Leadership and team development in the age of COVID are like nothing any of us has ever experienced.
A daunting reality check
Some 745,000 people around the world have died because of the coronavirus. Here at home, we’ve lost 165,000 loved ones. And we’re all facing the biggest global recession in modern history. Supply shortages triggered price gouging, market gridlocks, and panic buying. Unemployment claims in America have reached as high as 26 million.
And the psychological and emotional toll is equally alarming. Pervasive fear and paranoia about succumbing to the disease. Increased reports of domestic violence. Stress and anxiety. Depression. Insomnia. Panic attacks and hysteria. Millions of us are either exploding in rage and rebellion or imploding under the weight of paralyzing terror.
Daunting challenges
Meanwhile, corporate America struggles to keep hoping for a brighter future; to keep moving forward. But the question for millions of CEOs is “How do we move and where are we going?”
In 380 BC, Greek philosopher Plato said, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” In 2020 AD that statement is both profound and ironic. That’s because COVID 19 has necessitated—indeed, compelled—executives around the globe to reinvent their leadership style in imaginative ways under unimaginable circumstances.
Undaunting optimism
The way forward is unclear but what is clear is that millions of us are rallying together optimistically and courageously. Corporate teams have been fragmented into isolated remote workers but this decentralization has not dampened team spirits in many places.
Hierarchies are giving way to greater parity. There’s less siloing of info and more sharing and as a result untapped, unrecognized talent is being showcased and decisions are being made more quickly and efficiently.
Captains courageous
Leadership guru John Maxwell famously said that “anyone can steer a ship; a leader must steer the course.” And around the world, captains of industry are not only reinventing their business models, they are both changing and steering the course of their ships.
Example #1: Regional hospitals that conducted 100-200 virtual office visits every year before the pandemic, now conduct more than 100,000 virtual house calls every month!
As the bottom line gets smaller faster, leaders are thinking bigger faster.
Example #2: As reported on McKinsey.com, “At Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), attendance at movie theaters fell (as a result of government-mandated closures) while demand for its online supermarket soared; in two days, the company retrained 1,000 ushers and ticket sellers to work for the online grocer.”
Transformative leadership and team development
This moment is a personal turning point for CEOs and business owners everywhere. It’s a defining moment during which they must come to terms with who they truly want to be as people and as leaders. Only through personal transformation can they rise to this unprecedented occasion and do what must be done.
As they re-calibrate their lives, so too may their corporations be re-calibrated and reinvigorated. But as courageous as they all may be—or want to be—many of these leaders can’t do it all on their own. Knowing when you need help and asking for it are two clear signs of authentic leadership.
Magnovo’s Team Development Training Program can:
- help detect the need for new or modified policies, procedures, and business tools;
- develop strategies for continual adaptation to continual changes during the crisis;
- identify what to keep and what to let go;
- help determine who to keep, who to reassign, and how to retrain valued personnel;
- conduct DiSC personality profile training to better understand and utilize employ talents; and
- recommend and train team members in new communications protocols as needed.
Leadership and team development in the age of COVID in partnership with Magnovo—this is the way forward.