Q There is an old saying that “there is nothing new under the sun”. Do you think that business managers are facing something fundamentally new in the post-COVID world, or can they tackle it using tried and tested approaches?
A The pandemic shows that there are challenges out there that we have not thought about when we have been putting together long-term strategies. There has been a human cost, a financial cost, and a cost to how we live our lives and do business. We have seen in real terms just how vulnerable we are as humans to the disease and just how compromised our organisations can be structurally and financially. It has also highlighted how we have become ethically fragile, with more value placed on economic success rather than on the things we should truly value such as health, integrity and equality.
We have all been impacted by coronavirus and it has shown us that we must work together to get through crises like this. Change has been huge, fast and deep and we are not yet out the other side.
When you look at the future of work, we have been handed this unprecedented opportunity to rediscover what good leadership and management should be. That is, to provide a positive and collaborative force for change where our managers and leaders are in service of their people, with organisations in service of their community and wider society.
We have all been impacted by coronavirus and it has shown us that we must work together to get through crises like this. Change has been huge, fast and deep and we are not yet out the other side. We are going to have to rely on faith, the tried and tested, and not be afraid to try new things out. It has exposed gaps where people don’t know what to do or how to go about it. If we are too scared to take risks or admit to not having the answers, then we will not be able to minimise the pandemic’s scarring effect. We need to work on our individual and organisational resilience. That means being prepared in the event of change, because you have developed the capacity and capability to work with the unknown, regardless of what might be going on around you.
Q What leadership characteristics do you see as being the most needed in the future?
A I would pick out three that are all very linked to being more human in how we are in the workplace.
Compassion is important, because it is such an intrinsic part of emotional intelligence and crucial in
