We have been accustomed to thinking of great leaders as unshakable commanders who guide us through challenges and complexity. Confident in themselves, armed with their past experiences and the vast amount of information they possess, they move forward confidently in making decisions. But the speed of the changes we are exposed to and what has happened in the past three years has turned everything upside down.
How is it possible to lead with such a level of uncertainty? It is certainly necessary to transition to a leadership style that incorporates greater humility, in terms of listening and being open to external input, whether from CEOs, prime ministers, principals, or hospital directors.
These are the 4 reflections by Amy C. Edmondson, Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School.
1. Pretending to have the answers is not helpful when knowledge is limited.
In the midst of turmoil, leaders must share what they know and admit what they don't know. Paradoxically, honesty provides greater psychological safety to people, not less; it increases trust and mobilizes resources.
Here’s an example:
When the pandemic devastated the airline industry overnight, Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian increased the frequency of communications with employees, despite having so little clarity on the path forward, during a time when the results were truly disastrous. In 2020, losing over a hundred million dollars a day, it would have been much easier for Bastian to wait for more information before making decisions or communicating, but effective leaders during turmoil do not hide in the shadows.
When there are no answers, communication becomes even more important.
2. Acting with urgency despite incomplete information.
Admitting that you don’t have the answers does not mean avoiding action. While it is human to want more information, quick action is often the only way to gain insights into the best path forward. Moreover, inaction makes people feel lost and at the mercy of events.
It’s better to make mistakes and course-correct along the way than to wait.
Here’s an example:
When New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern set up a four-level alert system early in the COVID-19 crisis, she lacked the information to set the level. Despite the lack of answers, she didn’t wait to communicate the severity of the situation to the nation and to make decisions. Initially, she set the level to two, only to change it to four two days later when the cases increased. This triggered a national lockdown, which undoubtedly saved countless lives. Later, when cases began to decline, she adjusted the decisions based on the new data.
3. Keep objectives and values steady...
...even when situations and context change. Values can be the guiding light when everything else is uncertain.
If customer experience is at the center, it must not be compromised, even during a revolution. If a core value is health and safety, they must be at the heart of every decision made, knowing that there will be significant losses in other areas.
The focus will be on how to reduce them, how to recover quickly, but the helm of values must be maintained.
To do this, it is necessary to be very transparent about what these values are and that the steadfastness will be focused on them. The clear goal of Prime Minister Ardern has always been to protect human life.
Even though the immediate goal shifted from disease prevention to preparing healthcare systems and ultimately strengthening the economy.
4. Empowering others
In times of difficulty, our instinct is to hold on to control even more tightly, but this does not lead to making the best decisions, nor to building trust. One of the most effective ways to demonstrate effective leadership, although counterintuitive, is to share power with those around us.
To do this, it is necessary to ask for help. Only then will we generate trust, a sense of belonging, and responsibility.
There is nothing worse in a crisis than feeling like there is nothing that can be done to help. This new type of leader inspires because they inspire trust not in the map, but in the compass!
One can thus think that the right direction has been chosen based on the available information at the time, and that the discussion will continue, with decisions being made to the best of one's ability, using all available resources. Most importantly, people trust this type of leader and are eager to help them find and rediscover the path forward.
Moments of crisis represent an extraordinary opportunity to bring out the skills and talents of each team member, to develop trust, and to unite the group towards a common goal, strengthening their sense of purpose.
