As I am writing this, Ukraine has been on quarantine for 42 days. Quarantine has been enforced throughout the country. And it has just been extended till May 11. Yet, it is hard to see it as a “new normal.” There is a subliminal rejection of the fact that life will not be the same from now on. There is hope that we will return to our “old normal.” And probably, to a greater degree, we will. However, the COVID-19 crisis has established at least one thing. The world is much more uncertain than we thought, and the global black swan phenomenon may disrupt everything we know about daily living and doing business.
In times like these, people turn to their leaders with the question, “so, what’s next?” What are the next steps, and what does the future hold? It is in times like these that the leader’s character, foresight, intellect, critical thinking, emotional intelligence and ethics are tested. So, let’s briefly consider each of them.
Why character? According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “it takes someone of good moral character to determine with regularity and reliability what actions are appropriate and reasonable in fearful situations.” Currently, we are dealing with quite a fearful situation involving concern for health, for employment, for sustainability of business, etc. This is a multifaceted distress, which places a premium on leaders who are able to lead effectively through crises. The very foundation for successful actions in such volatile contexts is character, or the ability to act on one’s values, and not on one’s fears.
One way to assess why we do what we do (values vs fears) is to consider whether we act out of a scarcity or abundance mentality. In today’s context, everything around us practically screams about scarcity. We are concerned about not having enough food (or toilet paper), not having good health and resources to deal with CORONA-19, not surviving financially, not having a job / a company after the whole situation finally blows over, etc. Princeton psychologist Eldar Shafir stated that a scarcity mentality “wreaks havoc on cognition and decision-making.” Instead of using brain power to carefully 
design our strategic action plan, we become preoccupied with immediate fears, and they take up much of our brain’s processing power. Indeed, there may not be abundance around us at this point in time; however, the abundance that a leader needs to have must come from within, derived from his/her values and determines his /her ethical approach to dealing with others. This often is not easy, and may run counter-intuitively to where most of us function…from the standpoint of survival of the fittest. Even so, the outcome of this “abundance from within” is the ability to bring people together and multiply efforts in achieving goals that go beyond mere immediate gain. When this pandemic crisis blows over (and it will), people will remember the abundance their leaders shared with them, and they will become true allies to their leaders in future endeavors.
Along with character comes an ability to control one’s emotions as well as the skills to understand others’ emotions. This is what now is called emotional intelligence (EI). EI has become quite well known as an essential form of intelligence, one that is considered highly valuable to leaders. Since our values determine our responses (which includes our emotional responses to situations), knowing what triggers negative emotions and fearful responses represents another critical step towards building a sustainable future for our organizations. As we become able to control our immediate fears, focus on what lies ahead, and ascertain how better to plot our courses in the current crisis, we also develop abilities to mitigate other people’s fearful responses and to help them see a thriving future. Empathy becomes a vital component of dealing with other people on our teams and in our organizations.
This brings us to the next component, one that may be difficult to practice in an uncertain world: foresight. While one may be able to calculate risks, rarely is it possible to predict black swans. However, successful management of the crisis of the magnitude we now face will help a leader to develop the necessary tools and approaches that will allow him or her to manage future critical situations. Recall the well-known adage, “the best way to predict the future is to create it.” Uncertainties of a global scale have become a common part of our daily living. Often, there is no way around them…only through them. Therefore, part of a leader’s foresight incorporates an understanding of the uncertainties that an organization may face, followed by developing contingencies that are proactive (rather than reactive) for future crises. Assessing where an organization fails now will help develop plans and policies that help avoid failures in the future.
Foresight is not possible without critical thinking and general broad knowledge (intellect). As you may well have heard before, leaders must be life-long learners. They need to be curious and inquisitive. Aligning this trait with critical thinking skills serves as a strong foundation for developing strategic plans and making decisions. In our blog, we have talked about critical thinking in two different posts (here and here), so I invite you to review them at your leisure. If you would like to learn more, simply follow the links provided.
This short blog post does not do justice to the challenges that most organizations face. However, it does provide leaders with an introduction to the steps involved in reinventing themselves and their organizations. To review:
- Begin with your character: assess your values, consider what drives your actions (scarcity or abundance mentality). Remember that abundance always comes from within, and not necessarily from without.
- Learn what triggers your fears, what you are most concerned about, and what emotions are evoked in you. Learn proper ways to deal with paralyzing emotions or those that push you to focus only on immediate goals.
- Create a vision of the future state of your company that takes into account the current challenges or crises.
- Develop a strategic plan for change and movement forward using your general knowledge of current situation, exploring the specifics of how it is affecting your industry, and applying critical thinking in considering different sources of information.
The Analytical Center for Leadership Research and Development is equipped and ready to help you with these steps. If we can assist you in integrating these concepts into your growth and development, feel free to contact us at the link on the home page. Together, we can build a better future for you and your organization!