"Effort and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” – John F. Kennedy
The pandemic brought about many changes to our lives and to most organizations. Though it was sad that COVID-19 took so many lives and businesses, it also gave leaders' opportunities to rethink the way they do business, some to start a new business and others to collaborate with each other to provide solutions.
We were given a lot of opportunities to have important conversations with leaders from the region on both their challenges and goals moving forward. Our discussion with thought leaders gave us insights on how leaders have and need to transform to thrive in the next normal.
If we were to pick only 3 common and important themes, it would be:
1. Mindset, Heartset and Holistic Wellbeing - People and organizations have realized that having a great leadership mindset can help them move forward in being able to have the grit and resilience to make every difficult conversation, decision and situation manageable.
Today, more than ever, we need more compassionate leaders who are mindful of their team, able to constantly and clearly communicate with empathy and possess emotional intelligence.
This extraordinary time also gave leaders the opportunity to ensure the safety and development of their team despite of the challenges and support every employee to have a holistic wellbeing. A lot of people have suffered from stress due to the lack of connection, uncertainty and even work-life-balance.
2. Importance of Constant and Clear Communication - The situation gave more
organizations the ability to communicate directly from the top leadership to all employees which gave the opportunity to hear directly what is expected and what is coming.
Team leaders realized the importance of being able to create safe and brave spaces to nurture the building of relationships and trust that everyone is doing what they have to, while working remotely from home.
Transparency in communication with both internal and external stakeholders requires the ability to listen, ask powerful questions and being open to feedback.
3. Finally, Digitalization was accelerated this year to be able to continue doing the business. Ensuring that businesses are able to reach out and continually serve their customers in a safe manner. Being able to stay connected with both their teams and family while following travel restrictions and social distancing measures.
Technology companies and other innovative programs, products and services which were created to be able to continue to be accountable, adaptable and agile in this new normal are thriving.
Despite the drastic transformations made in the past 9 months, most companies are still uncertain of many things, this has pushed our team to embark in a journey to create a platform that will unite decision makers and thought leaders from various industries around the world to talk about experiences and their journey in this extraordinary time.
We have been quiet for the last weeks as we work on our research conversations, discussions and exploration of achievable strategies. We believe that together, we can develop sustainable action plans and have a community that will create opportunities to share the best practices, trends and stories that will enable us to succeed.