Looking Back, Looking Ahead: Leadership Lessons for the New Year

What a year!

In putting my thoughts together for this chat, I was reminded of that famous line from A Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

Dickensian comparisons aside, 2020 may only be a few weeks again before being completely in our collective rear view mirrors, but it definitely will go unchallenged in being called one of the most eventful and disruptive years in recent history. Just how impactful remains to be fully assessed, however, it is safe to say that the events of 2020 have completely dominated our conversations, permanently affected our businesses and our teams, and significantly influenced how present day leaders strategise for the future.

These very same events, in retrospect, have also afforded today’s leaders invaluable lessons on how quickly circumstances can change for the worse (or better), and above all, how much work is required in adapting to those changes, and what is the opportunity cost of failing to adapt. 2020 was by no means a “typical” year. Although I hasten to add that no year should ever be typical because a year should represent more than just a span of time. Inherent in every year should be the earnest belief that, howsoever we begin one, we should always endeavour to end it better, smarter, and stronger.

Best intentions aside, many would argue that this year brought along its own “Adapt or Die” energy as many leaders and organisations, in the pursuit of individual organisational goals and objectives, were buffeted by the slew of events over the course of the year like a listing boat caught in a storm. More than just the stuff of Internet memes and jokes, 2020 proved itself to be a year like no other. Now that it is almost at a close, and many of us look back on what has happened, and forward to what we think will come, what are the key leadership lessons that we should take away from it?

Looking Back

Before we deep dive into the lessons, let’s start with the proverbial elephant in the room – COVID-19 – which burst onto the scene late in 2019 but really got going in 2020, quickly becoming a pandemic by mid-March. A pandemic that has 60 million cases and more than a million deaths worldwide to date. A pandemic that has exposed critical deficiencies in our global health care, education, financial, and industrial systems, adversely disrupted supply and distribution chains at every level, and one that has fundamentally changed the way we interact, communicate, and co-exist; creating what many refer to as “The New Normal.”

(And that is quite some elephant)

Even beyond COVID (if that’s possible), the year was marked by several political and socioeconomic watershed moments that either added agency to the need to do more in bringing about a more sustainable and equitable standard of life for many or gave glimpses of hope, in the face of great adversity, to reinforce a message to those most in need that as unpleasant as things are now, change is always around the corner. In essence, that is what 2020 represents most to me as a leader and a teammate. It has been a year of change – wide sweeping, paradigm shifting, and long lasting change.

It was change for which many were unprepared. And unfortunately, it showed. It showed in the news stories. It showed on social media. It showed in the honest conversations that we were too often forced to have with each other. Some hear “change” and fear tends to seep in. Looking back on 2020, all the change that it has generated, all the doubt, anxiety, and losses that many have endured, it would be all too easy to throw up our hands and say that this year was a wash.

But what good would that do?

All year we looked at the kinds of attitudes and behaviours that great leaders embody and exhibit. Or more specifically, the character traits that they are expected to demonstrate in proving themselves capable of the task. Integrity, courage, dedication, compassion, equity – these became more than buzzwords or cheap prose. They became part of the Leader’s DNA.

So, giving up on a year or simply tossing in the towel because setbacks were experienced do not configure in the genetic makeup of great leaders. They cannot. The changes may have ushered in the New Normal but I believe that they have, in turn, also paved the way for the New Leadership.

Looking Ahead

With all that has happened so far, it’s quite understandable why and how many organisations, locally and globally, have adapted their operations – not only with an eye to remaining profitable and sustainable but also with extra emphasis placed on protecting both staff and clients. Businesses (which I have always believed should be about more than simply making money) continued to evolve. Not surprisingly, business leaders, in evolving their businesses, also evolved.

Admittedly, while the change has an unpleasant catalyst in the form of the pandemic, it is a change whose worth will be borne out in the years to come, particularly as the pandemic becomes under control, and businesses can effectively re-prime themselves to seize opportunities in the future.

So, even as we look forward, what lessons can we look back on to help shore up our drive and zeal to shape the future we want to see? For our organisations, our teams, ourselves, and our communities?

1. Make the tough calls and make them early
One of the most salient lessons of 2020 – a year fraught with difficult and unpopular choices – is that the businesses and leaders who performed well were the ones that were unafraid to make the tough calls.

Whether these calls involved reorganising operations, products and services or (unfortunately) reducing staff complements, decisions were made and these were communicated clearly and early with all stakeholders. The old adage goes that there is no way good way to deliver bad news. But the leaders who made the most of what the year had to bring (and the ones will bring out the most in the year to come) were the ones who, in understanding the adage, took the steps to make sure that the bad news was told accurately and to all affected.

This lesson also applies to any new directions that leaders may adopt in taking their businesses forward during the rough period. Assuredly, there is more change on the horizon. And by all accounts, the rough days are still coming up. However, the leaders who communicate openly and honestly with all stakeholders and bring them on board as early as possible, are the ones who have made and will make the difference in their businesses’ futures.

2. Identify the gray rhinos around us
We all know them but prefer to say as little as we can about them in the mistaken hope that they will go away on their own. But they won’t. A crash of gray rhinos will continue moving in our direction whether we like it or not. We need to not only call their names out loud but we also need to resolve to deal with them. Climate change, income inequality, deteriorating education standards, slow rate of technological adoption, we all will have our own gray rhinos and some of us will have more than one. We need to be honest about them and we need to address them. It will help us make those tough calls.

3. Time is of the essence
When the pandemic first hit, there was an urgency in leadership around the world as many were still coming to terms with what we were dealing with, the pandemic’s immediate and long term impacts, and ways of putting a proper handle on the situation.

We could refer to this period as the “acute” stage where the effects were virtually instantaneous. That is, a problem arose and solutions or fixes applied. But a pandemic is different. As time and the world moved on, and we began to find equilibrium in living with the virus, much of that energy seemed to have faded, with far too many saying that “this is how things are now” and that they were just “riding out the storm.”

Great leadership has never been about just riding out storms. It has more to do with adjusting the sails (even taking them down, if necessary) to ensure that the ship is safe and has forward momentum along its journey. It has to do with actively decisively in the face of crisis in the best interests of the organisation and team.

With no latitude for hand wringing or proselytising, the best leaders, therefore, understood that time was a true luxury in the New Normal; where situations and circumstances can change in the blink of an eye and decisions are all but demanded even quicker than that. This is not to promote knee-jerk decision making. However, the leaders that have done well were decisive and timely in their actions. They consult as many as possible and make decisions in the best interests of the greater good.

Time may seemingly never be on a leader’s side, but the leaders and businesses who expect to outlast the pandemic are the ones who will never lose that sense of urgency needed to successfully understand, face, and overcome challenge.

4. Remember cause and effect
Few will link the financial crisis of 2008/2009 to the events of September 11, 2001 (9/11) but there is an inexorable link between two events if looked at dispassionately. According to an article I recently read, the events of 9/11 led to the Federal Reserve Bank of the US drastically cutting interest rates in the US to stimulate economic activity and offset the fear and panic that had set in. This cut in interest rates resulted in the creation of a property price bubble as investors rushed in to take advantage of the lower rates and the creation of sub-prime mortgage loan markets. It was these sub-prime mortgage loans (along with some unethical practices by many) that would sow the seeds of the financial crisis in 2008/2009. The message, always be mindful of one of Newton’s fundamental laws of physics – every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

5. Care for Your Team
This is a tough one.

Often, as leaders, we forget that we are leading people just as much as we are leading an organisation or a brand. And just like our business have, our people have been greatly affected by all that has happened throughout the year…and then some. The new leadership must take into account how much our teams have been affected and not take for granted their professionalism and commitment particularly under such a trying time.

Our teams may not admit that they are cracking under the pressure but a leader, in touch with his or her organisation, can always intuit when the cracks are there. What’s more, once well managed, this practice of actively caring for and engaging our employees through the most difficult of times can redound to the organisation’s benefit in the long term by ensuring that productivity AND wellness remain high.

This essentially means that you maximise leadership’s visibility and all communication channels, doing more than simply saying “My door is always open.” Staying connected in a time when social and physical distancing are de rigueur will undoubtedly require a sustained and deliberate effort. But it is worthwhile in making the world of difference if leaders intend to properly coach and empower staff.

In the same breath, leaders of today need to understand that communicating with teams does not mean creating additional channels through which more work (and stress) can be funnelled to them.

I will admit that this is a difficult one given the thrust toward remote working and/or stay at home arrangements, where is it harder to physically be around our teams (or they around us) and the primary means of communication have morphed into the primary means of delegating work. But I contend that is it precisely because of this emphasis on the virtual and the remote that leaders make an extra effort to stay in touch with their teams. For example, reducing employees’ burdens of work, neither micromanaging nor real-time monitoring them, can go a long way toward protecting their physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.

Therefore, holistically caring for our teams has to become a major leadership priority as we go forward, if it hasn’t already been. If the resources allow, expand this into counselling services that provide psychological support. Having someone to talk to can literally save lives.

Considering that virtual meetings are quite the norm, leaders can give some thought to expanding that function beyond being simply work related. But when was the last time we convened a Zoom just to chat with our teams? Maybe to celebrate a birthday or baby shower or some festive event? It does not have to be a lengthy or protracted event but the value in being able to commune, look each other in the eye, and (re)kindle that basic human interaction and communication can never be overstated.

Be there for and look after your people.

A Brave New Leadership

The year in review has been about change. The year ahead will be about how leaders make that change work for them. The pandemic may be far from over and its destructive wake may be with us for quite some time, but even in that there is a silver lining for leaders intent on making the most of the new year. While there is much doubt about what the future will bring, there is no doubt that old leadership and management styles have no place in the new normal.

There can also be no doubt that our way of life has been irrevocably changed and gone are the thoughts of a return to the way things were. The world has moved on and existing policies, structures, and approaches are likely to be dismantled in favour of newer, more effective ones. How prepared are you to deal with them? To make the most of them?

In the face of uncertainty, instability, and systemic fragility, the great leader has an ace up his or her sleeve – optimism; the last lesson of 2020.

The New Leadership is optimistic.

Even after the pandemic has subsided, and the door closed on the old ways of leading our teams, the changes of the past year should be transformed into lessons on how leaders and business can adapt to survive. It’s safe to say that in the new normal, traits like innovation, communication, and compassion will command a higher premium if leaders are to weather the storms ahead with a demonstrable measure of confidence and competence. If they are keep their businesses in the black.

Make no mistake, much of our leadership energy, in the medium to long term, will be invested in problem-solving, team building, and managing expectations in order to get our businesses and our teams to grow into their best selves. It’s going to be an uphill battle. Just remember that being a leader does not necessarily mean that you have all the answers or that you hit the mark every time. The missteps of today help chart the path of tomorrow. The failures and setbacks of the present can perfect the plans we make to succeed in the future.

Yes, it’s been quite a year. Quite a journey. One that I am glad, despite all that has happened, to have made with all of you. As I look forward to what comes next, and to our next chat, I extend my sincerest holiday greetings and the best wishes for the New Year to you and yours.

With our 2021 goals ever before us, let’s continue working in that spirit of togetherness as we strive to achieve them.

We are all in this together. Now, let’s get to where we are destined to be… together.