Leadership: Setting a New Tone

Just a few months ago, effective leadership was defined by the ability to motivate teams to drive sales, meet financial targets, spur creativity, improve productivity, and keep the team marching toward the same goals. But our world has changed seemingly overnight. The context of leadership has evolved at light speed over the last four months. Leaders are setting a new tone – one that is more human and personal inspired by a desire to find equilibrium in our new abnormal world.  

During these uncertain and tumultuous times, leaders who demonstrate empathy, compassion, and authenticity will be remembered long after the pandemic passes and after real change is felt across society. Silence will also leave a lasting impression. This is a defining moment for strong leaders to inspire others, setting aside traditional executive talk tracks in favor of doing what is right and leading from the heart.  

Companies are taking extraordinary measures. To address supply shortages, manufacturers are retooling production lines to make ventilators, personal protection equipment (PPE), disinfectants, sanitizers and more. Commercial airlines are carrying more cargo than passengers. Restaurants have shifted from a traditional dine-in business model to take-out and curbside pick-up. The largest corporate brands radically shifted messaging and visuals toward caring and community-oriented imagery. Industry leaders are also working together – adversaries and competitors – in an unprecedented level of cooperation. 

These are significant decisions that corporate visionaries are courageously making to do the greatest good for society, redefining their brand promise, and altering business models to stay relevant to their customers and to keep their workforce employed. 

The Boardroom has Given Way to the Living Room 

In this uncharted territory, the leader’s narrative has radically changed, setting the bar higher than ever before. Profits and the bottom line are equally as important as our concern over the mental, physical, and emotional health and safety of the workforce, customers, and communities.  

With our temporary WFH (work from home) world, even the backdrop has changed. There are no podiums or crews setting lights, mics, and cameras for staged and scripted executive briefings. We are seeing leaders be vulnerable as they deal with the same uncertainties and worries of those whom they lead. We see glimpses of their personal life as kids interrupt video calls to share exciting news, exuberant pets make themselves known, and parents recount profound insights gleaned from their teenagers over lunch.   

Leaders are also engaging in conversations on topics they have not typically been trained to have. They are demonstrating more empathy, creating a forum for employees at all levels to share their stories, and promoting an environment of greater diversity and inclusion. 

This is not easy, and most could not have conceived of this seismic shift in leadership in just a few short months. The world has changed in many ways, amplifying the need to be aware, authentic, understanding, and resilient. Leading in such uncertain times requires a command of hard and soft skills that most did not study in school – namely an emotional intelligence (EI).  

What is EI and How to Know if You Have it?

EI is the ability to leverage the data of emotions along with intellect to assess situations and make decisions. It is the act of using knowledge to “think” and combining that with gut instinct elicited from emotions and “feelings”. Sometimes logic and emotions are in complete alignment. Other times, our gut tells us to go in a different direction than our brain wants us to go.  

EI manifests itself through self-awareness, having the emotional bandwidth to stay in control in high-stress, confrontational, and uncertain times, being self-motivated by a keen understanding of your personal “why” (thank you @Simon Sinek), authentically caring for others, and demonstrating diplomacy and acknowledgement of others and their feelings. Simple, right? 

Yale research affiliate and founder of the EI Skills Group, David Caruso, published a paper on EI that explains three fundamental elements of EI and why each is critical to the EI equation. His four-step Emotional Blueprint dissects the thought patterns that happen in an instant, helping us to appreciate all that goes on in our brains and bodies that drive our decisions to act or not. If you are curious about this, consider reading his papers or completing the EI assessment, MSCEIT (Mamyer, Salovey, Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test). 

To be an authentic, collaborative, and effective leader means shoring up EI. Leaders need to tune in and be honest about their own emotional state, applying an emotional barometer that assesses the condition of others and pairs that with logic. Everyone does this but to varying degrees of effectiveness, so being open to improvement is key. We often put on our leader’s hat to show poise and strength, while we ignore what is going on with us internally and underestimating the impact this has on the health of our people and business. 

Creating Cohesion in Isolation 

We are social animals and need interpersonal interactions to thrive. We receive and contribute energy and inspiration from having face-to-face experiences. When workgroups are dispersed and isolated, leaders must be creative to help reset, rejuvenate, and reward their people. Today’s work environments and conditions are unusual, and new ways of individual and team engagement and motivation are required. According to Leanin.org’s April survey, only 41% of respondents said their companies had modified policies to allow for more flexibility or changed scope or priorities to relieve stress. Lack of flexibility and empathy create immense pressure to operate “business as usual”, when it is anything but usual, which can lead to burn-out and strained mental health.  

Managing in this abnormal time requires a greater investment in individual and team check-ins. But, according to Leanin.org’s survey, almost 70 percent of workers are not hearing from anyone when it matters most. Tools like Zoom, TEAMS, and FaceTime make it easier to see each other despite being at a distance, so that number must come down. The explosion of these video conference platforms as our primary meeting venue is holding workgroups and even some companies together. But simply scheduling team forums is not enough. Eye contact, truly listening, and reading emotions in the virtual room are so important especially now.

WFH is not going away in the near future. As companies are able, WFH is becoming an employee choice, a more regular company choice, and both are evidence of a business culture evolution. New and different methods will emerge the longer teams are forced to adapt to virtual ways of working. Leaders will be held accountable to create the structure, policies, and mechanisms needed for lasting change.  

Commit to Lasting Change

For leaders to retain a deeper connection to the workforce the new narrative is a conscious decision and will require commitment and dedication. It is the responsibility of managers with a handful of employees in a single location and of CEOs responsible for hundreds of thousands of people around the globe to ensure this is a lasting change for their organizations. Leaders will need to keep a finger on the pulse on their organization, check in with employees, and create space for employees to breathe during stressful and challenging times. Leaders will be expected to set a tone which builds trust, safety, and connectedness for their work family.  

EI plays a significant role in leadership. Leaders – check in with yourself – how are you really feeling? It is normal to feel vulnerable, uncertain, sad, and even scared. We are all at different stages of this leadership transformation. Being self-aware can change your perspective and mindset, which is what we need to rise to this momentous leadership challenge.

To be sustainable, leaders will need to sponsor and drive material change from the inside-out, and employees and customers will hold them accountable. New roles like Chief People Officer will help anchor this new way of leading by adding it into the new business culture and ensuring it is extended throughout the entire organization.  

People follow those they trust, who value them beyond the work product, and who truly care about them and their welfare personally and professionally.  

Please share your stories. How has your approach to leadership changed during these tumultuous times, and how you are tapping into your emotional Intelligence?