Seven lessons of leadership that COVID-19 has taught us

We are in a pandemic time and we do not know for sure how long we will have to deal with it. We may have to face several periods of disruption of economic activities. The "new normal" is still in gestation and many things will change. There are many realities. 

At one extreme, more than 500 thousand companies closed in Brazil during this period. On the other, large companies prioritizing the safety of their employees, spending their reserves, in addition to redefining themselves completely. We can say that no organization in the world was prepared to deal with such a crisis. There is not one that has not felt its impact. 

Although the risks of a pandemic have always been real, humankind’s advances in medicine, technology and in the economy have not prepared us for what we are experiencing. 

We all felt the effect of the disease on our skin. Those who have not had any relatives or friends infected certainly suffered from the different privations such as social isolation, impoverishment, among others.

These impacts are leaving great learning for everyone. For those in leadership positions in organizations, this whole process has generated an accumulation of lessons that should revolutionize the way we work and the way the market will organize itself from now on. These lessons made up an open book made up of contributions from each one. The time is right to collect and exchange experiences in order to compose a common capital of knowledge. 

With that in mind, I have decided to write in this article the seven main lessons of leadership that, in my opinion, COVID-19 has taught us so far. 

Be present and give hope

We've always been there for each other during our careers. Now, however, this presence needs to be adapted, increased, polished, extended, improved. We need to be close to people, with a focus beyond business. We need to show optimism. Things will get better. There is no crisis that will last forever. Of course, while keeping your foot in reality. 

We are seeing colleagues, family members and individuals all over the world losing their jobs or even getting sick. Companies are closing doors. There's a lot of bad stuff going on. Still, we can't afford to sneak out. We need to be protagonists in the search for solutions, without giving up hope to people.   

Embrace the volatility 

The message changes all the time. The numbers of the disease change all the time, those of the economy too. We don't know much, and often what we thought we knew is no longer quite true in this crisis. In that scenario, we need to make sure that the decision is made quickly, with the best information we have at hand. 

Faced with the sudden change in scenario, we need to recognize the situation and point out the need to formulate new strategies or approaches in the face of new facts. We cannot get too attached to last week's decisions if the scenario that presents itself in the current week has changed completely. 

Risk is not your enemy

Building scenarios and more scenarios has become common place for many organizations. Dealing with risk is now part of the ABC of any portfolio. We need to eliminate unnecessary vulnerabilities, but know how to live with what cannot be controlled. It is necessary to listen to different sources in order to best calculate the risks involved in each step. How we get out of this crisis, psychologically, morally, physically and financially, will say a lot about how each of us is to deal with unlikely events, with prolonged effects over time. 

Know how to make difficult decisions 

We need to try to reassure people whenever possible, but always make clear the risks we are all facing. In many cases, leaders are finding themselves having to make difficult decisions that affect people's jobs or income. Being a leader is not simple and that is one of the costs. 

Closing a factory, firing an employee, hiring someone who costs less, and selecting staff over the Internet have become routine for many people. However, we are in the middle of the process and we can learn to do all this in a reasonable and supportive way. You can't shy away from sharing the problems, but you also need to know how to preserve yourself, and the best way to do that is to understand that the difficulty is temporary. Focus on the future. 

Protect your people 

Care is needed with the team, the organization and the environment. The Talmud says that whoever saves one life saves the whole world. Using technology on the largest possible scale to expose people to the minimum is now an imperative from which we can no longer escape. And we need to take that back to the moment of recovery as well. 

We all need to be vehicles of mutual understanding among people. Understanding the needs, the particularities of each one, the moment we are living. Minimal gestures of kindness, even in virtual space, count too much. It is important that people know that we are close, that they can count on us and other colleagues. 

We are all learning. Dealing with the crisis, with the disease, with the division of space in the house with the family. This means that everyone can help each other. Civic engagement, whenever possible, can inspire employees, leaders and other organizations to build a better world. 

Remember the purposes

The plans made at the end of last year or the beginning of this year have almost all gone down the drain. We have to be able to adapt, make deliveries according to new needs. It may be that we no longer have any hope of counting on the previously planned invoicing. However, we need to get organizations through this time, making them stronger and better positioned in the future. 

Is this a lost year? Not at all. We need to renew our youth by putting forward the purposes that move us and that constitute the mission of the organizations we lead. After all, things are changing and even the contingency plans of now may not be worth much tomorrow. 

Forget the accident, focus on the essence

Remote working is the new normal, even for those who must adopt some kind of mixed scale from now on. This reaffirms that micro management has no room. We need to institute a culture of trust. It is this culture that will lead people to mature faster and transform the entire business environment in Brazil and the world. We will focus on the objectives and demand the results. We will come out of this storm much stronger, more mature and capable, focusing on what matters.  

The profile of the future leaders is being built now. While the new books and benchmarks do not emerge, the "new normal" is establishing itself from the sum of infinite practical teachings that we share with the world. 

And for you? What lesson did the pandemic leave?