Human Leadership in the Post Pandemic World

As the pandemic blurred the lines between work and personal life, toxic and harmful behaviors also got normalized and went unchecked for the most part.

When leaders and executives promote a toxic work culture, it is assumed by the rest that it is normal professional behavior and is allowed to continue. But it can have grave consequences on the health of the employees.

‘Toxic’ working conditions could range from micro-managing, a lack of boundaries in interpersonal relationships, high workload, little to no rewards and even other aggressive behaviors such as using demeaning language.?

During the pandemic, an increase in harassment was observed based on gender, age and race and ethnicity by 26%, 14% and 10% respectively. Leaders who allow or exhibit this sort of behavior are neither compassionate nor competent . They struggle to create a positive environment and their employees have lower engagement and job satisfaction.

Now more than ever, employees seek leaders who have positive attributes and exhibit both, competence and compassion. Good leaders have a concern for the well-being of their employees as well as the productivity of the organization. Only 8.5% of employees under such leadership are actively disengaged as compared to the 19.1% of employees who feel disengaged under poor leadership. Moreover, organizations with competent and compassionate leaders can save costs by $2.2 million annually.

Human leadership is the need of the hour in the post-pandemic world where hybrid working and work from home have become normal professional environments.

The scope for change

Leaders who actively look for opportunities to improve their leadership skills show promising action towards positive leadership. In women-led organizations, 100% leaders prefer to have access to opportunities for growth in their capabilities, while 88% leaders in men-led organizations would prefer the same.

They can all find inspiration for developing themselves into good bosses by cultivating positive leadership behaviours -

No breaks in development

Just like no one can never ‘know’ everything, leaders also will not always be good bosses. There is always room for improvement in skills and capabilities and embracing continuous growth professionally and personally.

Leadership is not solitary

Leadership roles exist in order to lead a group or community. It is in no way a solitary role - every decision taken by a leader has an impact on many people. Leaders should strive to create a positive impact through their actions by actively listening to their employees.

Both/And leadership

Leadership is not a state of either exhibiting competency or compassion. Both can exist at the same time and become a driving factor towards employee satisfaction and enhanced work experience. Excluding one or the other from the role of leadership only makes leadership ineffective.

Employees today have a need to connect with leaders who operate in a human way and engage in authentic, positive behavior. The post-pandemic world demands equality, inclusivity, and autonomy.

Human leaders who not just allow but help their employees to grow individually as well as in connection with others, who give all equal opportunities to speak as well as to prove themselves, who know that the new world of work wont be novel until everyone comes to terms with their strengths and vulnerabilities álike are going to be the flagbearers of this change.