As May’s Mental Health Awareness Week ended and our battle with COVID-19 started the transition from lockdown to let loose, we find ourselves divided.
The clarity of lockdown saw us all in the same boat, or at least if not in the same boat, certainly the same storm. However, with the easing of the lockdown situation, disharmony is also emerging. Some of us can’t wait to go out again, whilst others don’t really want to. Some of us are still happy to stay home only virtually connected to the outside world, whilst others are already pushing the boundaries by meeting up with multiple friends. Some remain worried about the virus and the possibility of an increased risk as the guidelines are relaxed, whilst others are more concerned about the economy and the risk to their business than they are with any potential risk to their health. It is at these times of uncertainty that we seek reassurance; this is when good leadership is most essential. Good leaders are those who have already sensed the change and have adapted their management techniques to meet the evolving needs of their team.
Surprisingly, the “we’ll fight them on the beaches” battle cry leadership style, so successful at the start of the crisis, is less effective as we enter this next phase. As Churchill discovered at the end of the war, politics in peacetime requires very different qualities. Churchill effectively made himself redundant as the military victory was, by far, his most important goal and he had practically ignored the party politics which left him without a clear sense of purpose and direction; therein lies a lesson to us all.
The qualities of good leadership often seem more explicit during a crisis, single-mindedness, a great asset during a national emergency, is generally only effective for short time. The qualities of effective leadership are not defined by external forces, such as the pandemic. Effective leaders are flexible, they explain, influence, and rally their team to achieve strategic goals, despite sometimes confusing or complicated scenarios, crisis, or no crisis. Covid-19, whilst extreme, is primarily no different to any other significant challenge to the business. Anything that imposes stress and pressure on a team needs to be managed well, whilst the focus remains beyond the present, towards a clear and more promising future. Although the stress and pressure may be of different degree than the current pandemic, how leaders respond to those challenges remains constant.
Lover or fighter, your leadership style doesn’t really matter, providing you recognise the need to adapt to this next phase. Your team will be looking for empathy and understanding, clear direction and support and, above all a commitment to their health and welfare.
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