6 Leadership Ideas for 2022-Part II

Here we are in April 2022.

There are signs of leaders in even some of India's most respected organizations being completely lost. Worried about rising attrition, they are considering re-writing employment contracts to stop their employees from joining their closest competitors.

This is however, a misreading of the mood of people. The last two years have shifted how many of us feel about work and life in general. There is no easy way to put the genie back in the bottle.

This is a new place. We haven't been here before.

Now it can be very tempting to try and deny the past two years. After all, even if we don't understand where we are today, we used to know "how to do leadership" pre-pandemic.

Yet this is exactly where it is so easy to go wrong.

Leadership in April 2022 is dramatically different from leadership pre-pandemic. Now of course there are are the classic principles of leadership that have always been true--no matter when and no matter where. Principles such as courage, compassion, and conviction have been true--at all times. Yet what these would look like today--is different.

So in Part II of this series (You can read Part I here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/6-leadership-ideas-2022-part-i-dr-shalini-lal/), we will look at leadership in 2022.

IV. Bring Purpose to Work:

A few days back I was giving advice to my daughter who has just joined Business school. (Bad idea BTW). I was suggesting to her that when she graduates she looks for a job in organizations that have a track record of growing leaders (e.g. HUL). Her rather immediate response was: "I don't care about that. I want to work with an organization that is doing something good in the world. So that it is worth it."

Now it may be tempting to thing that this is an exception. But that is not the case. There is a definite movement towards organizations whose business is seen to have a positive impact on the world, and reflects their own values.

What's more people are increasingly leaving jobs where their employers have failed to take a stand when they expected them to.

You can read more here:

In April 2022, we are at a place where preferred employers are seen as "doing good" for the world. And wise CEOs are taking note.

Some commentators have in fact attributed the rather swift response of firms exiting Russia to this sharpened awareness of mood.

V. Recognise the New "Worth-It" Equation!

Microsoft's Workplace Trends 2022, pointed out that employees have a new "Worth it" Equation. As priorities have shifted, people are more likely than ever to prioritise health and well-being over work.

People don't just want to make a living. They want to make a life.

There is reason for this concern.

"Digital Overload" has been real, and employees are protesting being "always on", "working too many meetings", and "having little time left for anything else".

As Microsoft's own data reveals, this is not a perception problem. Real time spent at work has been rising steadily. and for many this is a breaking point.

In fact for many employees, this has meant that they will readily seek out employment opportunities that give them a greater chance at a life!

For leaders in April 2022, this is an important priority. The way out will perhaps be a combination of "Intelligent Work Re-design" (Discussed in Part I), and a special focus on giving time to "switch off".

V. Re-Built Social Capital and Culture in a "Digital First" World

One of the biggest concerns leaders have had over the past two years is the loss of social capital (the vibrancy of groups and networks within the organization) AND the weakening of culture and belongingness.

Leaders have been very unsure what they should do next.

Some have wanted to go back to the world that they know best: The world where everyone comes to office and works together.

Yet, as several are discovering--this is easier said than done.

Employee expectations have shifted. And pretty much across the world--fare fewer people want to come to office every single day. So how does one then build social capital and culture in a "digital first" world?

This is a very important question for which the answers are yet to emerge. What is clear is that we need very different forms of connecting. Whether this comes largely from focusing on the office as "an experience". (As suggested by NYU Professor, Anna Tavis (https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/annatavis/) ); or from building very strong virtual communities of engagement (e.g. at Twitter)--the answers are yet to be discovered.

By the way, in case you missed this very interesting conversation on the future of work, you can catch us right here:

Missed Part I? Read it here:

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(About me: I lead Unqbe, a research and advisory firm around the Future of Work. We partner with clients to help them understand change through commissioned research. And we help leadership teams build Workplace 2.0 with a current focus on re-building social capital; designing the hybrid workplace; and introducing a future-friendly inclusive leadership style)