HOW TO BE A GOOD LEADER IN A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD
The pandemic is a testament of how well leaders can bring their teams through the crisis and grow stronger after the chaos of 2020. Here are a few pointers on how to be an excellent chief to steer your company in the right direction.
Practice resilience and self-care.
It is crucial to develop emotional intelligence (EI) to be constantly aware of and in control of your emotions. It allows one not to get as activated when facing challenges and to recover faster when pressured. Practising daily exercises and mindfulness help keep our minds healthy. By executing the above self-care practices, you can keep your daily stress level to a minimum.
Be open to receiving feedback.
It’s no secret that leadership requires constant growth, and often, the potential to grow lies in our vices. A good leader needs to be humble to be able to see their flaws. Though bosses generally provide their teams’ feedback, return the favour by asking your teams to give feedback to help you improve. This will enable you to enhance your leadership skills. Be alert to your blind spots and be rigorous to grow in those areas. It is easy to grow in your areas of strengths, but developing your blind spots is what expands your capacity.
Be compassionate and empathetic.
In testing times, leaders need their teams to step up, so they may feel disappointed, frustrated or irritated when their team is exhausted. However, consider how challenging this time is for your team members. As a leader, you sit “in front of the bus” and have greater purview over what’s going on. Team members likely feel you have greater control than they do. The more “in control” we think, the better we can stay in the “frontal lobe” of solution focus; the less in control we feel, the more we can get triggered in a fight-or-flight response. Your team members may be experiencing more significant stress and exhaustion because of their perceived lack of control. It’s essential to practice compassion, empathy and understanding. Let your team know you are all in this together. Take more time during one-on-one meetings to ask how they are doing, not just professionally but personally. Showing you care helps shift them from their “panic” mode and enables you to explore solutions together that will provide health and support.
Transparency is vital.
In many corporate worlds, the key to maintaining a healthy work culture is through proactive transparency. Leaders can earn and maintain their teams’ trust by communicating the realities of the business and risks.