Coronavirus has had a seismic and long-lasting impact on the global business community.
Recent research reveals that in roughly the first eight weeks following the onset of the pandemic, business and consumer digital adoption leapt forward by five years.
The effects have been substantial across industries. Manufacturers have been forced to develop plans for “lights-out” factories and supply chains that are fully automated, thereby requiring no on-site employee presence. Banks have transitioned to remote customer service and sales. Schools and universities in many locations have pivoted to 100% online learning.
Many of these changes may prove to be positive in the long term, particularly the transition to working from home. While we have “only” been dealing with Covid-19 for around nine months, initial research indicates that employees are enjoying the opportunity to work remotely, with three-quarters saying they would like to continue doing so at least occasionally, and more than half insisting they would like this to be their primary way of working from now on.
However, there will inevitably also be negative consequences. While it has accelerated digitalisation, working from home has radically diminished face-to-face social interactions. Many have found this difficult to cope with.
A lot of employees feel less connected and more stressed. They are dealing with new distractions that hamper their productivity. All these new challenges mean they may require more, or different, support from business leaders.
Has Covid Increased Demand for a Different Kind of Leader?
Consider the traits that have traditionally enabled ambitious people to reach senior roles. While all leaders have their own personalities and strengths, if we took a poll of all the people reading this article, we would expect to see some common answers. Those responses might include:
- Confidence
- Extroversion
- Intelligence
However, there is compelling evidence that those traits may be less valuable in a remote world.
A study published in the Journal of Business and Psychology, comparing in-person and geographically dispersed teams, discovered that face-to-face teams tended to prefer leaders with “smart-seeming”, confident, extroverted traits. “The people who portray themselves as organised, dependable and reliable look to us like effective leaders,” explains lead author Radostina Purvanova, an associate professor of management and leadership at Drake University in the US state of Iowa.
In contrast, the remote teams favoured “doers”; people who tended toward connecting team-mates, providing help and resources, keeping abreast of upcoming deadlines, and generally getting things done. Those leaders were goal-focused, productive, dependable and helpful.
While the research was carried out pre-pandemic, it demonstrates that remote leadership requires a different approach. But presumably, organisations are not going to simply replace their entire leadership team to fit this new environment – particularly given that in another year, many of us may be back in the office.
So how can current leaders adapt their approach to fit the needs of their newly remote teams? How can they be more effective leaders to teams that are new to working from home? We asked members of our network for their advice.
Understanding Resistance to Digitalisation & Providing Solutions
Throughout history, there have been notable examples of opposition to rapid technological progress. Consider the Luddites of 19th-century Britain, who feared that modern textile machinery like mechanised looms and knitting frames would undermine their skills and damage their working conditions.
Digitalisation is no different. We have all been forced to embrace it, to a greater or lesser extent, since the onset of the pandemic. And while most people recognise the benefits it provides, there may also be resistance to new processes and systems of working.
Dr Carolina Kleebaur, an accredited and internationally active Executive Coach who supports organizations, teams, and managers through transformational phases, says leaders should first learn where resistance to digitalisation exists, and seek to understand the underlying factors behind this opposition.
“What are the general expectations and potential concerns of the organisation towards digitalisation? How does our current organisational culture, leadership style and way of working support the digital transformation? Do we have the right mindset and role models in our leadership team to support the change? What concerns and fears do employees have, if they show resistance? Is it simply lacking the right infrastructure at home? Is there a lack of competency and abilities, so do we need to build digital competency?”
Prioritising Health & Wellbeing
Coronavirus has forced organisations to reevaluate their mission, vision and values to place greater focus on the physical and mental health of employees.
Gartner urges employers to ask themselves: “To what extent do employees believe we really value people and ensure their well-being?”
Meanwhile, KPMG says 82% of CEOs in the UK have reconsidered their purpose as a result of the pandemic to better address the needs of stakeholders, including employees.
Ideally, employee wellbeing should not be a “new trend” motivated solely by Covid. But it takes on even greater importance in a remote world. With geographical barriers to job-seeking now all-but removed, there is little reason for talent to remain with an organisation that fails to prioritise their health.
Much of the emphasis here is on the employer. But leaders have a key role to play in translating those new, people-centric values into real-world measures. After all, it makes little difference to the life of an employee if their company preaches about the importance of mental health, while their manager demands they respond to emails around the clock and refuses their requests for time off.
Kleebaur explains:
“Right now, we have been confronted with the truth that people, humans, are the core talent in the company. So every company had to deal with it and set up mental and physical health measures, like setting up systems or guidelines, setting up home office equipment for their people and so on. I think this will also remain in the collective memory of organizations and within the people.”
Balancing Empathetic & Goal-Oriented Leadership
There has been a lot of talk recently about the topic of empathetic leadership; we discussed it in one of our recent articles, and Kleebaur confirms that many of her clients have been looking for ways to establish trust, authenticity and empathy in their leadership.
But this raises another issue: how can leaders balance being comforting, inspirational and empathetic, while still pushing for performance at a time when many organisations are encountering real pressure on their bottom line?
This is a “hot topic for the ages”, Kleebaur says ruefully. There has long been conflict between hard-line “old school” leadership and the desire of today’s leaders to build more authentic, trustful relationships.
The key takeaway for leaders is really to work out what kind of leader they want to be, she explains:
“What kind of role model [do I want to be]? What are my do’s and don’ts? How can I set a leadership manifesto for myself, when I’m established as a new leader for a team? How can I establish trust?”
In reality, this means leaders must be prepared to talk about themselves, be authentic, and give something for the heads, hearts and hands. But it also requires a pragmatic approach when solutions and decisions are needed, Kleebaur insists.
Practising Self-Leadership
As the old adage goes, “You can’t lead others until you understand how to lead yourself.” This is truer now than ever before, as leaders find themselves struggling to adapt to radically different working conditions.
But what is self-leadership? How does it work in practice?
Katie Lancaster, an Executive Coach with over 20 years of corporate board-level experience leading strategy development for globally acclaimed creative agencies on some of the world’s most famous brands, defines it as “taking responsibility for my world”. She breaks this down into two key elements:
- Self-authority: Taking responsibility for your actions, having strong awareness of how you are perceived and the impact you have on your environment and team.
- Self-acceptance: Truly getting to know and accept all aspects of yourself – your values, strengths and limiting self-beliefs – and learning how to manifest these with conviction.
Lancaster explains:
“This isn’t about being a perfect machine that achieves everything. It’s about really being an authentic leader … and Covid-19 is showing even more [that] we have to be in touch with ourselves, we have to really know ourselves. I think it’s really at the point of self-leadership that we can start to grow and inspire and really lead others.”
Self-leadership may not come naturally to everyone. But given the current restrictions on social interaction, now is a perfect opportunity for leaders to re-evaluate their approach. With this in mind, Lancaster has developed what she calls the BOLD framework:
- Being: Who are you beyond what you do? What are your key ways of being and believing, and what can you change going forward to live in closer alignment with them?
- Obstacles: What gets in the way? What self-limiting patterns or bad habits do you want to let go of? How will you free your life up as a result?
- Love: Of self and others. How can you show compassion towards yourself, what are you grateful for in others and how can you incorporate this into your leadership?
- Daring to Dream: What will your 80-year-old self be most proud about, concerning the life you created for yourself post-COVID? What is one step you can take today to make that happen?
She explains:
“This is a golden opportunity for us to press the reset button and embark on the path that we choose, rather than the path that somebody else has chosen for us.”
Exceptional leaders can continue to drive results and engage their teams, regardless of their environment. Morgan Latif can help you find those leaders. Get in touch to find out more.
