Resilient leadership strategy is destined to win over COVID-19

The outbreak of COVID-19 has quickly surpassed other wide-spread epidemics in both size and scope. Besides the deadly human toll and the disruption of people’s lives, the economic damage is already substantial and extensive. The economic recovery from this pandemic is definitely going to require a lot of strategic thinking across the globe.

In the face of these uncertain challenges, business leaders around the globe are concerned about how their companies will be affected, and the path ahead. The companies are in different phases of dealing with the outbreak and are struggling to keep the business running. But irrespective of the impact COVID-19 has created on the organization, we believe these actions of resilient leadership can distinguish successful CXOs from the regular ones:

Decentralized decision making and priority management:

In a dynamic situation like this, a centralized decision-making approach slows the organization’s ability to respond effectively. Business leaders should empower managers to make the best decisions depending on the situation in their area of work in-line with the company’s priorities. Brainstorming and aligning teams together to be creative and non-binary about solving the major issues at hand is crucial. At this hour, we need to be efficient, effective, innovative, secure, fast, and agile.  

Flexibility & local autonomy

This is the time to encourage more initiative and decision rights at all levels of the organization, trusting that the teams and individuals who are deeply embedded in the organization structure.

Keep the priorities clear. Hard choices are to be made, never more so than during a crisis. Allow a high degree of decentralized decision making, respecting, and implementing those priorities with the locally available information. The decision should be backed by the central management if the explanation is justifiable.

Speed over perfection

Perfection is the enemy of the good, especially during a crisis. Companies do not have the infrastructure to deliver perfect information in real-time and there are and will be many unknowns in the coming days. This is a one-of-its-kind scenario that has never been countered before and leaders across the globe suggest collecting as much data as possible to make decisions so that you’re not flying blind. The key factor to be borne in mind while making these tough decisions are agility and swiftness and making sure they are thought through.

Build future business models:

How these uncertain times will lead to emerging new trends, structural changes, and new markets that redefine your company and industry are yet to be seen.

Designing a strategy around these changing times demonstrates the real promise of potentially evolving in our vision for the product, company and also for the industry as a whole

Encourage talent:

The key to encouraging talent is to focus on the work, the workforce, and the workplace.

Resilient leaders swiftly assess the works that are mission-critical and what can be deferred and direct the teams where their focus needs to be. Maintain clear protocols (for the workforce which has to be on-field) such as revised sanitizing protocols, personal protective equipment, etc

Recognize & reward the efforts made by individuals or teams. Our platform Zaggle Propel is an integrated platform for not only reward and recognition but also for goals and performance management.

Maintain business continuity and financing

In almost every financial crisis, cash and liquidity reserve make a top priority. Without them, even the most financially stable companies can struggle during the crisis. 

The current crisis is no exception, and it could be impacting the companies to different extents depending on the industry and runway. For industries such as travel and hospitality, the revenue lost during this period may be permanent which again results in unanticipated pressure on working capital and liquidity. Startups & SMEs may find it particularly difficult to raise funds for running their day-to-day workflows.

Few organizations are implementing first-ever remote work policies that may face unexpected tax challenges when they are paying employees in a different local tax jurisdiction than their main office.

COVID-19 is an unprecedented event that continues to disrupt millions of lives. This crisis may primarily change the culture of the workplace, the way you distribute work and deploy your workforce and engage with them. Over a period of time, this situation may present an opportunity to think about how you elevate communications, create a more resilient workforce, and build more focus on health and well-being.

“COVID-19 is a test of resilient leadership”

The leadership team plays a crucial role in creating a resilient strategy for the company as well as the industry. This crisis definitely represents an opportunity for leaders to step up and create more innovation in the face of adversity.