THE ONE LEADERSHIP LESSON THE PANDEMIC TAUGHT ME

How we managed to achieve ALL our business goals, put back Coca-Cola on the spot of most loved brand in South Africa, and how, against all odds, we significantly increased employee engagement to unprecedented levels during the 2020 crisis.

?In loving memory of Nqobile Bhengu, marketer, friend, and sunshine of our department?

Countless articles were published over the past months talking about the learnings (Marketing) leaders experienced, going through the Covid-19 crisis. Often found were valuable insights, some exclusively situational to Covid-19, some relevant in any crisis situation, and others that enumerate interesting take-aways even for the post-Covid era. While reading those articles, I kept thinking about what the one big insight was for me, as a Marketing leader. I wanted to identify what my leadership team and I were able to do in 2020 that helped our team move the needle most, that one thing that would remain a relevant leadership lesson beyond the crisis years of the recent pandemic.

It had to be something that impacted two dimensions. On the one hand, the highest contribution to achieving our business objectives, on the other, what significantly improved employee engagement. The latter is especially critical in any crisis situation. After careful reflection, the one thing that most helped me to master the crisis and achieve our objectives is this: Reducing the (perceived) leadership distance between me and my team.

Below are a few reflections I made along the way, actionable steps that I believe helped me drive performance and employee engagement.

Create CLARITY: Direction with a “Why”

As the whole world became increasingly uncertain (remember those L, V or W shaped recovery curves?), most initial business plans were trashed and shifts in priorities happened. As a CMO my task was to strongly collaborate with my peers and together help guide our Business Unit President manage the crisis and craft a way to emerge stronger as a business. Leveraging our common genius was a necessity, and although we needed to adjust plans, we had to limit the shifts in priorities to make sure we would not confuse the associates.

What we know from years of employee pulse surveys is that clarity is a major game changer in terms of employee engagement, productivity and performance. People get tired of frequent change, especially when they do not understand why this change has to happen. Hence for Marketing leaders, there are two tasks that are vital, above all:

First, a CMO must strongly connect Marketing to the business. Operating in this so-called value creation zone where business needs meet consumer/customer must be the priority for any Marketing leader. Particularly in times of frequent shifts in direction, there is absolutely no space for a Marketing department that operates in a manner that is detached from the company’s vision and goals.

And secondly, the CMO must take care of the “why”. It is OK to adjust the direction in times of crisis when you get new information. However, as a leader, you need to make sure that all your associates understand why these adjustments need to happen. This is easier said than done, especially in times of almost unbearable workload, with everyone adjusting to operating in a purely virtual environment.

I made it my absolute priority to ensure that everyone in my team understood why things needed to be adjusted and did not stop engaging until I felt that everyone had bought in. Questions were encouraged and answered, and some answers even, were found collectively. This created a reassuring clarity that allowed the team to confidently push forward. We were all on the same page, working as a cohesive unit, united when it mattered the most. At the same time, this helped me to build trust and create followership, which is a magical combination when it comes to performance.

Make it a “SHARED CHALLENGE”

As leaders, we usually want to solve things for our teams. However, this approach is very limiting. Not only is this slow and unsustainable, but it also lacks a holistic perspective. This approach may even be counterproductive in the long run. In fact, doing so most likely ignores the problems many associates really have. Rather than spoon-feeding solutions, a leader needs to be a catalyst for problem solving. Opening the table to different perspectives, while amping up communications within the group really worked for me during the Covid crisis.

During the first weeks and months of the lock-downs, my team was highly engaged, it was as if they were in a type of honey-moon phase, bravely soldiering on, delivering output and stepping up their game. But eventually, being downgraded to working in a virtual only environment, packed with additional professional and private stress, takes its toll. With so much pressure paired with unprecedented uncertainty, things took a turn. More and more associates showed signs of anxiety, demotivation, and consequently, exhaustion.

As a Marketing leadership team, we carefully tried to figure out what to do to turn the ship around. Instead of taking the reins and solving the problems of our team members, we collectively came up with a different approach. We identified the team’s major areas of concern and directed our associates to form working groups that would address and improve those pain points. Associates signed up according to their individual passion points, with the leadership team acting as a steering committee for the different work-streams. Doing so helped in reducing the perceived leadership distance. Together, we worked in record time, reset the status quo, crafted solutions, and created a more rewarding environment for all. We, the marketing leadership, together with the associates, were able to share the challenge as one team. Everyone had a hand in the success, and a sense of personal pride was shared by all. “Turning the ship around” became “everybody's baby”.

Be a ROLE MODEL. An approachable one.

“Good leaders have to act as role models”. We all have learned this in our leadership trainings at one point of our careers. During a crisis, acting as a role model has helped me keep the team afloat, building trust and valuable connections with all of my 60+ team members.

What did I do in 2020 that can help in any leaderships situation:

“You can never have a bad day” my previous boss and mentor, @WinnEverhart once said to me. If, as a leader, you have a bad day and show it to your team, the negativity gets multiplied and can become toxic. As leaders, we are ambassadors of optimism, opportunities and hope. We must have a “glass-half-full” mentality. The glass is not just half full, it is refillable. We need to uplift and inspire our colleagues daily, much more so when the going gets tough.

With a positive attitude in mind, it has always paid off for me to be human and to be vulnerable. We were all overwhelmed by the challenges Covid-19 imposed on us. It is OK not to know the answer for everything. It is OK to take a bit of time to reflect. It is even better to seek for help and advice. This makes you more grounded as a leader, more relatable and approachable for those looking to you for guidance. Showing strength and security through humility reduces the perceived leadership distance. However, as leaders, it is crucial to uphold a standard of decorum. If we do not know the answers, we cannot act discouraged and overwhelmed, in a chaotic manner that may cause further uncertainty for those that we lead. We need to be steadfast in setting the direction. It is important to always act with determination, to inspire trust and reliability in our colleagues.

In a difficult situation, especially when there is no end in sight and problems keep piling up, the winning trait for leaders is resilience. Acting with resilience and discipline is your priority as a leader. Even if you are sometimes tempted to do so, as a leader, you cannot give up, you have to keep the ball rolling. You must find the energy to stand up after you fall, again and again. Acting with discipline and resilience is extremely contagious. This works well for everyone’s favor. You want your team to perform especially during a crisis, you do not want them to give up. As you inspire them to conquer their thresholds, and discover their reserve of strength, your associates will respect you more and they will reward you with hard work and a positive attitude.

Lastly, as a leader, it is your responsibility to encourage and cultivate “approachability”. Being a CMO, Junior associates will feel uncomfortable or shy to reach out to you directly. It takes time and effort to make sure that even the timidest associate feels comfortable approaching you directly. In my years as a leader of big teams with several layers, I learned that it’s almost a need to “market” myself as approachable. Walk the talk, hold town-halls, schedule 1:1’s or small group meetings to keep yourself visible. When associates reach out, take the time, pay attention, follow-up, and repeat.

I hope I could inspire you with a few tools on how to gain the trust of your associates, create followership, and build a high performing team even in a crisis situation. Reducing perceived leadership distance is the one thing that helped me to proudly witness and experience the talent, the drive and the commitment of my marketing associates in Africa during the pandemic. The greatness we achieved are thanks to each and every one of them.

I would like to dedicate this article to Nqobile. Nqobile was a marketer, a friend, and with her contagiously optimistic and energetic attitude, the sunshine of our team. In January 2021, we lost Nqobile to the virus. May she rest in peace.