Global business is arguably on the cusp of the greatest period of transformation since the First Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s and early 1800s. “Industry 4.0” is presenting many challenges and opportunities. Organizations with the relevant leadership development will thrive and emerge as leading players in their sectors. 

According to a study carried out by Grant Thornton in 2019, respondents identified three major sources of disruptors. One: 42% of respondents suggested the rise of a digitally connected world; two: 40% cited artificial intelligence and big data; three: 35% predicted major disruption as a result of an increasing use of automation and robotics. 

To be relevant for the next decade, directors of leadership development have to embrace transformations in every area of training and executive education. Business will be changing and leadership development needs to change with it. In a survey of CEO’s by Fortune magazine, only 7 percent said that they believe their companies were building effective global leaders and only 10% believed that their leadership development initiatives had a clear business impact. 

To better prepare leaders for the future we must teach them new leadership behaviors such as resilience, leading change, agility, virtual leadership, and cognitive flexibility among others. 

Here are eight areas to distinguish leadership development today from that in the past: 

Focus on Applying and Sustaining Behaviors:

For too long leadership development has been approached as a one-and-done experience. Many programs take new managers, push them through an organization’s “academy,” and then send them out into the world. These recently trained managers receive very sporadic supervision, perhaps with a 360 or engagement survey. But that is not enough to sustaining knowledge in the long-term. A culture of continuous learning, on-going coaching or mentoring will help reinforce new skills and behaviors.

Mobile Learning for Millennial Managers:

Nearly 30% of millennials hold managerial-level roles. Surveys show that millennial managers value learning and growth experiences more than previous generations. Yet, they want training and development delivered in a new way. They expect mobile access to learning opportunities, anytime, anywhere. Leadership development professionals need to tailor programs to this group of managers and offer more flexible online programs. According to the Korn Ferry Institute, millennials learn more through online development than time spent in the classroom.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a leadership development enabler:

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been hyped for the last several years. Yet in the new decade, AI will become the norm, an assumed part of leadership development experiences. With AI, leadership development content will be “personalized” based on the manager’s personality, competencies and objectives. Companies can now leverage AI-powered coach bots and highly personalized nudges from companies like LEADx, Butterfly.ai, Qstream and others

Democratization of Leadership Development:

Ensuring sufficient reach across the organization is a pre-requisite for a successful leadership development program. More employees are assuming leadership responsibilities without a formal “leader” title. Therefore, organizations must strive to develop as many individuals as possible. Fortunately, e-learning technology enables more cost-effective, faster and more flexible learning on digital platforms prompting new and potential leaders to work on specific, targeted behaviors. 

Create and empower the Team Context:

It is critical for today’s leaders to create an environment of “managed empowerment” rather than detailed decision making. This can be achieved by creating a culture of commitment, collaboration, accelerated decision-making, shared purpose, experimentation, empowerment and trust.

The new C&C is not like the old one: 

Today’s leadership model is based on “connect and collaborate” as opposed to “command and control”. Today’s leaders guide and influence rather than dictate. They serve as a “conduit” for diverse ideas and champion collaboration. They are role models among their peers and collaborators. 

It is about Mindsets, not Skillsets:

Leadership development in the past focused primarily on skill building and not necessarily on mindset building. However, leadership takes place between people in complex and ever changing relationships. New leadership development has to enable the modern leaders to better respond to the complexities of ever-changing and ambiguous conditions in the business environment.

A successful leadership development program should build positive mindsets around agility, customer-centricity, creativity, accountability, resilience and other forward-thinking qualities to better succeed in the future.

Ambidextrous Innovation:

The modern business context is fast-paced, non-linear, technology-enabled and ever changing. In the Fortune CEO survey, 72% of CEO’s cited the rapid pace of technological innovation as their greatest challenge to succeed in the future. Customers’ expectations continue to rise, so companies will face significant pressure to launch new products and services at an accelerated pace. 

So far, leadership development focused on execution. In the “Industry 4.0” era an additional core competency will be innovation. Modern leaders must develop skills to maximize existing organizational capabilities and at the same time innovate by developing new capabilities. They must become “ambidextrous”: capable of managing existing businesses and pursuing new opportunities through experimentation and innovation. Skills such as “ideation” and “design thinking” will become part of their new leadership “tool box”. 

Please refer to the sources below for further ideas on modern leadership development.

https://www.smartbrief.com/original/2020/07/modern-leadership-style-being-not-doing

https://trainingindustry.com/articles/leadership/6-truisms-of-modern-leadership-development/

https://online.jwu.edu/blog/7-leadership-trends-2020-s

https://www.business.com/articles/leadership-styles-millennials

https://www.hrzone.com/lead/strategy/modern-leadership-why-a-responsive-management-style-is-the-future

https://thriveglobal.com/stories/the-6-important-leadership-trends-to-watch-in-2020/

https://www.inc.com/rhett-power/4-newtrends-in-leadership-to-watch-in-2020.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tracybrower/2020/08/09/how-to-close-the-distance-on-remote-work-the-most-important-leadership-skill/?sh=47915cea16fd

https://careynieuwhof.com/5-disruptive-leadership-trends-that-will-rule-2020/

https://www.bcg.com/en-us/publications/2020/leadership-post-covid-19

After the rollout of several vaccines around the world we are starting to observe a reduction of COVID related cases and hospitalizations in many countries while at the same time a higher number of people are reporting to be fully vaccinated.

Many businesses are gearing up to shift from remote-only to a mix of remote and in person work environments during the 2nd half of 2021.

After almost 18 months of remote leadership, leaders should consider adapting their skills and approaches to embrace the “new normal”. Leaders will most likely have to combine simultaneously three competencies to be successful. 

ONE: VISION to articulate the future and the priorities required to be successful. 

As uncertainty continues to linger the responsibility of leaders is to craft a vivid vision of the future and to lay out a clear path to success. 

The lesson for the “new now” is clear: a powerful vision will help people thrive in their work both at disruptive technology startups that routinely set their sights on changing the world as well as businesses at large. To remain relevant in a shifting environment, leaders should frequently revisit and adapt their vision to remain nimble, strategic and opportunistic.

TWO: EMPATHY to inspire and empower employees. Perhaps, before COVID this leadership competency was mostly ignored. Research shows that only one in four leaders has high empathy skills, and a study conducted at the University of Michigan showed a 34% to 48% decline in skills related to empathy over an eight-year period. This is a worrying trend; considering that empathy helps build strong relationships between employees, motivates teams and drives superior performance. 

Now is the time for companies to create a more empathetic culture and for leaders to lead by example. 

THREE: EXECUTION FOCUS to ensure innovative and agile execution capabilities. A purpose will inspire employees, but the feeling of realizing this purpose is uplifting and contagious. 

Purpose will serve as a North Star, but getting there will require fluid and constant two-way communication between employees and leaders. 

The benefits of combining VISION, EMPATHY and EXECUTION FOCUS may seem difficult to quantify, and the effort required may seem hard to justify. But, evidence around the world confirms that companies that are bringing together these three leadership competencies as part of the “day job” and the fabric of their culture are seeing gains even in turbulent times, and are building a resilient competitive advantage for the future.

Crises like the one we faced during 2020 force businesses and their leaders to change and adapt at extraordinary speed. Those that are able to focus on what truly drives success, leading with VISION, EMPATHY and a FOCUS on EXECUTION, will emerge stronger than ever.

For further ideas on leadership and coaching please refer to the sources below:

https://www.smartbrief.com/original/2020/07/modern-leadership-style-being-not-doing

https://trainingindustry.com/articles/leadership/6-truisms-of-modern-leadership-development/

https://online.jwu.edu/blog/7-leadership-trends-2020-s

https://www.business.com/articles/leadership-styles-millennials

https://www.hrzone.com/lead/strategy/modern-leadership-why-a-responsive-management-style-is-the-future

https://thriveglobal.com/stories/the-6-important-leadership-trends-to-watch-in-2020/

https://www.inc.com/rhett-power/4-newtrends-in-leadership-to-watch-in-2020.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tracybrower/2020/08/09/how-to-close-the-distance-on-remote-work-the-most-important-leadership-skill/?sh=47915cea16fd

https://careynieuwhof.com/5-disruptive-leadership-trends-that-will-rule-2020/

This is the third article of the trilogy on the topic of Board and Management roles and responsibilities during and after the pandemic. Article 1/3 focused on the role definition for Management and the Board. Article 2/3 offered key strategic questions for the Board to discuss with Management. 

This article provides additional perspectives and considerations on Board and Management roles and responsibilities during three distinct business phases:

1. How to react to the crisis;

2. How to position the company for the rebound;

3. How to ensure success in the post COVID-19 business environment.

I will summarize my main takeaways distilled from several articles written by Deloitte and McKinsey & Company. I have referenced these sources below for a comprehensive review of each of the concepts I will now present.

Roles, responsibilities and focus shift as companies deal through the crisis. A clear division of roles and mandates between the Board and Management is key to avoid distraction and unnecessary conflicts, make collaboration seamless and create long-term value.

As companies navigate from today’s “turbulence” toward tomorrow’s “unknown” the Board and Management will act differently across three distinct phases:

1. Resolve and Resilience: reacting to the crisis

2. Return and Reconstruct: positioning for the rebound

3. Reimagine and Reform: ensuring sustainable success post COVID-19

I will now elaborate on each of these three phases.

Resolve and Resilience: Today most companies and Boards are still reacting to the crisis and supporting the on-going business. “Resolve and Resilience” become the guiding principles during this phase. Here are some examples.

The Board’s priority must be to support Management’s crisis response actions while safeguarding the longer-term shareholder and stakeholder interests. Management’s crisis response team is responsible for employee safety, protecting the balance sheet and interacting with suppliers and customers to ensure business continuity. Furthermore, the crisis team should be ready to come up with tactical responses as new business issues emerge or risks escalate. The Board should frequently review and discuss with Management the on-going crisis action plans and readiness to stay ahead of the evolving crisis. 

The Board can help manage the external expectations by engaging with select stakeholders. Members of the Board may decide to maintain an open dialogue with other stakeholders, regulators, investors and even activists and ask for their views and perspectives. These actions will ease the pressure and help the Management team focus on running the business and staying nimble to deal with new challenges. 

The Board should support Management in addressing immediate operational risks, securing cash flow and financial stability. However, it is up to the Board not to lose sight of the long-term priorities such as maintaining relevant competitive advantage, and investing in digital transformation and customer experience improvements. 

Members of the Board with experience in managing external shocks such as the aftermath of the attacks on 9/11 will be valuable sounding boards for a management team putting together actions plans during all the current uncertainty. Board directors’ insights can help constructively challenge business-continuity plans, alternative supply chain strategies, consumer engagements programs, and other.

Return and Reconstruct: As business conditions start to stabilize, the Board must ask Management to adopt a “Return and Reconstruct” mentality. Boards can add value by asking early on for alternative scenarios and detailed plans to maximize top and bottom-line growth in each of these possible scenarios. 

As employees start returning to work, the Board should review plans for effective employee health and safety protocols. Management should discuss with the Board how to balance options to grow via new product introductions and increased production capacity while protecting the balance sheet, as capital markets may still not be fluid or abundant. 

During this phase, it is critical to rethink and validate the product-market priorities, customer engagement or speed of technological innovation. Board should encourage Management to carry out a broad strategic re-evaluation and engage the Board in joint strategy sessions.

Board and Management should benchmark comparable organizations and ensure a robust HR plan is in place to assign the best talent to critical strategic initiatives and empower new leadership talent that may have emerged during the crisis.  

Reimagine and Reform: As businesses start embracing the next normal and start preparing for the post COVID-19 business environment, they will enter the “Reimagine and Reform” phase.

During this phase, Board and Management should understand how industries, supply and value chains have changed as a result of the pandemic and how new consumer behaviors have now become the norm. This early insight can make a significant difference between leading or lagging in the future and will best position the company to thrive after the rebound.

This phase requires a reassessment and revalidation of the organization’s value proposition. The Board should ask Management to benchmark competitors’ strategies and where they are investing to grow the business or fill the gaps in their supply chain and distribution channels. 

Also, during this phase it is likely for many companies to adopt a combination of remote and on-site working modality. On the one hand, this modality may result in greater access to talent, lower costs, improved employee experience and, in some cases, improved productivity.

But, on the other hand, it is important for the Board to review how Management intends to preserve or “re-write” the organizational norms that are the foundation for company culture and performance expectations. For instance, how the new work modality will preserve the elements of collaboration, cohesion and shared trust that are reinforced when working in one location and with frequent in-person interactions. 

These insights, discussions and best practices will be the foundation for Management to recommend the necessary strategies, tactical actions and key performance indicators to sustainably grow revenue and bottom line in the new market place. 

It is conceivable that the current business model may have to be “re-imagined and reformed” as a result of all these considerations and discussions. 

This concludes the three article series on how the Board and Management should collaborate during and after the COVID-19 pandemic to achieve long-term value creation and sustainable success.

Please refer below to the original Deloitte and McKinsey & Company articles:

https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/za/Documents/about-deloitte/za-The-Boards-role-in-the-COVID-19-crisis.pdf

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/boards-in-the-time-of-coronavirus#

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/boards-of-directors-in-the-tunnel-of-the-coronavirus-crisis

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/getting-ahead-of-the-next-stage-of-the-coronavirus-crisis

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/boards-of-directors-in-the-tunnel-of-the-coronavirus-crisis

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/boards-in-the-time-of-coronavirus#