Plans are great, but as 2020 has reminded us, “Oops” moments in life are inevitable. In fact, it’s precisely when things don’t go according to plan that the real litmus tests for leadership and business strategy come to light. As Mike Tyson famously said, “Everyone has a plan until I hit them in the face.”

Leading during and through a crisis is one thing, but what happens in the aftermath? Let me be clear, the pandemic is not over yet, and none of us know when it will be. What we do know is that COVID-19 has contributed to systemic shifts that will likely be enduring. It has changed how we look at business, and this is a good thing. Here are three focus points that will help you lean in to what’s next, and how you can set up your business and those you lead for success in a post-pandemic world.

01  Reality Check 

As tragic as COVID has been on both a human and macro-economic level, in some respects, it did a favor for smart businesses: It served as Tyson’s proverbial punch in the face. Fact: Fueled by the optimism of riding the wave of the strongest economy in modern history, virtually every business carried unnecessary bloat into 2020. Businesses were people, processes, facilities, and debt heavy. They were also cash, talent, and innovation light. The good news is that for businesses agile and resilient enough to course-correct and make the necessary pivots, the future has been amplified and accelerated. The fastest path to the future is rooted in being brutally honest about present state dominant logic, institutional thinking, organizational faults, cultural disconnects, and talent deficits. 

02 Going Back to Work: Wrong Goal

The best leaders are not thinking about going back, but instead are thinking about going forward. Leaders looking to restore the past instead of ushering in the future are trying to live in a world that’s already passed them by. Innovation is no longer a nice to have, but a need to have. If you are not innovating in real-time, increasing velocity around the rate of change, and amplifying new business model design, you are ceding opportunity to those who are. There has never been a greater opportunity to reframe, reimagine, and reinvent. The question is, will you cling to the past or embrace the future? 

03 It’s the Talent, Stupid

I’ve never been impressed with leaders who cite the size of their workforce as a success metric. Bigger isn’t better – better is better. Here’s the thing: Low switching costs and the evisceration of other barriers to talent movement have changed workforce dynamics forever, and in my opinion, for the better. Companies that are blind to what intrigues and engages the best talent won’t be able to attract or retain them. Legacy-based operating models will always provide a safe harbor for mediocrity. Still, if you want to beat your competition to the future, it will only happen by engaging next-level talent. Up-skilling is table stakes – it’s code used by legacy-based companies for playing catch-up. The goal should never be to level the playing field but to tilt it to your advantage. Future skilling is the game-changer. 

The buzz phrase “war for talent” has been redefined in real-time. It’s not whether the talent exists – it does, and it’s abundant. The question is whether you recognize real talent and can successfully compete for it. The organizations with the smartest, most creative, and most diverse talent wins. Everything else is noise. When companies stop trying to put people in boxes and realize the goal is to free them from the boxes, they will take quantum leaps forward. The first step to better leadership is to stop playing big-brother. Stop checking-on people to make sure they’re working, and care enough to check-in on people to better support them. Organizations that don’t understand how to create self-led teams will die a slow, painful death. n

The world is chaotic, noisy, and full of tragedy. Many of us know people who have become ill, or worse yet, have lost their lives. Families are separated, businesses shuttered, and jobs lost. The pandemic has changed global macro- and micro-economics, social order and preferences, acceptable business practices, workforce dynamics, and the list goes on. What I know is this: We will survive, but it will never be the same.  

More than any time in recent history, we are living in a world of unknowns. We are a world in transition, and no doubt, your problem set has changed over the last few weeks and months. This is the time to develop great clarity around the near to mid-term time horizon. You must prepare to lead now so you’ll be well-positioned for the transition to a post-pandemic world. Here are five things to help order your world.

01  ENGAGE 

Over-communicate, be more human, be kinder, and care more. Being remote isn’t an excuse to disengage. Your family, friends, and team need you to be present and engaged. Focus more than ever on being empathetic, helping, and serving. This is the time to broaden and deepen relationships, to listen and support — don’t miss this opportunity. Remember, you’re only on an island if you choose to burn the boat. 

02  TEAM

Take care of your people. A CEO recently asked me what was the No. 1 thing he needed to do right now?  I’ve said it before, “But for the people, there are no platforms, products, systems, services, culture, customers, or company.” Put simply, without the people, you have nothing to lead. Care for your people and do the right thing. Be a real human being, not just another suit. Remember: Leaders not accountable to their people will eventually be held accountable by their people.

03 UBIQUITY

Seek leadership ubiquity. If leadership doesn’t scale, neither will your organization. Leadership that isn’t transferable, repeatable, scalable, and sustainable isn’t leadership at all. Not everyone can be the CEO, but everyone can lead. Real leaders shine during times of crisis. Your people will step up if given a chance; give them that chance and do it now. If you tell people they’re not leaders often enough, don’t be surprised when they start to believe you. 

04  FUTURE

Static thinking does little more than sentence your mind to a lifetime of mediocrity. Now more than ever, be quick and agile in thought and deed. The key to navigating the present is to understand the present is merely a springboard to the future. Therefore, don’t think snapshot — think filmstrip. Move thoughtfully, boldly, and quickly. Work your way through the present but have clarity around the desired future state. This, too, shall pass, and you must get prepared to lead in a post-pandemic world. 

05 WORKFORCE DYNAMICS

Reimagine your team. If most of your workforce is still working remotely, reimagine the roles your people play and how they can unlock hidden value. Give them the freedom to team and collaborate differently. Permit them to take on new challenges and responsibilities. Stop the madness, and let this be your mantra: If it’s stupid, it’s not our policy. Now that the landscape has changed, it presents a unique opportunity to eliminate typical corporate dependencies, such as an overabundance of harmful processes, stupid rules, ridiculous meetings, trivial projects, and the like.

Real leaders shine during a crisis because leadership matters. Poor leadership cripples businesses, ruins economies, destroys families, loses wars, and can bring the demise of nations. The demand for real leaders has never been higher. When society misunderstands the importance of leadership or when the world inappropriately labels misleaders as leaders, we are all worse for the wear. 

This means you are the single biggest threat wandering around in your ecosystem. This means you are the single biggest risk to your success in the workplace and with your spouse,  children, and friends. If you are in a position of leadership, you will lead — you will either lead people toward the right things or lead them astray —  but you will lead. 

My encouragement to you is to lead well and help others lead well. This is the fastest path to a positive and productive future in a post-pandemic world.

The tone from the top matters, and the beginning of a New Year presents an excellent opportunity for CEOs to reexamine how they’ll lead going forward. With 2020 now a reality, chief executives can choose to usher in more of the same, or they can use the changing calendar to reimagine, reinvent, and reshape their culture. I’ve always believed the most valuable gift a CEO can give their team is the ability to make a meaningful impact on culture. The following are five things any chief executive can and should do for their team in 2020.

1. Focus on Leadership Ubiquity 

Leadership that isn’t transferable, repeatable, scalable, and sustainable isn’t leadership at all. Not everyone can be the CEO, but everyone can lead. Remember this: If you tell people loud enough or often enough that they’re not a leader, don’t be surprised when they begin to agree with you.

When in doubt, think ubiquity, not scarcity. Leadership isn’t, or at least shouldn’t be, a scarce commodity. Far too many companies wrongly treat leadership as an esoteric role reserved for a privileged few. However, healthy organizations realize leadership must be a ubiquitous quality that permeates every aspect of day-to-day operations. They understand every person must lead; even if people are only responsible for leading themselves, they must lead.

2. Make a Co-investment 

I’ve always said, “Leaders who complain about a lack of resources simply aren’t very resourceful.” Most CEOs have fallen into the bad habit of asking people to do more with less. While this makes for a nice soundbite, it’s not nearly as productive as showing your team how to unlock more cash. Instead of just asking people to make cuts in their operating budget, tell them they can reinvest 50 percent of what they cut into new projects of their choosing. You’ll still produce a reduction in spending, but you’ll also fuel a jumpstart in R&D and innovation with money that was already in the budget. Most importantly, you’re demonstrating that you trust your team with a discretionary spend. Investments made closest to the challenge/opportunity are likely to produce the most significant impact.

3. White Space

Have you noticed how some leaders are frenzied, stressed, and always playing from behind, while others are eerily clammed and always appear to be a few steps ahead? It’s been my experience that leaders who fall into the latter category make great use of their thought life, while those in the former group seem to forgo their alone time in lieu of being busy. Savvy leaders crave white space, whereas unseasoned leaders feel uncomfortable with open time.

Most organizations I’ve observed have a nasty habit of sequestering their best leaders in virtually endless amounts of mind-numbing meetings. They run their talent from one meeting to another all day long and call it being productive — I call it lunacy.

CEOs who want to unleash an entirely new level of productivity should institute a No Meeting Monday policy. Question: When was the last time you had an entire day of the workweek dedicated to thinking and planning? Answer: Probably not recently, if ever. Give back the first day of the week to your team and watch something amazing happen. Firstly, the sense of dread many feel on Sundays will evaporate, allowing team members to show up on Mondays recharged and ready to go. Secondly, by having control over their Mondays, they will generate substantially more productivity during the remaining four days of the week. I have watched this produce remarkable gains in both qualitative and quantitative outcomes.

4. The Gift of Great Talent 

While I generally don’t believe in absolutes, the exception might be when it comes to the advantage created by talent. CEOs either create a talent advantage or they operate at a talent deficit. I’ve always believed that leaders deserve the teams they build, and I’ve yet to be convinced otherwise.

I can think of no better example of talent impact than by examining how companies approach digital transformation. Many leaders have fallen into the trap of believing digital transformation is like playing a game of technology catch-up — that if they can harness a bit of digital exhaust and turn big data into smart data, somehow their business will transform itself. Nothing could be further from the truth, and the billions of dollars spent chasing digital shadows won’t change a thing.

Stop putting the focus on technology and put it where it belongs: on talent and relationships. Real digital transformation occurs when business models and methods are reimagined by courageous leaders willing to manage opportunity more than risk, focus on next practices more than best practices, and who are committed to beating their competition to the future by attracting better, smarter talent.

5. Read, Read, and Read

CEOs cannot scale their business if they cannot scale their leadership, and one of the fastest ways to scale your leadership is to turn your team into a voracious group of readers. One of the best gifts chief executives can give to their team is a freshly updated, standard reading list. While there are many books I could recommend, my favorite choice to jumpstart your reading in the New Year is Principles, by Ray Dalio.