or the fashion industry producing PPE.
They are the lessons around leadership, agility and decision making
from this period that your organization can hold on to. A leader
narrated his team’s story of being able to solve a customer’s
supply chain problem within 10 days through this crisis – a similar
problem had taken the organization a year to solve previously. The
crisis provided a new sense of purpose and meaning for the team.
They see themselves as a different team today and cannot go back to
being the team that took
a year. Their story about themselves has changed. In the chaos
of managing a crisis, it is important to pause and consider what
have you discovered about yourself and your organization through
these last couple of months. Establishing new beliefs and
assumptions around what is possible, will give you a new platform
to view the future. Is there innovation trapped in your system that
could respond to a current or future need?
WHAT WOULD WE LIKE TO INTENTIONALLY CHANGE? The collapse of
global supply chains has brought to the forefront another tradeoff
that businesses have made – that between cost and control. Choices
around efficiency, productivity and certainty are likely to take
different forms in the future. The current crisis offers an
opportunity to examine current values, ways of working, business
models that may have been harder to change pre-COVID. Many
organizations have found changes around technology fast tracked out
of necessity. Taking some of the ideas that have been placed in a
parking lot, or didn’t get traction because of a resistance to
change, and re-visiting them in the current context may bring a new
sense of possibility to make these changes easier. In saying that,
changes need to be intentional rather than solely reactive, to meet
needs of today and the future.
At a personal level too, getting back to the fundamentals is
valuable. Asking yourself, what do you want to stand for and who do
you want to be can help shape decisions. At such times ‘who I am’
and ‘who I want to be’ can differ, often painfully. We live this
contradiction when we stock up on food, even though we know that
shortages occur if all of us hoard. Teams too, get tested on their
values. A leadership team that valued perfection and calm in a
crisis reflected on the need to create a space to be ‘imperfect’
and role model that as a value for the broader organization. It is
also a time for leaders to test how their personal values align
with the organizational values. We see that when leaders of food
companies step into their own kitchens to serve the needy. And
sometimes there are dissonances in organizational values that need
to be resolved. That could be the pivoting moment for an
organization. Focusing on the future in a sustainable manner
requires an honest evaluation of one’s values – individual, team as
well as organizational.
Finally, it is useful to remember in enduring uncertainty that
there are no right decisions. There are good decisions though. And
there are decisions that leaders own. Often making a decision is
the right thing, the alternative is to get caught up in analysis
with no movement. The challenge in a crisis like this is of course
that the impact of decisions can be so significant. Yes, data is
critical when making significant decisions, but it has its
limitations. COVID has shown us that the best models come with
their own set of assumptions and limitations, so understanding
these is as important as understanding the data. Being open to
prototype, iterate, abandon and change course early based on
insight can also help shape better decision making over time. The
balance between preserving the business financially and protecting
jobs is a real dilemma for many businesses today. As a leader,
acknowledging that you may not always get it right, but you made
the best decision you could, is sometimes the best we can do.
Email [email protected] to find out how we can partner with you to
redefine leadership strategy.
YSC.COM
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As the world starts to open after months in lockdown, societies
and organizations are trying to imagine what the next normal will
look like. For business leaders the focus is on recovering and
eventually growing business. Leaders realize that this involves
some degree of redesign for their organizations to deliver on new
asks effectively and efficiently. New systems and processes will
have to be developed to enable the new strategy, but strategic and
operational changes will not take root unless they are also
supported by cultural changes. Reimagining and reshaping your
business will certainly be a challenge but one that leaders are
more equipped to meet. Identifying and encouraging the behavioral
changes needed to support a new business strategy is a challenge
that few leaders have faced.
CREATING A POST COVID CULTURE
22
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© 2020 YSC© 2020 YSC © 2020 YSC23
THE JUMPING OFF POINTThe COVID imperative for adaptive,
technology driven, and virtual ways of working has disrupted
existing workplace definitions as well as habits. Notions of
‘normal’ have changed. Some aspects of the ‘new normal’ have worked
well for many and are likely here to stay. Others have been
questionable – and may not have a place going forward. As we enter
the phase of reimagining the future, the opportunity is to take
advantage of the disruption that has been forced upon us and create
a new set of workplace habits and culture that will enable future
success. The moment to embed the desired changes, and challenge the
dysfunctions is now, not once we are through to the other side.
Years ago, in “Everything Is Miscellaneous”, David Weinberger
described the new principles of digital order that were remaking
business, education, politics, science, and culture. We have in the
past few months seen these come to life in a more heightened way,
across different aspects of life. It is now ‘normal’ to have to use
your lunch break to walk the dog or limit the hours you are
available for meetings as you juggle childcare duties with your
spouse or partner. Calls while taking a mid-morning walk are
encouraged as health and wellbeing is an important value. Employees
in turn are willing to stretch hours and go the extra mile when
needed. The freedom to intersperse and integrate one’s workday with
‘life’ is what this crisis has given permission to do. This has now
come to be expected by many –especially the younger generations and
could well define the new normal for your organization.
Maintaining productivity and engagement has been a key challenge
faced by leaders. Added to this is the question of tracking and
measuring performance. Disruption of outcomes due to the pandemic
along with changing goalposts and timelines to recovery have meant
a focus on inputs for some. Virtual work has led to tools designed
specifically to track the way employees use time including logging
in hours, sending screenshots at fixed intervals, nudges to get off
social media, all seemingly focused on enhancing productivity, but
largely tracking inputs. They can create an environment of being
watched as they are unable to differentiate between priorities and
productivity. There is a need to track and assess in a manner that
is meaningful and motivating for people. For some leaders this
could mean thinking differently about how to track productivity in
the form of outputs, so that the focus is on the milestones that
return the business to growth. This will necessitate a mindset of
trust, and a culture of accountability around deliverables, rather
than focus on the activity to get there.
An important lesson through this crisis has been the pace and
agility demonstrated in the face of disruption. In a recent study
of startup organizations, it was found that their response to
consumer and enterprise trends in the last 90 days would normally
have taken 3-5 years. Large enterprise too, have demonstrated the
ability to pivot significantly during this time. This agility has
required challenging many of the existing cultural norms and ways
of working. The learning that leaders need to take forward from
this period is the ability to hold on to this agility and
challenger mindset, encourage it even in the absence of a crisis to
provoke accelerated change. It is about continuously challenging
the assumptions that may be slowing you down – e.g. statements like
“we have always done it this way”. Encouraging the voices of
difference, the devil’s advocate in the team, which came so
naturally during the worst of that crisis, is another learning from
this period to value.
LEARNING FROM THE CRISIS
Technology has been part of our world for some time but COVID
has enabled organizations to see a glimpse of its full potential.
Jack Dorsey’s recent announcement that twitter employees can work
from home permanently has reinforced what a lot of people have
experienced through this period – the freedom of working from
anywhere on flexible schedules. While this has implications for
talent, it also has implications for culture. The ability to build
trust quickly, to be comfortable with empowerment and work around
hierarchies that virtual work has called for have played an
important role in facilitating problem solving and innovation. It
is easier than ever to access knowledge and expertise from
colleagues across teams, geographies, and specializations.
Organizations will need to work out their own policies for remote
working, to harness the best of flexibility alongside needs around
productivity, collaboration and agile resourcing. Whatever is right
for your organization, holding on to an empowering mindset will
play a critical role in leveraging diverse talent and fostering
creativity.
Working virtually has offered an intimate peek into the lives of
colleagues and customers alike – kids popping into Zoom meetings to
say hi, pets with high inclusion needs demanding attention,
background family conversations, eclectic art, arresting views,
creative kitchens and an occasional bedpost all have seemed normal.
Judgment has taken a backseat for a while and has been replaced
with curiosity and acceptance. Will your workplace of the future
demand a return to showing up as ‘perfect’? Alternately, holding on
to this empathy, understanding and invitation to bring yourself
fully to work as you transition through recovery to growth is what
will motivate your talent to bring their best. Research has shown
that psychological safety is a key enabler for business. Finding
ways to stay open and curious in all aspects of work life will keep
people fully engaged and inspiring innovation.
Empowerment for innovation
Flexible working rhythms are here to stay
Measuring and maintaining productivity
Disruption ready. Always Empathy belongs in the workplace
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THE CULTURE OF THE FUTURE: INTEGRATING SEEMING OPPOSITESThe need
for clear, decisive leadership was apparent as organizations across
sectors learnt to deal with the impact of the crisis. People looked
for direction, someone to frame the future and provide a sense of
stability. Many leaders stepped up, being the problem solvers,
taking the difficult decisions and carving out a way forward, while
most people were happy to follow. At the same time, virtual
working, agile workflows, and the urgency of resolution have called
for significant empowerment and flexibility provided to teams to
shape change through innovation. Empowering teams to take charge of
change has been a significant contributor to firms emerging through
crisis successfully. The implications for culture are evident – a
work environment where you can be decisive ‘and’ be influenced by
the teams around you can help support recovery through both clarity
of vision and innovative approaches towards it. The new paradigm is
that you do not have to be one or the other – it is about being
choiceful about where to step up and provide direction, and where
to create the space for ideation through empowerment.
The crisis also made central the issue of survival for several
businesses. While for some the decision to let go of people to
preserve the business has been relatively straightforward, in most
cases it is not. Organizations are living, breathing systems and
performance and people go hand in hand. A performance culture
therefore must be one that values, not devalues people. One that
retains the empathy, the flexibility and the compassion that has
been so evident through the crisis. It is the ability to tap into
the potential of its people that will distinguish cultures that
enable exceptional performance in the post-COVID world. The
leadership opportunity is to create a culture that integrates the
focus on performance with compassion for your people.
YOUR ROLE AS A LEADERThe crisis has brought home to us that
change in culture and ways of working support change in business
and strategy. It has also highlighted the fact that seemingly
different leadership behaviors together can accelerate and maintain
momentum for the business. However, it is far easier to default to
old habits and ways of working than create space for differences,
specially those that may be complex to navigate. We know that
workplaces will be different as we travel the road to recovery. We
know what our people and our stakeholders value and aspire to has
changed through this. As you stand at the decision points, you can
consciously choose the paths to take and those to leave behind. You
need to articulate the values and behaviors that will support your
business in the future – and these will need to integrate the past
and the emergent. Strategy and culture go together, the “how” of
change is as critical as the business imperatives, and your role as
a leader calls for setting and owning both.
Email [email protected] to find out how we can partner with you to
redefine leadership strategy.
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