Now is the time to lead people, not businesses

This year has been unlike any other. 2020 has been characterised by not only a global pandemic, but also widespread social unrest and political uncertainty. While trying to juggle our personal priorities and concerns, we’ve had our business responsibilities to consider – and I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that my job and leadership capacity have been challenged and stretched in entirely new ways.

This has prompted me to reflect on the need for agility in these trying times, and how I’ve had to adapt and flex as a leader. I didn’t expect to have to lead the way I did in March and now it’s December and we’re facing new challenges that require yet another set of leadership traits.

These are the three key things I’ve found to be important when coping with 2020 and looking ahead to 2021:

Say no to a 'new normal'

Amidst the disruption, we have all found ourselves having to take on new roles and responsibilities in our home and professional lives – often simultaneously. We’ve got to know our colleagues and their video call backgrounds, families and pets in ways we didn’t expect, and have had to rapidly adapt to entirely new ways of working. We may be almost nine months into this new reality but there’s by no means anything normal about it.

This is why I don’t like the term ‘new normal’, because it suggests that what we’re living through should be something we’re now accustomed or adapted to. In reality, we are continuing to navigate a world that is constantly in a state of flux and change. The monotony of lockdowns and remote working is partnered with a sense that no two months, or even weeks, are the same.

I’ve found myself increasingly captivated by the psychological theories in relation to our current situation – and considering how these apply to myself and my teams. One such psychologist I’ve come to admire is Ann Masten, PhD. She coined the term ‘surge capacity’ to refer to an adaptive state that kicks in to aid short-term survival in acutely stressful situations – like medical emergencies or natural disasters. The problem is that, for many of us, we’ve been drawing on our surge capacity for many months now – and that is unsustainable. It’s important that we accept the current reality and try to create microcosms of routine and familiarity to help us cope with ongoing change.

Social psychologist Amy Cuddy also has a great analogy about resilience that I think really defines how many of us are living right now; she says a stress ball is resilient because when you squeeze it and release it, it returns to its previous state. Businesses and people, however, cannot just be resilient – they need to be agile, so that if they were a stress ball, they wouldn’t just spring back but instead evolve their shape to be better than before.

So for me, I am working with my teams to focus on the ‘better normal’ so we can all look ahead to how we’re going to maximise some of the welcome changes of 2020, rather than trying to force ourselves to simply accept the things we are struggling with.

Communicate, listen, demonstrate empathy

A huge component in weathering the storm that is 2020 is to look after and prioritise our own health. We must pay attention to how we’re feeling – both physically and mentally – and show ourselves patience and care to enable us to show the same to our loved ones and colleagues.

SAP’s Are you OK? campaign is an employee initiative that not only promotes supporting resources for both good mental health and mental health problems, but also invites employees and leaders to engage in a sustainable way.

Even though in a recent internal survey, SAP employees reported satisfaction with the company′s guidance and support during the pandemic, people feel impacted by the crisis. Almost a third of employees rated their current stress levels higher than their current satisfaction.

Each one of us can foster a culture in which all employees feel comfortable and safe speaking out about mental health issues they are suffering from, what they need to deal with in their family, or what they observe at the workplace.

As managers, it’s vital that we check in regularly with our peers and those we manage to ensure they feel connected and heard even when we’re physically apart. Set up regular calls – even just for a short non-work chat – and learn to recognise early warning signs of stress, burnout or any other mental health problem. The SOLER listening approach is a simple way to help your colleagues feel supported and heard. It’s all about being open, actively listening, being non-judgemental and having empathy.

I’ve found this new window into my colleagues’ lives has really helped me further develop a culture of acceptance and appreciation of everyone’s different situations – such as raising children, caring for loved ones or coping with loneliness. We are all in this together and promoting greater empathy in the workplace is a hugely positive thing.

I know that I will continue to integrate more listening into my leadership approach going forward.

Embrace change

Prior to this year, many leaders may have felt they had honed or found their leadership style. But this year has turned that notion on its head. I now know that one of the key skills is the ability to be a “leadership chameleon” – prepared to adapt to any situation that is thrown our way and act as reliable and accessible figureheads in our organisation.

I, like all of us, have had to adjust the way I work to look after myself and be the best I can be for my teams. I’ve realised I can no longer structure my days with back-to-back calls or meetings, as everything is now conducted via my laptop screen.

I’m realising that it’s the small changes that make the difference – for example, occasionally using dial-in details for calls rather than computer audio so I can take a call while I’m walking or even just moving around the house and not having to always sit in front of a camera.

These small shifts can help bring variety to our days and help avoid us constantly being in front of a screen. While the routines and variety of our pre-pandemic lives feel long gone – we now arguably have a new opportunity to introduce changes and variety that best suit us.

It’s always important – pandemic or otherwise – to remember that we lead people, not businesses. It is our people that drive us to innovate, create and provide industry-leading support to our customers.

Crises and challenges will always be present – and I believe they are sent to teach us something. This year has taught me to accept change as a positive part of business and leadership.

Of course, I like many, am hopeful that we have turned a corner in this global fight, and that we’ll soon be able to pick up more and more of the things we have sorely missed this year and emerge as a whole, stronger and more rounded as a result.

Keep safe.