Leadership in a crisis: Responding to the coronavirus outbreak and future challenges

Mar 17, 2020 | The Latest

Leadership in a crisis: Responding to the coronavirus outbreak and future challenges

Tuesday, March, 17, 2020 by Mckinsey & Company’s Gemma D’Auria and Aaron De Smet

Leadership in a crisis: Responding to the coronavirus outbreak and future challenges

Tuesday, March, 17, 2020 by Mckinsey & Company’s Gemma D’Auria and Aaron De Smet

For many executives, the coronavirus pandemic is a crisis unlike any other in recent times. Five leadership practices can help you respond effectively.

The coronavirus pandemic has placed extraordinary demands on leaders in business and beyond. The humanitarian toll taken by COVID-19 creates fear among employees and other stakeholders. The massive scale of the outbreak and its sheer unpredictability make it challenging for executives to respond. Indeed, the outbreak has the hallmarks of a “landscape scale” crisis: an unexpected event or sequence of events of enormous scale and overwhelming speed, resulting in a high degree of uncertainty that gives rise to disorientation, a feeling of lost control, and strong emotional disturbance.

Recognizing that a company faces a crisis is the first thing leaders must do. It is a difficult step, especially during the onset of crises that do not arrive suddenly but grow out of familiar circumstances that mask their nature. Examples of such crises include the SARS outbreak of 2002–03 and now the coronavirus pandemic. Seeing a slow-developing crisis for what it might become requires leaders to overcome the normalcy bias, which can cause them to underestimate both the possibility of a crisis and the impact that it could have.

Once leaders recognize a crisis as such, they can begin to mount a response. But they cannot respond as they would in a routine emergency, by following plans that had been drawn up in advance. During a crisis, which is ruled by unfamiliarity and uncertainty, effective responses are largely improvised.They might span a wide range of actions: not just temporary moves (for example, instituting work-from-home policies) but also adjustments to ongoing business practices (such as the adoption of new tools to aid collaboration), which can be beneficial to maintain even after the crisis has passed.

What leaders need during a crisis is not a predefined response plan but behaviors and mindsets that will prevent them from overreacting to yesterday’s developments and help them look ahead. In this article, we explore five such behaviors and accompanying mindsets that can help leaders navigate the coronavirus pandemic and future crises.

Organizing to respond to crises: The network of teams

During a crisis, leaders must relinquish the belief that a top-down response will engender stability. In routine emergencies, the typical company can rely on its command-and-control structure to manage operations well by carrying out a scripted response. But in crises characterized by uncertainty, leaders face problems that are unfamiliar and poorly understood. A small group of executives at an organization’s highest level cannot collect information or make decisions quickly enough to respond effectively. Leaders can better mobilize their organizations by setting clear priorities for the response and empowering others to discover and implement solutions that serve those priorities.

To promote rapid problem solving and execution under high-stress, chaotic conditions, leaders can organize a network of teams. Although the network of teams is a widely known construct, it is worth highlighting because relatively few companies have experience in implementing one. A network of teams consists of a highly adaptable assembly of groups, which are united by a common purpose and work together in much the same way that the individuals on a single team collaborate (exhibit).

Some parts of the network pursue actions that take place outside regular business operations. Other parts identify the crisis’s implications for routine business activities and make adjustments, such as helping employees adapt to new working norms. In many cases, the network of teams will include an integrated nerve center covering four domains: workforce protection, supply-chain stabilization, customer engagement, and financial stress testing (for more, see “Responding to coronavirus: The minimum viable nerve center,” on McKinsey.com).

Regardless of their functional scope, effective networks of teams display several qualities. They are multidisciplinary: experience shows that

crises present a degree of complexity that makes it necessary to engage experts from different fields. They are designed to act. Merely soliciting experts’ ideas is not enough; experts must gather information, devise solutions, put them into practice, and refine them as they go. And they are adaptable, reorganizing, expanding, or contracting as teams learn more about the crisis and as conditions change.

Leaders should foster collaboration and transparency across the network of teams. One way they do this is by distributing authority and sharing information: in other words, demonstrating how the teams themselves should operate. In crisis situations, a leader’s instinct might be to consolidate decision-making authority and control information, providing it on a strictly need-to-know basis. Doing the opposite will encourage teams to follow suit.

Another crucial part of the leader’s role, especially in the emotional, tense environment that characterizes a crisis, is promoting psychological safety so people can openly discuss ideas, questions, and concerns without fear of repercussions. This allows the network of teams to make sense of the situation, and how to handle it, through healthy debate.

Elevating leaders during a crisis: The value of ‘deliberate calm’ and ‘bounded optimism’

Just as an organization’s senior executives must be prepared to temporarily shift some responsibilities from their command-and-control hierarchy to a network of teams, they must also empower others to direct many aspects of the organization’s crisis response. This involves granting them the authority to make and implement decisions without having to gain approval. One important function of senior executives is to quickly establish an architecture for decision making, so that accountability is clear and decisions are made by appropriate people at different levels.

Senior leaders must also make sure that they empower the right people to make crisis-response decisions across the network of teams. Since decision makers will probably make some mistakes, they must be able to learn quickly and make corrections without overreacting or paralyzing the organization. At the start of a crisis, senior leaders will have to appoint decision makers to direct the crisis response. But as the crisis evolves, new crisis-response leaders will naturally emerge in a network-of-teams construct, and those crisis-response leaders won’t always be senior executives.

In routine emergencies, experience is perhaps the most valuable quality that leaders bring. But in novel, landscape-scale crises, character is of the utmost importance. Crisis-response leaders must be able to unify teams behind a single purpose and frame questions for them to investigate. The best will display several qualities. One is “deliberate calm,” the ability to detach from a fraught situation and think clearly about how one will navigate it. Deliberate calm is most often found in well-grounded individuals who possess humility but not helplessness.

Another important quality is “bounded optimism,” or confidence combined with realism. Early in a crisis, if leaders display excessive confidence in spite of obviously difficult conditions, they can lose credibility. It is more effective for leaders to project confidence that the organization will find a way through its tough situation but also show that they recognize the crisis’s uncertainty and have begun to grapple with it by collecting more information. When the crisis has passed, then optimism will be more beneficial (and can be far less bounded).

Making decisions amid uncertainty: Pause to assess and anticipate, then act

Waiting for a full set of facts to emerge before determining what to do is another common mistake that leaders make during crises. Because a crisis involves many unknowns and surprises, facts may not become clear within the necessary decision-making time frame. But leaders should not resort to using their intuition alone. Leaders can better cope with uncertainty and the feeling of jamais vu (déjà vu’s opposite) by continually collecting information as the crisis unfolds and observing how well their responses work.

In practice, this means frequently pausing from crisis management, assessing the situation from multiple vantage points, anticipating what may happen next, and then acting. The pause-assess-anticipate-act cycle should be ongoing, for it helps leaders maintain a state of deliberate calm and avoid overreacting to new information as it comes in. While some moments during the crisis will call for immediate action, with no time to assess or anticipate, leaders will eventually find occasions to stop, reflect, and think ahead before making further moves.

Two cognitive behaviors can aid leaders as they assess and anticipate. One, called updating, involves revising ideas based on new information teams collect and knowledge they develop. The second, doubting, helps leaders consider ongoing and potential actions critically and decide whether they need to be modified, adopted, or discarded. Updating and doubting help leaders mediate their dueling impulses to conceive solutions based on what they’ve done previously and to make up new solutions without drawing on past lessons. Instead, leaders bring their experiences to bear while accepting new insights as they emerge.

Once leaders decide what to do, they must act with resolve. Visible decisiveness not only builds the organization’s confidence in leaders; it also motivates the network of teams to sustain its search for solutions to the challenges that the organization faces.

Demonstrating empathy: Deal with the human tragedy as a first priority

In a landscape-scale crisis, people’s minds turn first to their own survival and other basic needs. Will I be sickened or hurt? Will my family? What happens then? Who will care for us? Leaders shouldn’t assign communications or legal staff to address these questions. A crisis is when it is most important for leaders to uphold a vital aspect of their role: making a positive difference in people’s lives.

Doing this requires leaders to acknowledge the personal and professional challenges that employees and their loved ones experience during a crisis. By mid-March 2020, COVID-19 had visited tragedy on countless people by claiming thousands of lives. More than 100,000 cases had been confirmed; many more were being projected. The pandemic had also triggered powerful second-order effects. Governments instituted travel bans and quarantine requirements, which are important for safeguarding public health but can also keep people from aiding relatives and friends or seeking comfort in community groups or places of worship. School closures in many jurisdictions put strain on working parents. Since each crisis will affect people in particular ways, leaders should pay careful attention to how people are struggling and take corresponding measures to support them.

Lastly, it is vital that leaders not only demonstrate empathy but open themselves to empathy from others and remain attentive to their own well-being. As stress, fatigue, and uncertainty build up during a crisis, leaders might find that their abilities to process information, to remain levelheaded, and to exercise good judgment diminish. They will stand a better chance of countering functional declines if they encourage colleagues to express concern—and heed the warnings they are given. Investing time in their well-being will enable leaders to sustain their effectiveness over the weeks and months that a crisis can entail.

Communicating effectively: Maintain transparency and provide frequent updates

Crisis communications from leaders often hit the wrong notes. Time and again, we see leaders taking an overconfident, upbeat tone in the early stages of a crisis—and raising stakeholders’ suspicions about what leaders know and how well they are handling the crisis. Authority figures are also prone to suspend announcements for long stretches while they wait for more facts to emerge and decisions to be made.

Neither approach is reassuring. As Amy Edmondson recently wrote, “Transparency is ‘job one’ for leaders in a crisis. Be clear what you know, what you don’t know, and what you are doing to learn more.”7 Thoughtful, frequent communication shows that leaders are following the situation and adjusting their responses as they learn more. This helps them reassure stakeholders that they are confronting the crisis. Leaders should take special care to see that each audience’s concerns, questions, and interests are addressed. Having members of the crisis-response team speak firsthand about what they are doing can be particularly effective.

Communications shouldn’t stop once the crisis has passed. Offering an optimistic, realistic outlook can have a powerful effect on employees and other stakeholders, inspiring them to support the company’s recovery.

The coronavirus pandemic is testing the leaders of companies and organizations in every sector around the world. Its consequences could last for longer and present greater difficulties than anyone anticipates. The prolonged uncertainty is all the more reason for leaders to embrace the practices described in this article. Those who do will help establish or reinforce behaviors and values that can support their organizations and communities during this crisis, however long it continues, and prepare them well for the next large-scale challenge.

Has #COVID19 leapfrogged US into the future of work

Mar 16, 2020 | The Latest

Has #COVID19 leapfrogged US into the future of work ?

Monday, March, 16, 2020 by Pooja Gianchandani

Has #COVID19 leapfrogged US into the future of work?

Monday, March, 16, 2020 by Pooja Gianchandani

I think so… because… ‘New Work’ is here!

As the novel Coronavirus causes global shutdown with countries around the world securing borders, announcing closure of public services and urging citizens to self isolate as preventive measures; the world of work may just have leapfrogged into the era of ‘new work’.

Up until last week many of us were focused on identifying new ideas/ strategies / models and innovations for unpacking the impact of global disruptions – climate change, fourth industrial revolution, digitalization, migration and demographic changes – on labour market and mitigating some of these with responsive education systems and #TVET policies. #COVID19 has impacted the way we will work in near future and accelerated the digital transition. As we all find new ways to work, we are now in the middle of adapting to ‘new work’ and ‘new culture’.

What used to be a voluntary shift in how work was organised, mostly for private sector companies looking to generate greater value for businesses and communities, starting today (Monday 16 March 2020) might be a norm for most white/blue/grey collar workers across the world.

What is New Work ?

The redistribution of work, reshaping the job demands and transformation of many familiar jobs was inevitable. Pundits like me love to refer to this as the paradigm shifts in “future of work’ and build scenarios of how these changes could impact the jobs created and skills needed. Many reports already propose that the creation of ‘New work’ will demand a new set of skills, and ability to use new technologies that transforms the way work is done. For example, a large number of service professions such as teachers, therapists or service professions that are based on one to one interaction and direct contact; would soon shift to digital platforms on a ‘sourcing to servicing’ basis. For this they must learn digital interaction skills, language skills, soft skills, basic business skills and skills to express emotion digitally. They must also learn skills such as adaptability, flexibility, transparency that are essential for the digital worker. Unlike, earlier predictions that this new work will set in by early 2030, COVID19 has accelerated it and brought new work to our door.

#COVID19 has accelerated the reshaping of the globalised, interconnected 24X7 labour market.

Countries like Finland were already experimenting with possibilities of alternating shifts and rearranging work around family and interests. These experiments opened the opportunity to liberate workers from the 9-5 grind, introducing flex working which meshes well with modern day ideas of work -life balance. As the baby-boomer generation slid towards retirement, paving the way for millennials or migrant workers entering the workforce, organisations are being forced to look beyond changing job descriptions but into deeper aspects of rearranging organisational values and culture. The aim is to design work corresponding with the cultural template that guides workers to their jobs and script social roles.

With the call for self-isolation increasing to #flattenthecurve, all of a sudden we have switched gears and moved to mobile working and shift to outcome based working from being inputs and presence based working. Teams will have to learn to collaborate online and through digital platforms. Such work requires a heavy mix of knowledge / skills to leverage the technology plus the discipline to work in isolation and within the comforts of your house.

The WEF released an interesting piece on working from home, which might be a new phenomenon for many, especially those used to old analog styles of 9-5 working. Here are some useful tips if you are new to it and need to prepare>> https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2014/10/working-remotely-challenges-tips

#COVID19 is forcing us to talk about and take action on issues that are otherwise mostly ‘campaign’ talking points

How often do we see a public response to issues such as low wages, lack of social services and basic access to health services. In early March 2020, the economic impact of #COVID19 already stood at 4 billion USD. Entire economies stand at risk of collapsing or being reorganised due to this forced global shut down. The worst hit will be small businesses and workers operating in gig / platform mode. Most of them living paycheck to paycheck. Service industries such as MICE, tourism, hospitality and small retail have already indicated the scale of losses due to cancellations of events and closure of basic services such as schools, restaurants, shops etc. The fact that Governments and some private companies (like the tech giants) have established special funds to support these workers already points to the lacunae in our current labour system.

On the other hand, the pandemic might also be a glaring insight into the skills mismatch and huge gaps that exist between the education and labour market system. One of the fears, facing developed and developing countries alike, is the lack of trained personnel to offer healthcare, emergency and other public services in times of crisis. These skill gaps were known and often talked about / discussed at various fora. I think, COVID will be the wake up call to start working towards strengthening our systems and prepare the workforce of the future.

Work of the future will be sustainable and COVID19 might just have nudged us towards it.

My fellow thinkers who talk about future of work, often exclaim that the ‘future’ is now. To them i’d say, indeed. It has arrived and we ought to be doing something about it and fast.

In reading about the business measures to contain COVID19, one of the common steps taken by most companies was to reduce / cancel all non-essential travel. Someone rightly hasped on twitter, if it was non-essential why were we undertaking it in the first place?!

The #selfisolation measures are an opportunity to rethink consumption and over production. The first signs of environment recovery in Wuhan, due to closure of polluting factories, are already visible and being documented. Similar effects are likely as the world travels less and quits these ‘non-essential’ travel (boggles my mind!. This forced break might just be the breather our earth needed. Perhaps, it might lead to partial clearance of the smog in many cities of India, China, Bangladesh and Philippines.

This is our moment to switch back to ‘circular economy’. Yes switch back. You read it right. Most of us, borderline millennials, have been raised with the middle class family values of being generous with ideas and stingy with resources. The rules of Circular economy come naturally to us. Somewhere we lost those values and moved towards hyper consumption mode. This is our moment to really reflect on why we buy what we buy and find newer, more interesting ways of reducing – reusing – recycling in our daily lives.

Brace yourself, ladies and gentleman, both for a pandemic that might slow us down for the next few month and to prepare ourselves for a bold new world of new work. It will open new opportunities for some, make some folks uncomfortable and might just be the nudge we all needed to move from talk/talk/talk to action.

Entrepreneurial Activity Across the Globe in 2019

Mar 16, 2020 | Gazette

Entrepreneurial Activity Across the Globe in 2019

Monday, March, 16, 2020

Entrepreneurial Activity Across the Globe in 2019

Monday, March, 16, 2020

Levels of Entrepreneurial Activity in 2019

This chapter reports on levels of entrepreneurial activity across the world. Economies differ considerably in terms of their engagement in entrepreneurial activities. Some of these differences reflect the way in which entrepreneurial activity manifests itself: in some economies there are large numbers of self-employed and startup activities; in other economies there are relatively more established and medium-sized firms; while in others entrepreneurial employees (often termed “intrapreneurs”) within existing companies are prevalent. As noted in Chapter 1, GEM takes a broad approach towards entrepreneurship. Accordingly, this chapter includes the following measures

The proportion of adults who are actively engaged in starting or running new businesses in each. economy (Total early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity [TEA]);
The proportion of adults owning and managing an established businesses;
The sector distribution of entrepreneurship;
The proportion of adults involved in Entrepreneurial Employee Activity (EEA) as part of their role in existing organizations.

These different manifestations of entrepreneurial activity each contribute to a sustainable economy in their own way. While startups mirror dynamism and potentially

“creative destruction” (where new businesses challenge and replace obsolete ones), intrapreneurs can ensure continuous innovation in larger organizations. At the same time, owner-managers in established firms (mostly classified as small or medium-sized enterprises) often form an important backbone to an economy and society.

(Read more…).

Download the Full ICSB Gazette.

Google is making the premium version of its workplace video chat tool free until July, to help businesses and schools working remotely due to coronavirus

Mar 14, 2020 | The Latest

Google is making the premium version of its workplace video chat tool free until July, to help businesses and schools working remotely due to coronavirus

Saturday March, 14, 2020 by Business Insider’s Paayal Zaveri

Google is making the premium version of its workplace video chat tool free until July, to help businesses and schools working remotely due to coronavirus

Saturday March, 14, 2020 by Business Insider’s Paayal Zaveri

Google is giving everybody free access to its advanced Hangouts Meet video-conferencing features for free until July 1, as businesses and schools have been impacted by the coronavirus disease, COVID-19.

Google announced the news in a blog post Tuesday morning, saying that “as more employees, educators, and students work remotely in response to the spread of COVID-19, we want to do our part to help them stay connected and productive.”

Hangouts Meet is part of Google’s G Suite set of productivity tools, alongside Google Docs and Sheets. It also has an education focused version of its product and an enterprise version for large businesses. It’s the features in those premium versions that will be made free until July.

Those features include being able to have up to 250 participants per call, live streaming for up to 100,000 viewers within a domain, and the ability to record meetings and save them to Google Drive.

This comes as Zoom, a competitor to Google’s Hangouts Meet tool, lifted time limits on its free product for users in China. Zoom’s CEO Eric Yuan, who grew up in China’s Shandong Province, wrote in a blog post that he wanted to help those who are deeply impacted by the virus as it continues to disrupt daily affairs, from offices to classrooms.

Call for Submissions to ICSB Online Education Toolbox

Mar 14, 2020 | The Latest

Call for Submissions to ICSB Online Education Toolbox

Saturday, March, 14, 2020

Call for Submissions to ICSB Online Education Toolbox

Saturday, March, 14, 2020

ICSB Online Education Toolbox created by and for ICSB worldwide members

ICSB is calling on it’s members to submit to the ICSB Online Education Toolbox, tools and best practices for online education. Today’s trends are focusing more and more on online education in all levels and we hope to share the best practices and tools to allow our members to be ahead of the curve in terms of online education! Please submit via google form.

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