If you are Leader in this pandemic time, you are being tested as never before. But how to become Leader for the transition period and the time of New Reality? You certainly got an enormous number of tips and tricks in recent times.
Here are distilled behavioral shifts for Leaders of New Reality. However, let me start with 3 questions:
As the classic says, „Every crisis brings new opportunities and new winners“ or „A true Leader will show only in a crisis“. According to McKinsey´s Global Institute analysis, the pandemic belongs to the category of disasters, which entail huge estimated costs of shock in the economies of individual countries. And although it belongs among the less frequent disruptions, however foreseeable, every country must take it into account for the future. The 2020 with the Covid19 pandemic showed it in full nudity.
At a time that can be described as a crisis, the Leader works with only a minimum of information. None of us, either the best world Leader doesn´t know exactly what awaits us in the future. This situation in Leadership is referred to as V.U.C.A. world. It is an abbreviation of terms for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. Leader´s reaction in this world of unknown should be:
Yes, you are right, Leaders need their behaviour permanently change and adapt if they want to face even more difficult situations as the crisis is. There will be no more Sprinter Leaders but Marathoners.
As a long-distance runner or participant in Dakar Rally Marathon, the Leader of New Reality has the ability of:
In these times it is the process of being able to adapt yourself well and bounce forward to New Reality. You should be able to show direction. It is the best way to attract, motivate and retain extraordinary talents for your company. This direction, especially at the time of crisis, does not only apply to helping your organization and stakeholders only, but has an overlap to the overall society, environment, and the quality of life of future generations.
If we look in the stories of successful people around the world and history, there is one consistent trend among these people, and that trend is ability to persevere. It is the ability to stand up and take a step forward when everyone else sits down. To increase your level of perseverance:
If you fail, it does not mean that your failures define you or your project will never work. You just simply find another way it did not work. And it means you are once step closer to reach your way.
The Leader of New Reality must also be able to admit Vulnerability. This is an expression that brings fear into the eyes of many Leaders, but in a crisis, we need Leaders who are brave enough to show own vulnerability to show how they care. Vulnerability is not a weakness; it represents immerse courage doing things newly or differently than before. To help with this behavioural shift, HR department with Learning and Development can support with special development programmes and tools, mentoring or coaching. Femme Palette has wide platform of mentors and coaches to support you on the way to become Leader of New Reality.
Here and now, it is an important behaviour of Leader in crisis and the following period of the so-called transition into New Reality. Being with your team, listening, paying real attention to your people, just show true and unadulterated authenticity that will be credible and understandable. And that is what this is all about. People need to trust you that they can run long way with you, even if they are not marathoners, they do not have a great physique, they are handicapped or even they may hate running from their entire soul. This Leader will always find the way „How“ to run together.
Just as marathon running has become a phenomenon worldwide for millions of people, regardless of age and physical ability, it is now becoming the Leader of a New Reality phenomenon.
