Turbulence As Touchstone: Leadership’s New Imperative

As I look back on this day last year, I’m struck by how dramatically our lives were about to change just one fortnight later. Governments the world over would announce lockdowns. Industries previously considered unshakeable (or, at the very least, stagnation-proof), nosedived overnight. What were seen as firm institutions or glamorous game-changers in techpreneurship came crumbling down, exposing many false hopes attached to them.

In spite of all that was to follow, 2020—a leap year no less—had started on a hopeful note.

Macro goals, like Climate Action were getting the industry commitment they deserved. Worldwide, public and private sector actors collaborated on exciting initiatives in digital currencies and bridging the global talent gap. Consortia efforts towards unlocking efficiencies within the technology space seemed to be reaching their milestone at last. In testimony to the true globalization of talent, Pakistan was named the 4th largest market of freelancers worldwide.

It was around this time, I was invited to meet the premier leadership in Pakistan, to discuss opportunities that intersected global technology demand and local talent, and the role management consulting firms like Arthur Lawrence can play in catalyzing this growth. Our Global Delivery Center had just celebrated its tenth year. This, and all the other work around building digital capacity, we agreed, was an encouraging sign of things to come.

And then COVID-19 happened.

At Arthur Lawrence, we weren’t immune from its impact. But I gratefully say we stayed on course. Overcoming retracted demand meant responding with higher, better output. It was a period of sacrifice and uncertainty. But the results were worth it. We accomplished many things we assumed unachievable in the ‘old’ normal.

There may have been many variables that equated to a resilient, effective 2020. But if I were to put together a ‘management survival kit’ for the newer normal, this is what its essential items would be:

• Being Prepared By Being Openminded: Before 2020, it was easy to be dismissive of the value of virtual exchanges, and other outcomes of intrapreneurial talent. And most businesses were dismissive. We have purposely steered clear of this trap by questioning our assumptions at each turn. Whenever the obvious answer is no, we make a deliberate point to ask, “What would turn this into a yes?”. Fun fact: We were doing remote work before it was cool. This was a practice that started as our affirmation to equality and inclusiveness, but soon became an important component of our relationship with all stakeholders. When the talent acquisition industry (as a whole) foresaw struggles with virtual candidate screening, Arthur Lawrence doubled down to  improve its remote screening capabilities, just before the lockdown. This is just one of many examples of when we let an idea earn its own momentum, guided by the right tone at the top.  
• Sacrificing The Short Term For The Long Term: Some businesses are too easily discouraged by the reality of the corporate world. They see it as a battlefield. Their goal? Survival. At any cost, and until the next crisis. Unsurprisingly, we see them reacting to problems with the proverbial, ‘killing a fly with a sledgehammer’ approach. The math is before you, and it’s not pretty. The approach that seems to work better is the notion that sometimes the short term can be ethically sacrificed in favor of the long term. We see the corporate world as a sea of possibilities—sometimes it will be smooth sailing, sometimes we’ll have to weather tough storms. Either way, our goal is to get to our destination, and to use these unpredictable nautical forces as propellants.
• Demobilizing Threats With Opportunities: Circling back to some of those meetings, for me, news of the Raast Program is evidence of how a little determination pays off in a big way. Promising as the prospects of digital payments are, they face severe barriers to entry in emerging markets. And while programs like Raast were on the cards in 2019 and earlier, many didn’t see fruition because the short-term threat became an easy excuse to compromise long-term opportunity. The lesson here: Don’t let this happen to your ideas! You never know which one will be the game-changing catalyst for your business!

The more I reflect on such meetings, the more leadership lessons they seem to yield. But if there’s only one lesson you’d like to walk away with, let it be this: Approach the future with confidence. Whatever it holds, you have the power to make it a better place for everyone.