The future of business is expected to be more flexible to remote working, redefining best practices for leaders who are already performing a challenging task. Strong leadership is critically important for any organization in any time, but what are the key priorities leaders will have to shed their focus on during times of crisis and beyond?
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
–Martin Luther King Jr.
Leadership is traditionally a complex thing to do, considering the need to interact in a way that team members feel equally involved and inspired, while maintaining efficiency of the overall effort. Making things likely more complicated, the COVID-19 left hundreds of thousands employees working from home, vastly reforming the business status-quo and thus putting the concept of leadership into a new perspective.
In this new world, the smart leaders will be those who are willing to abandon their conventional approaches and adapt their strategies, in order to manage high performance teams, who can still work remotely but equally efficiently.
Of course, when it comes to remote communication, there is an added layer of challenges for leaders, who want their team, to not only survive, but also flourish amid the adverse consequences of a pandemic and a post-pandemic world. Let us look at the most prominent challenges of the future e-leadership:
5 key challenges for e-leaders
- Maintain effective communication: As the pandemic is redefining the meaning of ‘distance’, leaders will have to reevaluate the role of information technology and social media for maintaining organizational performance.
- Keep people motivated: The lack of everyday interaction means less engagement and leaders must readjust their motivating tools.
- Instill trust: If trust was a traditionally a critical component in the relationship of leaders with people, now it is vital. Crises frequently happen without warning and require a response under extreme time pressure.
- Achieve teambuilding: The sense of bonding is more challenging when everyone is working in the security of his or her isolation.
- Managing fear: After the pandemic, the way we percept danger and we respond to crisis may be different, instilled with more panic, that leaders need to address sufficiently.
See also: Which is the one ‘must-have’ skill for leaders?
What is the best practice for leading in the post-pandemic world?
-Focus on the efficiency of communication: Efficiency of communication requires double effort in a virtual environment, as it is very easy to get lost in misunderstandings. Always make sure the team understands the ‘why’ and don’t neglect the importance of communicating every decision, even a minor one, so that people will not feel ignored. Also, never assume they just know what is going on or likely to happen.
-Arrange regular group meetings: If you decide to embrace remote working in line with predictions, weekly video conferences or monthly meetings can help employees understand the bigger picture and be more involved in the organization’s community overall.
-Show empathy and flexibility: Times of crisis trigger different worries in each individual. The best thing a business leader can do is express empathy for their concerns and show that the company is addressing them. The simplest starting point is to listen. The crisis of 2020 maybe acted as a valuable case study for managing feelings of stress and likely looking at anxiety in a less guilty way.
-Exercise Emotional intelligence: EQ has been highlighted as an important skill in managing a team, before the pandemic, but now is the most relevant time to exercise your Emotional Intelligence. Sharing your own struggles or, at least, being able to recognize the employees’ struggles to maintain a fine balance between personal and professional matters inside their home will be a great asset resulting in more quality work.
-Readjust decision-making: The COVID-19 case made leaders more cautious for what is coming. When making decisions, always have in mind what is the financial and operational reality right now, as well as what are the related short- and long-term financial and operational implications of your options in the future. You may also get people involved in company decisions, such as giving them voice to arrange when they can be at the office and when not, to preserve social distancing.
-Maintain rewards and recognition: When employees are working with less supervision, it is up to their good will to do more that it is required. While it is possible that leaders encounter a more difficult financial situation following the pandemic, it is critical to keep showing their appreciation to their people.
-Look at the future with resilience: If one lesson was learned from the pandemic is how unprepared shipping and all businesses were case of an unprecedented situation. Staying on top of what is happening next is the most valuable asset for a leader. Note that the World Economic Forum forecasts remote work is here to stay, even after COVID-19 restrictions.
Conclusion
While the pandemic caused unprecedented challenges, it may be seen also as an opportunity for companies to have a fresh start, as they will be “forced” to optimize their performance and adopt a more progressive look on doing business, especially in shipping, which is struggling to desert its conventional way of doing business. Always remember, adapting to the post-pandemic way of work will not occur from one day to another, as it means shifting not only your management methods, but your whole mindset!
