Leadership in COVID times

No, this is not another spiel about how India can lead and win over this dreadful thing that is happening all around us, admittedly I’m no expert to talk about this. What I am trying to do here is share my views on what business leaders should / need to do in this time of crisis and convert this crisis into an opportunity to fortify your business.

CO – COmmunicate

VI – Visualize

D – Decide

• Communicate – This is the time to be as communicative as possible, both internally and externally. Don’t hide, don’t disappear, don’t go incommunicado. Assure and re-assure your employees that you are as much concerned like everyone else and are taking all steps and effort that have been prescribed to ensure safety and health of all your employees. Talk to your customers and explain to them the current situation that your company is going through. There is going to be a possibility that it will not be BAU for you, same likely to be for your customers too in their own lives and businesses. Explain to them what you are doing / planning to do to ensure that there is minimum possible disturbance in your business transactions.

• Visualize – Business heads need to visualize through this, both in the short as well as long run. That’s what differentiates you from your managers. Think through and envisage all the linkages your business has with other stakeholders, effect it is likely to have in the short and long term, think of different scenarios and what are the implications of all this on your business, its continuity across all aspects of your value chain and functions.

• Decide – Once you have communicated and visualized different scenarios and its implications, time for your to decide what needs to be done. Take inputs from your senior colleagues indeed, but remember final decision has to be yours. Be clear on what definitive actions you are going to take to fortify your business in these trying times.

Stay Safe!