A Mckinsey Global Institute report in 2017 attempted to forecast what kinds of jobs would lose relevance, and what new job roles would emerge. In less than three years, a deadly virus hit the world with unexpected ferocity. The last two years have changed lives worldwide in a way no other single event has. Families got hit by untimely deaths, companies have closed down, national economies have taken a beating.
Continue reading “How To Help Your Team Up-Skill Post Pandemic”
Till 2019, working from home was a need-based option provided to some employees by some organisations. But, Covid turned everything around. Organisations were forced to ask employees to work from home for the foreseeable future. And, with the second year of working from home arrangements in progression, both leaders and teams alike have adapted to this new working model. In fact, there have been several distinct advantages in ensuring employee engagement too.
Continue reading “Organisation’s Guide On Efficiently Implementing A Hybrid Working Model”
In 2003, as a relatively new manager, I was heading a small division of a medical device company. Above our office, in an apartment building in Andheri (Mumbai), was the office of a famous eye care device company. One day during a smoke break, between the small space beneath the staircase, the GM of the eye-care company asked me a question that would change my perspective on leadership completely. He asked me,
“When did the future switch from being a promise to a threat?”
– Chuck Palahniuk
It goes without saying that the Corona virus pandemic has been a global catastrophe – destroying lives and livelihoods, alike. Confronted with the vulnerability of human life and the uncertainty of human existence, humanity stood in collective abject horror. Phrases like social-distancing, lockdowns, self-quarantine, herd immunity, containment, fatality-rate, and the likes became everyday terms, as we made peace with the new normal.
And yet, as it is with the darkest of clouds, this pandemic had its own silver lining. Numerous stories of heart warming kindness and humanity came to surface, as everyone struggled to safeguard themselves, and their loved ones.
The pandemic has shown us that life is truly unpredictable. Not even the mightiest of nations have any control over its path. The coronavirus refused to respect even international boundaries. Thus, showing us how even the tiniest of virus can bring the economic progress of the world to a complete stand-still. This should remind us of the insignificance of human ego, wars, and power tussles.
Despite all the scientific knowledge and progress that man has made, nature can flip our best laid plans on their heads. Humans have been trying to subjugate nature using the rapidly progressing technology. But nature cannot be won over, rather humans need to learn to co-exist with nature.
In fact, for many, the new normal has helped them reconnect with nature, thanks to the increased indoor time. From picking up gardening to building individual organic gardens in the backyard, we are finding ways to be one with nature.
The necessities of life are very few. During the endless lockdowns, we learnt that we can easily live with just the essentials. Being forced to cut down clutter has simplified our lives, like never before. Sustainability is becoming the new way of life.
Nothing in life is indispensable. Lockdowns and social-distancing forced people to unlearn old habits. Even the most prolific shoppers learnt to live without their favourite brands and stay indoors. Closed bars and restaurants forced people to eat healthier, home made meals, and abstain from indulging in drinks and parties.
Nobody wants to die. Even the most fearless of folks have an in-built survival instinct. Resilience became the most sought-after life skill. Relatives couldn’t attend the funerals of their near and dear ones. Lockdowns became successful, without much effort, as it was a question of life or death.
After long periods of lockdown, people began to realise the value of freedom. During periods of respite, most of us rushed outdoors. As the song goes –
“You need only light when its burning low,
You only need the sun when it starts to snow..”
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one most adaptable to change.”
— Charles Darwin
This pandemic has brought to surface the undeniable importance of adaptability. Work-from -home (WFH) and digital meetings became the new norm. Digital financial transactions and e-commerce came into prominence. Even tiny-tots and students learned to attend classes online. Families and friends met on Zoom calls. Even the elders in our families learnt to use the most sophisticated of digital platforms.
As lockdowns and social distancing continue, internet connectivity has become a basic necessity. It now falls in the same category as electricity, or the water supply. This simple fact points to the increasing dependence on technology for our most basic needs. From the work we do to even the food we order.
Before the pandemic, people were caught-up in the rat-race. Most could not find enough time for their families, friends, or even personal hobbies. But, thanks to Covid, we were forced to take a pause. Family-members discovered new found intimacy. Living-rooms started being used for actual living, and not just to impress guests. People experienced what it is “to be” instead of what it is “to do” all the time. Many people discovered new hobbies, skills and interests and some even changed professions.
The pandemic brought to the fore that one individual cannot survive without the co-operation of others. We need to co-operate at many different scales-local, regional, national and global. It has shown us with crystal clarity that all of humanity is in the same boat. It has shown us the folly of pretending that we can achieve security in isolation – the virus can be defeated somewhere only when it has been defeated everywhere.
The pandemic has forced us to appreciate the true value of many people, whose roles in society tend to be undervalued: the nurses, the doctors, the people sitting at the checkout counters in supermarkets, the delivery personnel, the police personnel, the ambulance drivers, the many nameless Samaritans who suddenly offer help to the old and vulnerable. The pandemic has revealed a vast sea of kindness and benevolence in our communities and around the world. It has led to countless acts of selfless heroism in hospitals and care homes. It has impelled many of us to use our greatest strengths to serve our fellow human-beings, suddenly giving our lives new, inspiring meaning.
We have learnt, the hard way, that to tackle the pandemic, we need to have an early response system, effective command and a strong leadership. Disaster management response has to be swift, focused and well-coordinated. Pandemic control measures need to be taken effectively, by medical professionals with public co-operation. Health disparities need to be bridged, systemic lacunae need to be fixed and individuals need to take responsibility – not to harm or kill another individual by their reckless action and misbehaviour.
In these pandemic-battered times, all we wish for, is for things to return to normal. We are tired of gearing up to open the door when the doorbell rings, pray that no one else enters when we are in a lift, sanitize our hands when we open a door and wear a mask even when we are in a car all by ourselves because a court has deemed it to be a public space.
But, if and when the pandemic peters out and we return to the old normal, it is important to remember the lessons we have learnt and not lapse to our old patterns, again.
Anyone can lead when the plan is working. The best lead when the plan falls apart.
– Robin Sharma
On any given day, organisations can run on autopilot. Of course, this doesn’t refer to a flat organisational structure where everyone is equal. Leaders at different levels will still need to lead their respective teams. But, a leader’s true mettle is tested best during times of crisis. A leaders only gets to join the ‘above and beyond’ club after battling a few unforeseen crises and challenges.
This blog is not about leadership development. It is not even about leadership. Rather, the limited scope of this blog is to discuss what a leader must do when an unexpected storm hits the team. The pandemic is on everyone’s lips now, but it is not the first or the first, or the only, crisis that leaders across organisations have faced. And nor, will it be the last.
The three quick pointers explained in this short blog will certainly be useful this year. And, they can also be part of a playbook later for any of the leadership challenges that you are bound to face even after the pandemic is over.
The worst thing that can happen to a team during a crisis is the leader doing a disappearing act. Some leaders feel that employees might feel burdened with people looking over their shoulders while dealing with a workplace crisis. And, they would be right. But a leader needs to keep a close watch, nonetheless. This can help you identify the team members who might need your intervention. Also, it is important that you communicate your round the clock availability to your team. They should feel comfortable enough to reach out whenever they need you.
To further understand the art of communicating with your team effectively, here’s an insightful article by the Harvard Business Review. Another critical aspect of the leader ‘being seen’ is the leader’s public communication. When done effectively, this not only reassures the world at large, but also gives a boost of confidence to the employees as well.
”Compassion is empathy in action”
A common behavioural trait expected of leadership development folks is zero tolerance for mistakes. And it might even prove useful in normal times. But, often times, during a crisis, it can do more harm than good. Think of a cab driver who misjudges an angle and brushes his car against an electric pole –
If this happens during a regular trip, all that he needs to do is correct his steering wheel and straighten the course of the car.
Now imagine this happening in a crowded city street on a day when you have given him twenty minutes to get you to the airport. In a corporate environment, this would be a crisis, right? Both his and your nerves would be fraught with tension.
As soon as he hears the sound of metal on metal, and your cry of warning, he gives a violent jerk on his steering wheel. The car careens towards the other side of the road and almost hits an oncoming vehicle, and you yell again in fear. To avoid a collision, he gives another sharp turn of the wheel.. you get the picture, right? One thing will lead to another do nothing for his self-confidence.
A much better strategy would be to assure him that mistakes happen only when someone is trying. Tell him you are okay with him committing an error, and he should do the job right the next time. Encourage him to learn from this error and move on.
Most organisations have a command and control structure with clear circles of influence. Everyone knows their place in the hierarchy and owns up their responsibilities, accordingly. This works fine when things are going in a routine manner. But this becomes a serious leadership challenge when the organisation is facing an adverse situation. Mckinsey and Co. published a blog in 2020 about leadership challenges during the pandemic. Any leader could replicate the recommendations of the article at other times as well.
The article explained that a top-down approach for decision making, based on a bottom-up approach for information gathering can be highly effective. But during a crisis, the volume and velocity of changes to the ground situation are too high for a regular hierarchy to handle. Thus, the senior leadership should not even consider taking all the pressure on themselves. Instead, it is better to place a different structure in place. Let us try to understand this alternate leadership development process, a little better.
The article suggest that aside from the senior executive team, two more teams should be set up. The first is the response leadership team that acts as the control centre for coordinating the different teams on the ground. This team would also act as a bridge to the senior executive team. The second team would consist of smaller decentralized sub-teams. They would be responsible for handling smaller bits of the crisis, like external and internal communications, technology, supply chain, company assets, employee support, outreach, and others.
Apart from a more efficient response, deploying such a decentralised network could also help the organisation efficiently employ its leadership development plan. The younger team members entrusted with handling some of these ad hoc teams would effectively be ready to take on greater responsibilities down the line.
An organisation’s leadership development skills are truly tested during difficult times. You may continue with your routine leadership development strategies during the course of a regular year but the pandemic calls for a more proactive and decentralised approach. You can explore more such opinion pieces on leadership in the blogs section of our website for a wealth of literature on the subject. We hope our strategies will come in handy in helping you sail smoothly through these troubled waters.
For more leadership strategies that you can implement during the pandemic, speak to our team for a custom program.
Hector Correa published a book in 1963, titled The Economics of Human Resources. It attempted to correlate subjects as diverse as sociology, demography, psychology, nutrition, health, and educational sciences. This is considered to be one of the first few attempts at introducing microlearning, as a concept.
Being an avid book reader, I come across a number of leadership books. And yet, “Extreme Ownership: How Navy Seals Lead and Win” is one book that has stayed with me ever since I first read it. For anyone in the leadership development industry looking to be inspired, I’d say this is a must read.
Is focusing on employee engagement essential for your organization? Well, we have three answers to that question –
How many times have you found yourself ‘almost’ attempting something and then leaving midway?
My wife comes from a Sikh family from Ambala. During one of our visits, we went to a Gurudwara at the outskirts, “Panjokhra Sahib“. After prayers, we decided to go for the community meal (langar). Like in all Gurudwaras, people were sitting comfortably on the floor. That’s when a wealthy family arrived. They seemed to be dressed to impress, and sat down with the rest of the group. A group of ragpickers were then seated next to this very family. I was curious as to how the people serving langar would react. And yet, there was no visible change in their demeanour. They served the group of rag-pickers with the same smile and love as they had been serving others with. This was a beautiful example of ‘inclusion’ that I personally witnessed.
Continue reading “How Storytelling Can Help Make Impactful Leaders?”
