Leadership will be TESTED….. and will need to RISE

It’s been almost 5 months that the world has discovered new terms Corona and COVID -19 and within this short period all the other problems seems to have been minuscule by this tiny Virus. There are challenges faced by almost every individual, every organization, every state and every country, hospitals, healthcare at large, education system…..and the list is endless.

One thing that will really be strategic, instrumental and will really almost stand tested in the pre and post Corona era is the Leadership. Leadership Skills are not just about managing the normal, it is during this time that you can clearly distinguish between a successful leaders who can help the country / organization /family come out of this successfully and lay down the strategies to minimize the negative impact of this pandemic.

Country Level Leadership

Political Leaders across world have been put in a maze like situation. Every move they make, every step they announce, every act of theirs is being dissected and analyzed with a micro lens. It is interesting and important to see which world leaders can face this pandemic in a way to minimize the loss, take timely actions, contain the pandemic, save the economy of their country and above all could work towards making their citizens secure and feel better. The richest of nations have not been able to rise to the situation the way we would have expected and the short /long term impact will be clear in the next 3 /6 months. The way countries have announced lockdown (the timeliness), the way they open their economy and the way they can open their domestic and international travel will all pay a big role in post pandemic era. The Economic packages and the import export strategies will decide who could minimize the financial effect of the Pandemic

Organization Level Leadership

Organizations are already facing crisis situation like never before. Suddenly they need to find ways to continue working with minimal staff and also continue to deliver as normal. Organizations almost overnight had to find ways in which their employees could work remotely, essential services organizations had to find ways to work with precautions, hospitals are almost working on hour to hour and day to day strategy , industries like travel , tourism ,sports, luxury , retail have almost come to a standstill. Leaders would have to find ways to survive, rise above their competition, keep employees motivated, market differently and even reorganize their product/services portfolio. What will be key is how resilient is your leadership to find ways and means to meander through this critical times. Not to forget at the center of all of this will be the tug of war to minimize costs, increase revenue while keeping your employees happy and motivated.

This is a time when the world is going through unprecedented times and these qualities in Leaders will hold the key:

1.     Be Human and empathetic. The biggest loss in this pandemic has been of human lives

2.     Be Cautious and if required even over cautious. Remember you are making decisions for millions

3.     Focus on Getting your Strategy Right with engaging experts from different areas. Plan short term and Long term both.

4.     Be a Leader with Positivity and assure your team that we need be positive

5.     Be a Leader who people would automatically lean to align

6.     Be ready to make changes to your direction and in case required change the direction

7.     Network, talk to other leaders in your area to get a wider, broader perspective. They might give you a completely new viewpoint

8.     Stop any level of blame game and negativity be it at country level or within an organization

9.     Be Motivated and Encourage Others. Everyone has different ways of dealing with stress

Last but not the least

10.  Everyone will have to find their own path and way to deal with this crisis.