Lead with compassion and ditch the wartime metaphors
On his return to Downing Street, Boris Johnson urged the nation to “keep going” and “beat Coronavirus.” He has previously spoken about “an incredible national battle” to defeat this “invisible enemy”, summoning a “war cabinet”. Likewise, President Macron told the French people “we are at war”, and headline writers celebrate a return of the “blitz spirit”.
Many political leaders can’t resist adopting the cloak of the heroic battlefield general, mobilising their populations around a huge national effort.
While this is understandable from their point of view, the militaristic approach to leadership feels anachronistic, inappropriate and out of tune with how most people are experiencing this crisis.
It’s notable that the use of macho warlike language has been absent among female leaders around the world. Jacinda Ardern, the 39-year-old prime minister of New Zealand, has demonstrated empathy and resolve. Her clear and consistent approach is resonating with her people on an emotional level.
Angela Merkel of Germany has been praised for her calm, science-centric approach to the crisis while approval ratings for Denmark’s prime minister , Mette Frederiksen, have shot up on the back of her authentic media appearances.
Wisdom on this isn’t just confined to some of our leading female politicians. Former President Obama’s advice to leaders at this time — speak the truth, speak it clearly, speak it with compassion — should guide anyone at the top of business or government at this time. Contrast that with President Trump, who described himself as a “wartime leader” while offering conflicting messages and abdicating responsibility for the crisis.
We should not be raising the prospect that this virus will be conquered or overcome by physical might. It’s likely that the restrictions on normal life will carry on for many months, even years, so the disease needs to be accommodated. The business repercussions will persist much longer, so the task will be to support people through this period.
This is the ultimate test of leadership. Most of us like to think that the decisions we take at work are meaningful and have impact (I work in PR) but they don’t normally make a difference between life and death. This is the first crisis in memory where the personal and professional have fused, so, first and foremost, the role of a leader has been to keep their employees safe.
Secondly, the pandemic provides a test of whether business leaders believed what they were saying. It is judgement day on whether fancy narratives around corporate purpose or company values were rooted in reality or merely hot air. The businesses that will be remembered will be the ones which looked after their people and contributed to the solution.
Thirdly, leaders will not just be judged on the actions they took, but on empathy and tone. The most effective leaders will be those who have a sense of centeredness and who can radiate calm authority, rather than those who prefer to bark military-style orders. Employees are facing enormous uncertainties and emotions, such as fear, sadness, anxiety and frustration. Leaders need to show they are aligned with these concerns.
We have no playbook for leading through this pandemic — there are just too many unknown unknowns. Resist the temptation to provide certainty and the imminent arrival of “sunlit uplands” which become merely false dawns. Leaders will earn respect through openness and transparency — offering hope while not denying reality.
An entire generation will be shaped by this pandemic so it’s likely that it will create new expectations about the role of leadership.
It’s likely to open up a window of opportunity to accelerate change. There will be a heightened focus on the societal and governance factors in businesses. The widespread use of technology to work from home will become permanent and have ramifications for commercial real estate. Enlightened CEOs may use the recovery as cover to defy the analysts and try and shift away from the traditional short term approach to the numbers. When the crisis settles, companies will stress test their values and assess what held them together and what was superfluous. There may be a clamour for leaders who have demonstrated competence and the capability to manage well in a crisis.
Others have talked about a “new leadership consciousness”. In their new book, Regenerative Leadership, Giles Hutchins and Laura Storm have talked about a new model in which leaders become a force for good, catalysing and spawning new systems and structures that create more value than they take.
This all remains to be seen. My sense is that this is a time to emphasise the power of mutuality, collaboration and support, and leave the Napoleonic military metaphors at home.
