One of the unexpected upsides of the Covid-19 crisis, is an opportunity to re-focus our people strategies, as well as evolve outdated leadership styles, and ways of working.
Covid-19 has demanded different ways of working. In this new world, leaders have had to get comfortable with remote working, and working in a more agile way. They have had to embrace openness to different working patterns and styles, and in many cases, move away from the traditional 9-5 office-based approach.
The crisis has enabled leaders to test their assumptions regarding presenteeism, demanding a greater emphasis on outcomes rather than tasks. And although the recent changes to working styles were prompted by Covid-19, we know we will not be returning to the old ways of working anytime soon.
Now is the perfect time to pause and consider leadership in a post Covid-19 workplace. A recent PwC survey (second employee survey) revealed the need for a ‘leadership reset’. The research identified an opportunity for leaders to change how they connect with their employees and help them perform in an uncertain world. The research also revealed that leaders are making a greater effort to lead with empathy.
There’s no doubt that leaders will play a pivotal role in enabling organisations to navigate the challenges, today and the coming months and years. But just how do we shift leaders’ mind-set and support them to get comfortable with these new ways of working.
We believe this starts with a conversation, giving leaders some much needed breathing space to reflect and figure out what happens next. We absolutely have to involve leaders in this conversation, and co-create the solutions with them. Whatever does come next, needs to happen with leaders, not something that is done to them.
We’ve been running a number of short, focused, experiential, online workshops, with leaders in a number of organisations to do just this. These workshops enable leaders to:
- Understand why they need to lead differently in a post-Covid world
- Explore what this could mean and what it might look like
- Lay the foundations for the mind-set shift required to lead and work differently
- Develop buy-in to these new ways of working – help them understand what’s in it for them
- Develop accountability and autonomy in making this happen and delivering the changes required
- Lay the foundations for subsequent behaviour changes amongst the team
We designed the workshops using ‘appreciative inquiry” which is a process that engages individuals in change. It is a solution-focused approach, providing a framework for having conversations about what does work, or could work, rather than solely focusing on fixing what is broken.
We also use the following principles in the workshop design:
The art of the possible
Workshop activities focus on the ‘art of the possible’ and are strength-based and solution-focused
Employees first, leaders second
The workshops focus on leaders’ experiences, and emotions as an employee first, before moving to look at their experience as a leader. This helps to develop buy-in to facilitate a mind-set shift and the change required
A Great Experience
Running the workshops online is of course a great opportunity to showcase new and different ways of working, so it must be a great experience for them
Practical and accessible
The workshops need to be simple, practical and relevant
And finally, if there is only one thing you do to seize the opportunity, just make are you talk to people, ask them what they want and need – find out what works for them and avoid making assumptions at all costs.
If you would like to find out more about our “Big Conversation” workshops we’d love to hear from you
