After almost three years since the global covid-19 pandemic started, there still are some people thinking to go back to “normal” life while some others talk about the “new normal”. Guess what. There’s no “old” or “new” world.
Learning to lead in a fast-changing and VUCA world.
The reality is, that we all live in another era in the same world. Life is not as we used to know it, life has changed in multiple ways, and what really matters is that we are still here. As the only rational-conscious beings on earth, we have the responsibility to overcome and readapt to the new living conditions.
Individuals comprehended as persons, build organizations when sharing particular purposes, values, and objectives. Groups of individuals are often guided by a leader whose mission is to conduct a group upon achieving objectives. Today more than ever leaders need to redesign their leadership style, readapt to the new needs of the individuals, and in some cases acquire new skills that may be demanded to successfully lead in the post-pandemic era.
The center of organizations are individuals, they are connected and mutually reinforcing.
In Kitoko Ltd, we connect promising talents and companies, teach interdisciplinary skills at universities, and train managers in innovative, people-centered leadership skills. Today, we’ll give you the basic skill set that you will need to lead your organization successfully.
- Emotional Intelligence.
- As direct effect of the pandemic, cases of depression, lack of motivation, emotional insecurity, and anxiety in people were critically exponentiated. In 2021, a study on the effect of covid-19 in mental health was conducted in Switzerland. Results showed that one third out of 1,022 individuals impaired their mental well-being due covid-19 pandemic, and almost half reported specific mental health concern. Mental health of employees and individuals has never been as much important as it is today. Learning to empathize with your team’s emotions today is a must since all persons have suffered in someway as result of the unhealthy condition in the world.
- Trust
- Before the office was considered a physical place to work, today it is a state of being. No matter where people are physically, leaders need to trust and let go people. Organizations need to provide the tools, training, and trust their collaborators. A good practice to support the trust and let go initiative is to diversify the leadership role among team members. People tend to like the feeling of involvement in decision-making. Diversifying your leadership by assigning specific roles (to the point where you, as leader, consider it optimal) where people feel their voice and expertise counts, this will make them feel engaged and the trust and let go process will flow smoothly.
- Become a catalyst, planner is thing of a the pre-pandemic world.
- Don’t get us wrong. Planning is (and will always be) important for all leaders. Setting goals gives direction to the every-day tasks, nevertheless, this pandemic showed us that change comes unexpected, and it is inevitable. Leaders need to develop open minds and get into a more experimental approach and they must be comfortable moving forward with a possible lack of information and the potential impact on their actions
- Doing matters more than saying: Lead with the example.
- People tend to see their leaders as role models or figures of excellence/expertise. But today at distance, the error factor and the lack of digital expertise or skills in individuals creates a sort of fear, insecurity or doubt when performing the activities (even though they have the know how). Most of the time, people are waiting for their leader to lead by example. As leaders, being coherent between words and actions is essential for a team’s results to be seen.
In conclusion, today’s world is not “new” or “old”, it’s just different. New necessities, trends, models, and tools have emerged from the global economy in which organizations and individuals stand today. Leaders face a crucial role within organizations because the team’s performance can depend on them.
In the end, team performance is traduced into organizational results. Acquiring and sharpening leading style and skills is essential to keep up to date and be aware of the team’s willingness, feelings, and emotions to become that exemplary organization everyone wants to be.
Source: Giezendanner, S., Fischer, R., & Zeller, A. (2021). The effect of COVID-19 on mental well-being in Switzerland.
