We are living in unprecedented times of uncertainty and change. Whether it is Covid 19 or the changes in technology or the digital transformations across institutions of learning and industries of manufacturing, they all have impacted our lives. Organizations, its leaders and teams are faced with swift moving changes, new challenges, re-prioritization needs, and handling responsibilities of teams well.
In these times of uncertainty, employees need guidance in not only personal but also in professional life. Psychological scientists report that an absence of in-office daily interactions and the impact of loneliness and isolation can be twice as harmful to physical and mental health as obesity affecting our personal lives, our work productivity, efficiency and success. Leaders must energize, motivate, enable, lead by example and provide a level playing field.
A certain sense of despair and frustration seems to be dogging our functioning even as the pandemic seems to be waning. The pandemic’s impact is being felt every day. Several people have resigned from their jobs and several others are in the process of doing so. Many managers are left to navigate the ripple effects of the pandemic and the employees are left re-evaluating their careers. This has accentuated the problem of skills shortage. Many companies are exploring working in a hybrid mode. Some even have made it mandatory to work from home, part of the week, till the coast is completely clear so to say. The changes in the work environment seem to be overwhelming. In this scenario, what can be done to keep the profits floating above the danger mark? Further, many leaders and their employees need assistance to manage the change.
The pandemic has also taught us the importance of mental health and mental wellness. It is about managing stress, being productive, and making a contribution to society. Mental wellness is the internal resource which helps us think, feel, connect, and function. It is necessary to connect with all forms of wellness: spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical. That alone can bring us physical wellness.
In a way, the unprecedented levels of uncertainty and change, is forcing leaders and everyone else to focus on their core skills and competencies so they can manage the change in their lives.
Since the leaders and the executives have to implement the change and rework the management principles, and build effective working relationships, they will need to improve upon their cognitive skills many times over. Cognitive flexibility is the key. They must be able to promote a new vision and strategy, negotiate uncertainty, maintain effective communication, make sound leadership judgements, and create a culture of innovation and growth, as well as develop resilience to meet the new challenges. The leaders must lead from the front irrespective of the ground situation and must be able to inspire confidence in the workforce to deliver on the company’s objectives.
Organizations must be agile and be able to overcome resistance to high levels of uncertainty and change. They must be able to foresee new opportunities and possible challenges and be able to adopt new and improved ideas. Obviously, the leader matters. He must challenge the old and stand by his conviction.
He must believe that anything can be done and hat he can get things done. Colin Powell, former Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff in the US, once said, “You don’t know what you can get away with until you try, it’s easier to get forgiveness than permission. Good leaders don’t wait for official blessing to try things out. They’re prudent, not reckless. But they also realize a fact of life in most organizations. If you ask enough people for permission, you’ll inevitably come up against someone who believes his job is to say “no” So the moral is, don’t ask”.
“If I haven’t explicitly been told ‘yes,’ I can’t do it,” to “If I haven’t explicitly been told ‘no,’ I can,” must be evaluated in the company’s interest. Words of wisdom. True before the pandemic, true during the pandemic and will be true after the pandemic. The idea must be to solve problems rather than create new ones.
The leaders must be able to seek new markets, identify areas for greater profitability, view change as an opportunity to learn and evolve. A sense of pride and ownership must drive the workforce. An effective and innovative leader alone will be able to deliver on this.
Uncertainty and change causes anxiety. Anxiety causes fear, resistance to change, confusion and stress. All of them taken together can cause both mental and physical breakdown. Leaders must anticipate such reactions in their workforce and create an environment of acceptance, openness and learning in order to avoid disengagement and a fall in productivity.
Multiple levels of communication must be explored with various stakeholders with regular updates on progress. Feedback of various stake holders must be enlisted. Cultural values such as honesty and trust must be stressed upon.
Daniel Goleman, an author, psychologist, and science journalist. said, in order to allay fear, give strong direction, to drive and implement necessary changes, motivate teams, and create some short-term stability. Younger team members in particular often ask to be led. So, the leaders must be ‘commanding’ and ‘pacesetting’.
Only change is constant. In order that a leader leads, manages, and implements change, he must align individual priorities with that of the company strategy and key organizational goals. He must be proactive in order to stay ahead. He must learn to live with ambiguity. Must be prepared to accept change and influence what cannot be changed. He must be an early adopter and be ready to ally with change and must be enthusiastic about change to create a positive work environment. He must be able to help others to cope with change.
It’s not the change itself, but the process of adjusting to the change that is emotional. Learning to recognize the emotional and psychological experiences of the team will help the leader in his pursuits.
In these times of challenges and uncertainties, our intellect and strength may not suffice. Charles Darwin, an English naturalist, geologist and biologist once said ‘It is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the one that is able to adapt to and to adjust best to the changing environment in which it finds itself.’