The Pandemic was challenging traditional profiles of managers and employees. How should managers act best given an actual crisis?
Even though there is vast evidence that New Work environments have a positive impact on productivity, employee engagement, employee satisfaction and turnover, pre-Corona, some managers, and organizations still hesitated to introduce new work concepts.
The last couple of years have compelled many managers to deal with at least one aspect of the much-lauded ‘New Work’ concept: people staying at home and performing their work self-sufficiently and without close supervision. For some managers this was quite normal and not a challenge at all; for others, however, the new situation represented a huge challenge. Some experienced an entirely new way of leading people, some struggled.
Efficiency is needed
What differentiates leaders who can and those who cannot deal with a new situation well? There are certainly many answers to this question but let us just mention a few: the ability to establish clear goals, finely honed communication skills even by teleconference, showing empathy and caring about their employees, being aware of the strengths and weaknesses of their staff and thus, being able to assign the right kinds of responsibilities. And finally: their ability to trust and build trust-based relationships.
And what differentiates employees who remain high performant when working from home vs. those who seem lost without stringent guidance? Next to obvious qualities such as expertise, the ability to apply common sense and to work alone, efficient time management skills etc., one important quality comes to mind: a high degree of intrinsic motivation.
According to Daniel Pink, three main factors are important to ensure high levels of intrinsic motivation are maintained in the workplace: Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. By Autonomy he means our desire to be self-directed, which increases engagement over compliance; Mastery is the urge to get better skills and Purpose the desire to do something that has meaning and is important.
Leaders who understand this will craft jobs and responsibilities that allow people a certain level of freedom to act, and to decide on their own, how they work best to reach the clearly outlined objectives. They will ensure that each person has the right degree of challenge and will have the opportunity to learn and develop daily.
Vision and a higher goal
By the way, if you want motivated employees, only delegating tasks that seem to be below the manager’s own intellectual capabilities and expertise will simply not suffice!
Leaders need to part also with tasks and responsibilities they find challenging and exciting themselves.
Finally, and foremost, leaders need to provide vision and a higher purpose. Every person in the organization should be able to formulate why they are doing what they are doing. Why it is exciting to invest blood, sweat and tears to work towards this higher shared goal? This also requires that leaders communicate regularly so that every person feels included and valued.
What should organizations do to learn from this recent crisis? They should take a close look at the performance of their teams and determine which areas of their organization performed well, despite lockdowns, and while people were forced to work from home. Those managers and leaders who were able to maintain high levels of performance and a joyful attitude are your best people!
Analyze, select, support
Make sure to analyze and assess who performed well, who has potential to be further developed.
Make sure to select and promote individuals who have the required skill set to lead people in and out of a crisis and build a prosperous future for their organization and society.
To emerge from the ashes of a crisis unscathed, organizations urgently need leaders who develop a culture that is built on trust, a work environment where employees can self-direct, where daily learning is a matter of course, and a higher purpose at the core of every action. This is in stark contrast to selecting and promoting people for their high levels of technical expertise.
It will ensure that your organization will be on the side of those who succeed despite a crisis and are able to defy the odds. The future of your organization and as a result, the future of economies, depends on your courage.
Ildikó Mueller
