How are Purpose-led Leaders rising to the challenge of COVID-19?

The words unprecedented and surreal are probably the two most used words I hear when speaking with leaders who are doing their utmost to navigate COVID-19 and keep their own organisation intact.  There is no doubt, we are living through the greatest crisis of our generation. This is directly affecting every person on the planet, even those who don’t recognise it yet.

Now is a time for leaders to step up to the challenges and inspire their organisations to help the world work its way through these unbelievably difficult times. I believe this is a once-in-a-liftetime moment for all CEOs who have pledged their commitment to purpose-driven leadership and serving all their stakeholders to put those values into practice. 

Like me, you are probably drowning in information on the what and why of every aspect of the crisis, I thought it would be helpful to pull together some of the most insightful articles and resources I have seen to guide and bolster your approach to leading with Purpose through the crisis. 

Are You Leading Through the Crisis… or Managing the Response?

A great article from the Harvard Business Review (HBR) team highlights what great leaders should focus on during a crisis - taking a wider and longer-term view, seeking order rather than control and anchoring their response around human factors.

The last point seems obvious - crises are crises because they affect people. However, the solution is also driven from the coordinated efforts of people. For example, I enjoyed the story about Jimmy Dunne, one of the three managing partners of the investment bank - Sandler O’Neill (now Piper Sandler).  Dunne lost 40% of his employees located in the World Trade Centre during the 9/11 attacks and was driven by his personal mission to beat the terrorist by ensuring the firm's survival. He did this by balancing business concerns equally with taking care of his people and their families. The more he led on the people issues (personally attending funerals, continuing salaries and benefits, etc) the more the business issues seemed to resolve themselves. 

JUST Capital Initiative

For those of you not familiar with JUST Capital - they were founded in 2013 by a group of concerned people from the world of business, finance, and civil society – including Paul Tudor Jones II, Deepak Chopra, Arianna Huffington and others. Their Purpose is equipping the market with the data, tools, and insights to deliver on the promise of stakeholder capitalism and an economy that works for all Americans.

To this effect, last Friday (March 27th 2020) JUST Capital announced a major initiative to help guide corporate America through this period of uncertainty to help assess what’s happening on the ground, elevate best practices, and share what good looks like in this rapidly shifting landscape.   Resources include a set of guiding principles for corporate leaders; a comprehensive tracker of how America’s 100 largest employers are responding to the crisis; and an ongoing content series showcasing best practices they hope will catch on across industries.

They believe the COVID-19 pandemic and impending recession have created an urgent, unprecedented opportunity for CEOs and corporate leaders to put the promise of purpose-driven leadership and stakeholder capitalism into practice. Companies face extraordinary operational and financial challenges, and with every industry and business tested in unique ways, the course of action may be different for each.

While the tracker highlights only US companies, I found it offers a wealth of information (and inspiration) around policies and practises that Australian organisations can regionally adopt. Each reference links straight to the available press release data and it is easy to search for companies by sector to hone in on relevant examples.

A Time to Lead with Purpose and Humanity

Another wonderful article from our friends at HBR written by Hubert Joly, the former CEO of Best Buys and prior to that Carlson. This article really speaks to 'how to lead in this environment' and the principles of purposeful human leadership that will undoubtably be put to the test through the crisis. 

What really resonated with me was the comment that great Purpose-led leaders understand - to put it into the famous words of Winston Churchill - that this has the potential to be their “finest hour” and they want to rise to the occasion. It is full of great examples of how companies are showing leadership to look after their employees and customers in their hour of need.

The belief of pursuing a noble Purpose and putting employees and human relationships at the heart of how a business operates is particularly relevant in times of crisis like the one we are going through now. This is a time when performance is not defined by a company’s share price or whether it will hit its guidance. This is a time when performance will be judged by how a company and its leadership serve everyone and fulfil a higher purpose —and specifically how they have shown up and met the requirements and expectations of its multiple stakeholders.

A Call for Compassionate Leadership in Times of a Crisis

Written by Halla Tómasdóttir, the CEO of The B Team, this great piece highlights stories of courageous and compassionate leadership from some of the largest global organisations. Showing how business leaders are bringing people together to help their neighbours and, importantly, the people-centric approach to finding the way through.

Protecting the lives and livelihoods of our stakeholders

And lastly a powerful example of the the actions Unilever's CEO is taking as a responsible, purpose-led business to fight the COVID-19 crisis and help keep communities safe and well. This recent post from Alan Jope demonstrates commitment to a broad range of stakeholders including Unilever's customers, suppliers and employees.

I trust these articles will be helpful to inform your own leadership path through this crisis and to help you answer these key questions?

• What actions are you taking to help people around you?
• How will you measure your own performance?
• How do you want your leadership from this time to be remembered?

###The views reflected in this article are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the global EY organization or its member firms.