2020
COVID: Develop the Plan & Leadership Your People Need Now?
Posted by Perspect
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As Government leaders develop plans to lift restrictions and restart the economy post-COVID, business leaders face the challenge of redefining their strategy and leadership style in this ‘new world.’ They now have to shift from the urgency of respond, to recover, operate and thrive. Plans developed in 2019 or even 2020 will, at a minimum, require revisiting if not a complete overhaul. More importantly, how leaders show up will require new ways of thinking and being.
For years, businesses have built annual strategic plans by modifying plans from the previous year. Typically, no significant changes, a few tweaks rather than a reinvention of what needs to happen in the next year. All of that has changed as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
COVID is impacting nearly every component of the traditional business model:
- Employees are working from home – what was a perk is now a legitimate option – there may be economies to capture for astute businesses
- B2B clients are losing their businesses – any customer and suppliers will unfortunately not survive this crisis
- Consumers are shifting buying and engagement behaviours (social distancing and e-commerce)
- Employees are eager to return to the workforce however will require new supports – significant emphasis on employee wellbeing programs – they will need much greater empathy from employers as they deal with uncertainty, fear and demands beyond the workplace
- Global supply chains will be very slow returning to early 2020 levels – companies able to capitalize on digital economies will be in a much stronger position
- There will be continued protectionism from many global entities creating challenges for exporting companies
- Companies will need to adjust health and safety protocols to include COVID guidelines
- Business travel will return but not to the same level as pre-COVID forcing new ways to engage
- Access to foreign workers is limited
During and post-crisis, leaders who shine are those who communicate with absolute clarity, remain steady, demonstrate empathy, think well beyond the current crisis and exercise conclusive decision making and action that leads to reinvention.
Employees need to know that although the leader is accountable to operate the business profitably, they are also human and care for them. They want leaders who understand what they are experiencing.
The reopening of businesses will filter out leaders who struggle with effective leadership behaviours, resulting in potential negative implications for companies already facing significant economic pressures. Proactively investing in ‘new world’ leadership behaviour now can offset these potential negative impacts and, in fact, positions organizations with strong leadership favourably, adjacent to their competitors.
Now is the time to envision the future post-recovery. That means new strategies, goals, tactics and leadership mindsets that will support the new workplace environment, a redefined customer experience, adoption of new technologies, reinvigorated approaches to innovation and a sustainable value proposition that helps the community at large as well as the environment.
With change comes an exciting opportunity for those who prepare. Now is the time to invest energy in preparing your business for the new world – work ‘on’ it while you can’t work ‘in’ it. This means deepening relationships with existing customers, reinventing your business model and enhancing leadership capabilities to ensure a successful recovery.
At Perspect, we specialize in Strategic Planning and Leadership Development. For Alberta and Saskatchewan businesses, we have created a leadership development program eligible for up to $10,000 in grant funding outside of existing COVID stimulus packages. We are also providing additional discounts to Canadian businesses during the COVID recovery.
We would be pleased to provide a consult at no fee to determine where we can support you as you navigate this new way of doing business.
Please book a time to talk here.
Or call us at:
Alberta: (403) 768-3516
Saskatchewan: (306) 543-2231
Toll-Free: (888) 302-6676