As the Pandemic rages across the world, there is simply no one whose life has not been impacted. Every sphere of activity and endeavor has been affected, across the world. With every aspect of our lives under siege, we are struggling to cope with the immense scale of changes required to lead our routine lives. The ripple effects are being felt across homes, schools, universities, businesses, trade, politics, and society at large. Amidst this dire scenario, terms like “new normal”, “lockdown”, “quarantine”, “business continuity” etc…have now come into the mainstream. More than ever, leaders are being called upon to respond to challenges they have never faced before, decisions the like of which they have not heard of, and face situations not envisioned.
The issue here is, old styles of leadership and dealing with situations will just not be fully effective. Because the nature of the problem at hand – the Pandemic – is something never faced before. There will be enormous pressure on leaders across families, organizations, businesses, and governments – in fact, in every walk of life – to be more effective, to cope more efficiently and most of all, to step to the plate & deliver. It is an unenviable position to be in, but then – the leadership function by itself is a lonely one. People’s perspectives on leadership and the way they think about it will thoroughly undergo a huge and major change. Not only leadership, but leadership styles will need to be rethought in the New Normal:
Leaders will need to care about people genuinely and be proactive in their initiatives:
As the boundaries between professional and personal lives blur, there are concerns that leaders will need to sense & address. before they become a major issue. Every working professional is adapting to remote working and WFH – amidst this, dealing with them with a focus only on work is just not it – because this is the new normal. The New Normal is digital. so, if an employee or a team-member is having some issues, leaders will need to be perceptive about it and not just dismiss it. Taking the time to be proactive in dealing with it is 1 thing to be done increasingly. Check in on people, ask them about how they are coping and resolve their issues. Just keeping conversations and zoom calls work-focused is not going to help. Staying proactive and caring about your people is going to pay dividends in the long run.
Leaders will need to be inclusive and Communicative:
This is a period in history that is unprecedented and characterized by transformation & change. For leaders it means that they mean to get everyone on board, so to speak. Autocratic, leader-centric styles of driving agendas are out. Inclusive and communicative leaders are required. Leaders will need to share their thoughts, their own experiences, and views with teams. Not only will this enable feedback but also build team-bonding and everyone will be encouraged to share. This signals the opening of a leadership style – open to change, willing to share and willing to include. Communication is key here to driving both the people and organizational agenda. For example, if thinking of exploring new markets, a marketing director can ask opinions about import export license online application – people can give their views and someone may have useful inputs that can help.
Leaders will need to adapt and instill the culture:
The earlier pace of doing business and norms of dealing with situations have changed drastically. We had never thought that physical meetings would cease, or we would have organizational meetings on zoom. But now they are the norm, with everyone logging in and going digital in every way possible. As new situations emerge and change is required, leaders operating in the new Normal will need to adapt and improvise. Old rule books will have to be tossed away as new ways to cope emerge. New learnings will need to be shared, discussed, new systems to increase efficiency will emerge & mainstreamed. Most importantly, leaders will need to learn to embrace change and adapt as required – both in thinking and in action. And then, translating these into the organizational culture to enable the learnings to spread into the teams.
Leaders will need to Over Communicate:
In the new normal, the more often you communicate, the better. As Virtual gets more and more real, every single minute – the key for leaders in the new normal will be to communicate, reinforce, reconfirm, enquire, get feedback, and then start the cycle all over again. And this is simply because it leaves little or no room for doubts & confusion. Check-ins, reminders, status-updates are normal. More importantly, it also means that leaders will need to give space to others for speaking up. There will, of course, be the temptation to drive things to a closure. But give people & teams some time to collect their thoughts, to present them – and then to discuss them. With practice, this will help get a new perspective on things and gain newer insights on processes, business, and organizational issues.
Conclusion:
Massive changes for the long term – globally, coupled with immediate course-corrections required now: this characterizes the state of affairs in the New Normal. In these surreal times, leaders are expected to be superman and batman all rolled into one. Not only expected to cope, but they are also supposed to have all the answers and deliver on expectations while keeping the teams motivated, driven sales & revenue and keep customers happy. Easier said than done. As the pandemic shows no signs of letting up, organizations and businesses must strive to reinvent systems & processes to cope. Starting with the leadership style. How leaders cope with the New Normal will ensure the future of businesses, brands, and organizations.
