Leadership “smarts”

The coronavirus pandemic is a global disruption to everything we have taken for granted. This includes not only disruptions to our business, social and personal rituals but the prolonged uncertainty is also testing the leaders of every organization in every sector around the world. Yet, this past month has also shown that this pandemic is an opportunity for revisiting what we may have taken for granted and transforming this disruption into a constructive one.

The Scream is Edvard Munch’s most famous work, and one of the most recognizable paintings in all art. It has been widely interpreted as representing the universal anxiety of modern man.

Business Smarts: Disruptions call for unrelenting focus on the changing customer needs with close monitoring of even the weakest signals of behavioral change. These changes may create new white spaces or resurface those previously deemed unviable. Agility and adaptability are more critical than ever in revising or even pivoting the existing business model to embrace these white spaces to realize value.

Technological Smarts: Leaders must be able to understand, make use of and amplify the power of existing or rapidly emerging technologies to better serve emerging needs in the disrupted environment. This opportunity to gain new set of technological literacies apply not only to the existing business models but to organizations and how they function.

Moral Smarts: In routine emergencies, leaders can continue to pursue their strategy via preapproved plans and incremental changes that focuses on maximizing value above all. Disruptions can bring new societal needs to the forefront, putting leaders to an important moral test. For those who can rise to the challenge by embracing their social responsibility can augment or modifying their existing service to make a meaningful contribution to the well-being of their community and society.

Communication Smarts: Transparency and honesty is key. Quick and thoughtful correspondence especially in uncertain settings presents an opportunity to increase confidence, trust, and loyalty which are very hard to establish.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that each of these leaderships “smarts” is essential, and their nuanced combination can turn disruptive change into a constructive one by making a positive difference; which is the ultimate hallmark of sustainable leadership.