What leaders need to know about post-pandemic leadership

What’s needed in post pandemic leadership? The answer is clear.

The pandemic isn’t over, but a few things are becoming clear: leadership in a post-pandemic world will have to change. As companies contemplate what a return to work will look like and how to define a new normal, some are returning immediately to the old play book. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, impatiently said that working from home does “not work for young people,” and doesn’t work for those who want “to hustle.” Goldman Sachs issued a memo expecting employees in the US and the UK to be back to work in June.

Dan Price, CEO of the online credit card processing company Gravity Payments, took the opposite approach. 

“Instead of making a top-down CEO decision, we asked our 200 employees where they want to work,” Price tweeted. “Only 7% wanted to go back to the office full time. 31% wanted a home-office hybrid. 60% wanted full time remote work. So we told everyone; Do what you want. This stuff isn’t hard.”

As some workplaces open and some wait out the crisis, it’s evident that while we’ve been working from home, we’ve been doing some thinking. In April, 4 million people left their jobs, suggesting there is less a worker shortage than a reevaluation of how we are willing to engage with our work. Leaders are as concerned now as they were when the pandemic first hit. What’s to be done in this environment?

The answer, fortunately, is the same as it’s always been: a focus on people. The U.S. Army's maxim is mission first, people always. When you take care of your people, they take care of the mission. Those companies which decide to focus relentlessly on the people who do the work are the companies that will prevail. Those which do not will have a difficult road ahead. 

Where can a leader start?

1.     Know the problem is bigger than you think. Recognizing the disconnect in the perceived and actual ability to give voice to concerns between those in management and front line workers is an important starting place as well. A study of workers in the UK highlighted this divide, noting that front line workers often have less access to technology in their daily life and work, and beyond the professional barriers may also have social divides of education, race, language and gender. This challenge isn‘t insurmountable, but requires dedicated effort on the part of leaders to overcome.

2.     Start by ensuring that every employee has personal contact every week. Numerous studies suggest this practice anyway, but in times of uncertainty this personal contact carries even more weight. Those companies which ensure some form of personal communication with employees increase both engagement and longevity with associated financial benefit. Some leaders find these check-ins challenging in the hybrid environment, but venture capitalist Ben Horowitz found the opportunity, and scheduled a two hour walk every week which he used to pick up the phone and make calls. 

3.     Continue thoughtful and consistent communication as a team. Having a strategy for internal communications is critical. Best practices include frequent communication, ensuring that confidence building messages are delivered regularly, as well as establishing safe communication channels for feedback. Regularly scheduled updates provide both an expected communication rhythm (increasing employee confidence), and set up conversation to be sure leaders understand their employees concerns. 

4.     Ask employees what they want—then find a way to make it work or offer creative solutions. Managers and leaders who ask questions but don’t show that they are responding thoughtfully to what they hear can actually have a detrimental effect on culture. This doesn’t mean that you have to do everything that your people suggest, but it does mean that you thoughtfully consider and respond to ideas. At the same time, offering employees agency in making their own decisions is foundational to their incentive to show up to work. “By choosing their environments, people can have a hand in what they become.”

5.     Practice active listening. As much air time as active listening gets, it’s still a challenge for most leaders who are used to being rewarded for making quick decisions and getting things done. The three steps of active listening are to ask, then listen, and then pause. It’s the second and third steps that are difficult for many to make happen, and the pause is longer the more challenging feedback is given. As a leader, if you ask a question and hear something you didn’t expect, or that upsets or challenges you, try an extended pause. Ask a clarifying question, and listen. And consider asking if you might take time to think about a response before getting back to them—but be sure to schedule the follow-up meeting. (more on this in The Grit Factor)

6.     Find ways to creatively support employees in remote and hybrid environments. When one employee was home sick, American Express sent chocolate chip cookies.  Venture funded OKR specialist WorkBoard sent fresh flowers to employees every week of the pandemic. Online dating app Bumble’s CEO Whitney Wolf Herd gave all 700 employees a week off in the face of a concern over burnout. These efforts show employees that leadership cares about them and the challenges they’re facing. 

7.     Provide a vision for going forward. Psychologists have long understood our human desire for what social psychologist Arie Kruglanski called “cognitive closure,” defined as “an individual’s desire for a firm answer and an aversion to ambiguity.” Especially in the face of uncertainty, employees will look for clear, consistent and compassionate leadership to help them form an understanding of the future. 

This doesn’t have to be—nor should it be—a hard and fast plan in the face of rapidly changing circumstances, but it should be the best you can offer with the information available. In the military, prior to a full operations order, or plan, “SITREP”s, or situation reports, are given as often as information allows, allowing soldiers to continue to adapt to changes and feel confident that they have whatever information is available. 

Consistent and complete communication with employees will be the rudder to navigate through the uncertainty ahead, and building a future where everyone is excited to contribute. But a rudder wont steer a boat if there aren’t any rowers aboard. 

Leaders have an incredible opportunity to shape the futures of their companies and work moving through and eventually out of our shared global crisis by focusing on their most important asset: their people.

Shannon Huffman Polson is author of The Grit Factor: Courage, Resilience and Leadership in the most Male Dominated Organization in the World (Harvard Business Review Press) and CEO of The Grit Institute.