Even before COVID, leaders today faced new challenges due to the speed of technological, social, and economic change. The crisis has accelerated this trend, calling for a new type of leadership. So are you one of the new breed of leaders?

In a world of disruptive business models, digital platforms, technology augmented workforces, flexible working, flattened organisations, and an ongoing shift to team-based work, leaders today are being asked to step up and show their people the way forward - and perhaps in ways like never before.

The last year has shown us that anything can happen and anytime.

With so many of our teams  now working from home, adopting social distancing measures, leaders today are required to lead in a digital and virtual world.

This means leading in networks; formed through inclusion, fairness, social responsibility and of course an understanding how to use technology.

The reality of our work-life post-COVID, and its consequences for our businesses, economy, and society will play out over the rest of 2021 and beyond.  

Many boards and executives I talk with tell me that right now, we really need leaders who are pragmatic, smart, values-driven, and focused. This is the leadership which is making the difference in their organisations.

Already in 2021 we have seen this play out in a number of new recruitment assignments we have undertaken - with special emphasis placed on leadership competence and the capability to lead in our new environment.

And don’t just take my word for it. The Deloitte Global Human Trends Survey (2020) saw a majority of respondents also calling for a ‘new type' of leader, with over 80 percent of respondents stating that leaders need to be able to lead through more complexity and ambiguity. A further two-thirds identified the importance of leading with influence, over half said that managing teams remotely was a core requirement of leadership and 47 percent said leaders today need to come to grips with a workforce consisting of humans and machines.

Within this context, leaders, (and especially) highly successful ones, know that they must reinvent and change themselves or risk being outrun by others. No matter how effective you were yesterday, you will find that today and tomorrow are likely to make new and different demands on you as a leader – this crisis proving that point beyond doubt.

New ways of working will of course require new ways of learning. Ask anyone in the Australian Higher Education sector and they will tell you they are going through their biggest evolution in decades, as they too grapple with new market dynamics and learner expectations for shorter, more targeted ‘upskilling’ courses.

For leaders, the data is stark. If you fail to reinvent and adapt, you and your organisation will stall and fail. PWC’s CEO Global Report 2020 found, that leaders who embrace the opportunity for development will be rewarded with a strong corporate culture, greater levels of innovation and higher levels of workforce productivity and engagement.

Here are our tips on future-proofing your leadership:

1.  Educate yourself first and then your people

I’ve always believed that to improve your people, you need to start with yourself.

First and foremost, have an open mind. Learning doesn’t necessarily require enrolling in a course. This could take the form of seeking out credible sources of information, sign up for quality news (easier today now that Facebook isn’t an option), attend events, network with peers and industry leaders and look for ways to upskill or reskill.

Personally, I’m a fan of the white papers and research produced by large consulting groups. I’ve signed up to most of them, receiving email alerts and updates. You can also follow them on twitter and of course share with your employees or clients.

My poor wife struggles with my insistence on watching ABC news, but the reality is an interest in what is going on around you should extend beyond what is served up on mainstream TV. Some news services are worth the subscription fee, and I cannot live without the Australia Financial Review (AFR). Harvard Business Review (HBR) and others.

Other noteworthy new platforms for sharing ideas and concepts included Clubhouse, a podcast social media platform with curated rooms. As someone recently described it to me it’s “the new black!”

In 2021 it is important to recognise that our world is changing on a daily or even hourly basis.  Just think about the last week, today’s realities are quite different than they were last Monday, and vastly different from the end of the year.  None of us can predict the future – not even the Simpsons – so make sure you are on top of the trends.

2. Over-communicate

The crisis has shown us the importance of communication. Great leaders understand that you must communicate with credibility and optimism.  You need to be realistic, truthful, and positive. 

As my family and business partners often hear me say:

No one has ever been faulted for over-communicating. 

With many employees still working remotely, you need to set up multiple and new ways to keep in touch. Leaders need to observe their communication style and approach, be deliberate, and be as “visible” as you can possibly be.  

Set the right type and frequency of communication for your people: I’ve been a big fan of short weekly town hall-style meetings as an “all hands” communication method. For anyone who worked with me at one consulting firm some years ago will know that they were a highly effective means of sharing information and lifting energy across the group. They were also fun.  

You will need to be clear and specific with your messaging (what do people need to hear?) and don’t be afraid to repeat the key themes.  This will help people focus on what they can control.  

 3. Be true to yourself. Be authentic.

Remember authenticity, the management buzzword of 2019? There is a reason it is important – and why it is more than just a passing fad. The best leaders I know, ask themselves “why do people trust and follow me?” They tap into their natural persona and style to create a calm and focused work environment.  

In times of crisis, people crave the familiar.  Now is not a good time to change your style: you don’t need to be like Winston Churchill to be an effective leader in times of crisis. I’ve always said, “Bad news smell worse over time!” So don’t hide the truth, even if the news is bad. Be honest, including saying “I don’t know” if you don’t know.  You don’t need to know all the answers – but you should take the time to understand what your people are asking and why they are asking it.  

Most of all, consciously manage yourself. You’re human, and you’re likely to get stressed just as everyone else will be – and possibly in ways you may not even realise.

Staying balanced: for me, having structure and a regular routine is critical, exercising daily, eating healthily, and taking the time for my family and friends – who I know help to recharge and ground me. For others it could be meditation, walking, reading, or even binge-watching that latest Netflix series.

4. Be flexible, be adaptive, and be willing to make difficult decisions.

Next, anchor everything in what’s most important: the safety of everyone you’re responsible for.  Ensure that you have clear business protocols and expectations in place and fine-tune them as necessary.  

Working-from-home arrangements are only the first step: what else needs to happen in your organisation for people to feel safe, engaged, informed, and useful?  

One chief executive I know spends the first 10 minutes of her monthly “all-hands” meetings underscoring what mattered most to her – that her people feel physically and psychologically safe. She shares personal stories of her challenges during the month – which I hope she doesn’t mind me sharing - including buying new furniture during COVID, kitchen mishaps, and sharing new recipes she’s working on. The point is, this isn’t a ‘touchy-feely thing’ – it is a conscious effort to make her people feel safe – one of the most important roles of any leader.

At the same time, build a clear plan for your organisation.  Things are changing at an incredible rate. Put together a tactical set of steps for our new way of working.

I was reminded recently by an old team member (thank you Dallas) of how we had previously adopted the leadership theories of Warren Bennis – VUCA in managing our own change process. The U.S. Army War College first introduced the concept of VUCA to describe the more Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous multilateral world perceived as resulting from the end of the cold war, and this concept as much relevant today as they were when they broke into management mainstream in the 1980s.

Remember that you’re not in this alone, you shouldn’t try to be a superhero, and as one of my old mentors said to me recently, “all of us is smarter than any of us.”  Bring your team together to ensure alignment on plans, priorities, and contingencies.  Engage them in doing that scenario-planning.  Work with them to differentiate the truly important from the merely urgent—and help them do the same with their teams.  Ask them how they and their families feel, to help ensure everyone is tapping into his emotional intelligence to lead and manage in the right ways.  

If you are one of the new breed of COVID leaders, your employees will remember you for a long time.  Nothing drives employee engagement and loyalty more than knowing “my boss does really care about me.” 

As a leader, you should treat this crisis as a defining moment for yourself and your organisation. Step up as a new breed of COVID leader.