Leadership x Confusion= ?

Perhaps, this article's heading should be: Leadership lessons in unprecedented times. However, I think communication in pseudo math would do this time.

Complex change is said to be unplanned, iterative, and emergent; in the middle of a pandemic, I'd add: unprecedented, mentally disorienting and chaotic.

The first time I heard about Change Management and Organizational Change, I was just out of the university and thought to myself "this is simply another course aimed at ripping people off their money". I have long come to the realization that I was operating under flawed thinking and I now apologize.

You see, leaders are humans too. They do not know it all, they get confused.

I work with a team of brilliant minds and looking back, I remember how clueless I was hearing about the novel Corona virus ravaging the world. This bad guy was busy taking precious lives, shutting down economies world-over and weeks later, it would do same to many organizations in Nigeria — our revenue generation looked like an explanation of the concept of free-fall taught to me in Physics.

As a leader, I was thrown, I got confused.

I needed support, but I also had to give support to the management and employees of my organization. While navigating through organizational change, here are some lessons I learned over the past weeks (and some implemented):

1. Communicate effectively: The mental stress of trying to understand everything happening while making (and communicating) decisions is crazy. However, this is one strategy that works wonders even in the worst of situations; being as clear and transparent as possible about what you know, what you anticipate, and what it means for the business and invariably, employees. As a leader, it is important to spur hope in people thus promoting positive responses to organizational change and you can only do this when you are in constant communication with your employees.
2. Be Vulnerable and Authentic: As we know, no textbook or online course prepares us for these kinds of things. As a leader, it is important to be empathetic, talk about your fears, get your team together, listen to their fears, spur hope and optimism while brainstorming and getting solution-oriented feedback. Activating psychological capacities of followers during chaotic moments enables them focus on change processes while leading complex organizational changes. A clear example of how this has worked on a large scale is with New Zealand's Prime Minister — Jacinda Ardern, her leadership method shows us that honesty and compassion yields massive support and helps solve complex problems.
3. Get an intellectual partner(s): Chances are, your thoughts would have several loopholes, I like to call them 'blind spots'. Most times, our ideas could seem like the best thing after sliced bread, but once implemented, it might prove otherwise. This is why it is important to have one or two people you run things/thoughts/ideas by. In the same vein, we must also be open to having our thought processes challenged, bright ideas cancelled and sometimes remodeled... this enables a feedback culture which makes innovation stand the test of time and use.
4. Breathe: Your health is really important, learn to take a breather. You never know the level of clarity you can attain by just calming down. 'Breathing' aids problem solving, innovation and better work input.

As I write this, my president has decided to lift the four week old lock-down. While I am not partial to any government, I have come to understand that there are really no easy decisions to make in addressing a change as brutal as this... both sides of the coin look rusty, but leadership requires that we toss it; a call has to be made.

The answer to my pseudo math equation could be a birth of something new and amazing OR a download slope into more confusion and decadence; it all depends on the side of the coin chosen.

Reference(s):

a) Personal experiences as a Human Resource professional during the Covid-19 pandemic.

b) Leading Change Authentically: How Authentic Leaders Influence Follower Responses to Complex Change. Seyyed Babak Alavi, Carol Gill. First Published August 16, 2016 Research Article: https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051816664681

c) Havard Business Review: Crisis Management | What Good Leadership Looks Like During This Pandemic by Michaela J. Kerrissey and Amy C. Edmondson; https://hbr.org/2020/04/what-good-leadership-looks-like-during-this-pandemic