During these months of uncertainty, we’ve all witnessed how work from home has become the chosen work mode by most organisations, mainly for “office workers”: those who have changed in-person meetings for video conferences have seen an increase in their inbox and in the phone calls they received to deal with matters that used to be solved by walking down to the next door office; they’ve also found themselves juggling with work and personal responsibilities and activities.
On the other hand, 90% of organisations didn’t include such a scenario in their contingency plan.
What about leaders? What challenges have they faced? How have they kept their teams motivated, engaged and adding value to the organisation? Has a “new” leadership been born?
My experience tells me there are dozens of leadership styles, there is no unique formula; authoritative, charismatic, democratic, obedient… all of them have their own value depending on the situations and organisations.
In general terms, the most highlighted values are those related to a productive leadership, such as mid and long-term strategic vision, flexibility, change management, resilience, decision-making, communication, etc. In today’s circumstances, tangible and not very usual values have had to been added, such as the ability and speed to work and implement solutions in a very short period of time, or digital leadership.
Without a doubt, we are facing a situation in which it is important for leaders to incorporate a series of intangible and unusual aspects in management: solidarity, closeness, humility, generosity, optimism, bravery; all of these are necessary to face sadness, fear and agony, emotions that team members have had to face, and with the aim of strengthening enthusiasm and engagement in the project they share.
In a work context as the one we are living today, since the beginning of the crisis, redundancies, strategic reconsideration, new budgets, etc., it is essential that the new leadership style is based on the search of an improvement of the individual well-being, making people feel important, that they are listened to and understood, lead through listening.
In any situation, but in this one more than any other, leadership is reinforced by the ability of inspiring teams, leading by example, being close, brave, providing hope in achieving goals and with a measurable strategy.
The ability to inform, effective communication with teams will be key; not only communicate the situation and expectations, but also find the most effective way to do it in such a changing environment in which the way we work has been so affected and teams have been physically separated and where the value of being physically present has vanished.
A leadership that is able to involve, integrate, add and motivate by assuming certain fragility before the same circumstances everyone faces. Encouraging the team to explore their abilities to work together as a team by believing that one person alone cannot lead; there needs to be a team that grants and recognises such capacity.
In this environment, a successful leadership will seek to be surrounded by the best team possible. It will be essential to know if one has the adequate teams to face this crisis successfully. Fast evaluation processes will be necessary to assess if these teams have the competencies needed in an absolutely disruptive, highly competitive and uncertain scenario. Training and encouraging teams to acquire new skills will also be essential, but above all, attracting and retaining talent will determine a successful leadership.
Originally published https://www.servitalent.com/es/liderazgo-inspirar-informar-involucrar
