We often default to talking about “leadership” as being about a single person. While that’s fine in casual discussion, it can lead to real problems in organizations. Leadership should be a mindset that’s encouraged throughout your organization and a skill-set you invest in building for everyone, not just those with the right titles. If you see leadership as a collective exercise, you build a much stronger culture and a more impactful, resilient organization.
We all make mistakes, but some mistakes are more easily avoided than others! These crisis times cause us to make more blunders than normal, but I’m seeing a lot of leaders (of both non-profit and for-profit organizations) talking in ways that point to starting off the re-opening from COVID-19 shutdowns in incredibly damaging ways. This video lays out four of the most common and damaging ones I’m hearing frequently in May and why they are so problematic. Hopefully you don’t fall into these traps!
Most of what goes wrong in organizations can be traced back to a drift away from what’s really important (the organization’s purpose and core values) to a fixation on keeping track of a series of isolated outcomes. What results is a backwards looking, slow-to-react, rigid organization (and organizational culture) which is always struggling to keep up with a rapidly changing world. If you get your structures, culture, and people focused back to purpose and core values, you start to weed out outdated processes, generate more diverse viewpoints, and develop the ability to change more quickly and with less trauma. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?!
Pre-crisis work- https://bit.ly/3cVHF0U
Defining crisis- https://bit.ly/3eW9yrD
Communication- https://bit.ly/3aNZLAy
Planning- https://bit.ly/3f3xKYY
Strategy- https://bit.ly/2W9QmxR
As leaders of all types of organizations (companies, non-profits, and government agencies) deal with the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, I thought this video series on leading during crisis would be helpful. I actually co-wrote a book on leading during crisis (focused on the education sector, but the research/lessons are cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary) years ago and, sadly, the coronavirus has made it incredibly relevant again.
Leadership is always tricky and leadership in crisis is even moreso. As many organizations move to work from home arrangements, a new situation is causing confusion for both workers and leaders/managers. This interview focused on what leaders need to consider in making this new arrangement successful, while also pointing out that the easy trap (that people should avoid at all costs!) is to simply use technology to reprooduce the “normal” work environment. The reason this is a trap is that many organizations have disengaged workers, poor people management practices, and flawed organizational cultures! While some normalcy is good to not shock people, now is a great time to take stock of bad practices and start to come up with ways of doing things better.
https://cfo.co.za/article/the-coronavirus-has-hitwhat-now-for-business
Coronavirus has quickly changed the landscape for global trade, industries, and day-to-day working habits around the world. While obviously some industries were going to be hit more powerfully than others due to the nature of the virus’s impacts, there are a large number of organizations around the world who are realizing that their organizational models and leadership approaches have put them at even greater risk. This article draws on a book I wrote with some colleagues a few years ago (Leading Schools During Crisis) to offer insights into how to lead during this crisis to hopefully navigate your organization to better times.