The ABC of Leadership in Covid Era; what can we learn from the Military Wars

        The ABC of Leadership in Covid Era; What can we learn from the Military Wars

The crisis we face is historic, and can be compared to a near war likestate, albeit an atypical one. This is a war against an enemy which cannot be seen, and a war where humans arre united to fight against the enemy.With the experts predictions and hypothesis painting a canvas from a near dismal to a hopeful future, uncertainity about the future is inevitable.

I am a firm believer of the fact that post-coronavirus world will be built based on what we say and do now.Leaders who not only respond but also chart out a path for recovery will find their organisations thriving through this.

The medical and technical aspects of the response are straightforward and clear..with the resources are being allocated, data being used to guide decisions, experts on the job, one does see a light at the end of a tunnel.

More challenging and affecting far more individuals, and organisations at scale— are the human dimensions of the response. This need for continuity in spite of unnerving disruption falls on the shoulders of organizational leaders who must rise upto the need of he hour.Quoting Linda Gizthel from Both school of business,

 Leading is about guiding people into the future despite its risks and uncertainties.

MIT Sloan research co-relates to what my years of experience in the Army says, that there is an art to leading through the darkest hours — and, mastering that art hones the leadership skills at the highest echelons.

While an initial crisis , in this situation may not have been preventable, the secondary crisis of a bungled response is avoidable. Every crisis has narratives with victims, villains, and heroes. Rising to the part of hero will require you to make intentional choices for the greater good.

 This may also be a time to re-look at the corporate purpose.

While the focus is on your leadership style, I beleive that the ABCs of crisisleadership ---three interdependent areas will foster sustained high — even heroic — performance by your teams and the larger enterprise.

1. Build Adaptive capacity

On June 24, 1942, U.S. Navy chief anti-submarine warfare expert Captain Wilder D. Baker informed Commander-in-Chief of the United States Fleet Admiral Ernest King that the Battle of the Atlantic was being lost. Admiral King was being informed of the dire situation regarding the Battle or War for the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign of WWII, at the height of the German attempt to cut off Britain from the supplies needed to wage war. While American naval forces demonstrated a clear failure not only to anticipate German operational changes, the Navy recognized the need to adjust theor approach of Anti-submarine wars. It was a do or die situation. The navy sought to combine operational intelligence, control of convoys, allocation of antisubmarine units, and direction of establishments to combat the situation. The organization allowed for the creation of a uniform tactical doctrine, and this top-down organizational adaptation facilitated tactical flexibility, producing a second order effect of tactical adaptation and feedback. The ability to adapt to changing battlefield circumstances often serves as the defining factor in battlefield outcomes.

While in many instances, like this one, it is imperative for leaders to adopt a systemic view of their orgniastions levers. Organizations and their leaders must execute a series of pivots as the facts on the ground and their operational context shift. This may require parts of the organization that do not normally work together to come together seamlessly. They may also flatten the hierarchy, with subject matter experts suddenly engaging directly with senior executives, perhaps even leading them.

A successful pivot requires planting one foot on something solid and moving the other to change direction while building capacity throughout.

2. Foster Buoyancy 

While many play defense during a crisis, there is an opportunity to be aspirational as well. Crisis brings the best in most of us. What Germany had as an advantage in World War II was their command structure. While the Allies were highly centralized, authority was far more distributed in the German army. This allowed them to improvise on the ground in order to make the best use of new technologies.

Planners often assume that, because they are less affected by the fog of war, they can make better judgments. Yet it is those on the ground that can see problems and opportunities that the higher ups will miss. As noted above, new technology hardly ever works the way we think it will and it is the front line personnel who find that out first.

So it wasn’t just tanks and airplanes that made the Blitzkrieg so effective, radios played an important role as well, which the Germans deployed on almost every tank in their arsenal. That allowed the Axis forces to make adjustments on the fly and react quickly to unforeseen events.

 Think about how you may all emerge from this incident stronger, more engaged, and more capable than you were before. Creating such conditions calls leaders to reassure and encourage everyone throughout the enterprise that “we can do it” and then supporting them both at work and at home.

3. Establish Confidence

As the United Kingdom stared down the Nazi onslaught in the Second World War, Prime Minister Winston Churchill encouraged his people to keep the faith: “We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle, nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down. Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.”

With such leaders at the helm, it is critical that they foster trust alongside the entire firm hierarchy.

The COVID-19 outbreak offers numerous tests of trust as well as the opportunity to be a hero to associates, customers, and communities.

The question for leaders to ask is, “How can we be fully trustworthy to each of our stakeholders during this difficult period?” 

Trust is built through dialogue and actions, not proclamations and intentions.

Decisions made and actions taken in trying times resonate far beyond the present. Forecasts about climate change, global urbanization, and aging populations indicate that pandemics and other disruptive events will increase in frequency. The lessons we can learn and the practices that can be put in place now make our organizations healthier today and better prepared for future turbulence.

The ongoing crisis will be resolved only through rationality, compassion, and mutual understanding, both within and beyond our borders. The key to overcoming the current crisis is to ensure that the global spread of best practices outpaces the global spread of the virus.