Leadership through COVID-19: How has the pandemic changed leadership for the future?
A recap of senior leaders’ responses to the pandemic in 2020 prompts thinking about the leadership challenges in 2021
A recap of senior leaders’ responses to the pandemic in 2020 prompts thinking about the leadership challenges in 2021
The 2020 CIPD report Responsible business through crisis: Senior leaders on trust and resilience during COVID-19 described how senior executives were meeting the challenge of remaining ‘responsible’ while responding to the pandemic. The stories they told were inspiring and painted an encouraging picture of leadership behaviour. In 2021 we revisited the extraordinary developments in leadership practice, to consider the leadership challenges arising.
Our 2021 report Responsible business through crisis: Senior leaders on building new cultures of trust highlights how the next phase of the pandemic has impacted leadership. If organisations are to tackle these successfully, HR functions and senior teams must continue the strong partnerships they created during 2020.
‘My life feels like a test I didn’t study for’
In 2020, leaders had to make quick decisions, with little data, algorithms or business continuity exercises available for COVID-19. As one CEO told us: ‘It was like leading in a fog’. Senior leaders had to rely on their and others’ judgement, wisdom and integrity. An established approach to responsible business, embedded through organisational purpose, values and trust, provided a ‘north star’ for leaders’ decision making. It helped them to consider their whole ecosystem.
Leaders also became more reliant on listening to others for new intelligence. Knowledge was shared more freely within the boardroom, but also came from new sources – drawn from all levels within and outside the business. There was no room for superheroes. Leading as a team – pooling experience, information and ideas – was essential for top teams. IPDs (Individual Prima Donnas) were out, and TPs (Team Players) were in!
The invisible became visible. Senior leaders became accessible through video and in a form and frequency never seen before. Employees saw senior leaders in their own homes, managing their own anxieties, illnesses and care for their families. The same senior teams that a year previously might have seemed obsessed solely with shareholder returns or excessive monitoring of workforces suddenly had permission to be their authentic selves. They were revealed as humane, compassionate and empathetic. Senior leaders felt uncertainty and shock themselves, yet had to provide reassurance to their workforces.
‘All hands should be on deck’ – Christine Lagarde
The pandemic exposed the pre-existing social inequalities within society, for senior leaders to see and ignore at their peril. As one leader said: ‘We are all in the same storm but we are in very different boats.’
Inequality of risk was clear: while some were forced to work from home, others provided services on the frontline. Others were furloughed, lost jobs or took pay cuts. For some, working at home was unsuitable or unsafe, especially young employees. Some people do not feel safe at home. Those taking the greatest risks were often those who were taking home the smallest rewards. In the short term, senior executives rebalanced rewards across their workforces, using bonuses for some, pay cuts for others. Some were paying suppliers early to ensure small businesses did not fail. Others deferred paying shareholder dividends.
Structural inequalities became more apparent, with an upsurge of responses against systemic social injustices. Leaders reported feeling a raw sense of deep social inequalities, such as those raised by Black Lives Matter, that had existed long before but had been fanned aflame in the pandemic. One CEO said: ‘It caught me unawares. I hadn’t appreciated the emotions it had stirred up. I was out of my depth… It has opened my eyes and changed my thinking.’
Responsible leaders did not respond with instant ‘knee jerk’ responses but gave thoughtful consideration to righting the embedded severity of the problem.
Through 2020 it became clear just how interdependent society is. Government action and provision of essential services depended upon business; large businesses depended upon small ones; charities needed everyone’s support to protect the vulnerable. In battling the pandemic together, we saw businesses lean in to support health services, food retailing and production, schools and other forms of education. They found new connections with their communities, and their employees’ communities.
Decentralisation happened quickly. Senior executives empowered local operations to make decisions at pace, to keep services operating. There was no time for decisions to be sent up for sanction by executive boards. Rapid decentralisation meant leaders had to learn to trust people at lower levels, with the delightful discovery of some impressive ‘pop up’ leadership in places and among people at less senior grades.
In addition, there was the technological transition. Technological changes that might ordinarily have taken years had to be implemented virtually overnight. Technology companies were both an enabler and saviour through the pandemic, but it also revealed the scale of their power, and how much we rely on them for connection.
‘Don’t be afraid to start over. It’s a chance to build something better this time.’
While the vaccine has brought some relief to the UK, in 2021 we face a chain reaction: a health crisis is turning into an economic crisis, which in turn is becoming a social crisis. As one HR director described: ‘A lot of things have been hidden, bubbling under and getting worse’.
The impact of this pandemic will be felt for years, and this raises critical people challenges that require a strong alliance between senior HR directors and executive teams.
For people professionals, their senior teams will continue to look to them for guidance in the short term. In the medium term, if we need new kinds of leadership, it raises questions about the redesign of leadership development programmes. How should talent programmes equip the next generation of senior leaders with the right experience and capabilities?
Professor Veronica Hope Hailey is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and inaugural Dean of the University of Bristol Business School.
Veronica is mainly known for her research on trust and trustworthy leadership. For the last 30 years, Veronica has worked all over the world to deliver leadership development at the most senior levels in the private, public and third sector. Her latest research, conducted in collaboration with the CIPD, focused on responsible business and leadership through crisis.
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