• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

JP Cornerstone

Just another Cornerstone Accelerator site

  • JP Cornerstone
  • About
    • About JP Cornerstone
    • Code of Ethics
    • Professional Practice Guidelines
    • External Privacy Notice
  • Offices
    • Stockholm
    • Helsinki
    • Oslo
    • Copenhagen
  • Services
    • Executive Search
    • Board Search
    • Leadership Consulting
    • Interim Management
    • JPC Selection
  • News
  • Contact

Leadership the Key to Post-COVID Recovery

April 28, 2020 by Cornerstone International Group Leave a Comment

Across the world, we are collectively experiencing one of the most significant changes of our lives. The loss of physical touch, standing close to people without fear, and dinner out with friends. We have lost the option of celebrating milestone – birthdays, weddings, graduations, baby showers, holidays and cancelled vacations, the losses are mounting.

Many frontline workers can no longer go home and spend time with their families. Countless numbers of people have lost childcare while working, have taken over the education of their kids while working. Others are feeling the stress of uncertainty, both in their ability to provide for those who depend on them and keeping them safe and well.

We keep hearing that we are all in the same boat but are we? Perhaps we are in the same storm with many, many different boats in the water. Boats that have strength to sustain the strongest waves, smaller boats that have been reinforced over time and are resilient, and those that are new and untried.

How the boat maneuvers in these waters will depend heavily on the agility of the captain and the crew. The outcomes will be greatly dependent on how the boat is steered.

While agility in leadership has been a cornerstone to success, the coming change will rely even more heavily on the agility of the leaders themselves in companies, large and small.

Physical distancing touches every aspect business and as we prepare to reopen our business operations regardless of size and sector we have to approach this reset thinking in 3D. Thinking in 3D gives us a different perspective than simply looking at the scenario in a narrow cluster of facts and data. Leaders now need to look deep into their organization and take into consideration the impact on its people, customers, business operations, market conditions, available cash and future capital required, and backup plans if there is a second wave of COVID-19.

This represents a rethink of how leaders will need to move their business forward for short and long term success. Protecting and embracing employees will be key to sustainable success. Much more emphasis will be needed on health and wellness, communicating with transparency on a frequent basis and engaging for feedback and ideas.

Cutting staff to reduce costs is typically the fastest approach to saving money. But is it the best? Without talent and experience moving forward will be even more difficult, so expenses in other areas should be looked at first: consolidation, seeking better pricing from suppliers and other stakeholders might be considered as a first option. Perhaps less office space frees up resources to retain a company’s most valuable asset – its people.

It may be very well that working from home will be the mainstay for quite sometime in combination with essential core teams working in an office/manufacturing setting. Leaders will need to be open-minded on these matters of how to best design workflow and productivity while protecting employees. Tough questions will need to be asked and innovative solutions sought. Ensuring solid technology platforms are in place to support a hybrid model of working at home and in office will be essential.

Fostering relationships and developing new ways of accountability will be a factor in ensuring an engaged and focused workforce. Leaders will need to hone their listening skills and connect with their employees on an emotional level to drive morale, retention and solutions to tough problems. This will take more energy and more time on the part of leaders at all levels on a consistent basis. New employee programs, such as reward programs, will need to be introduced as well and may look quite different than they do today.

Regardless of the boat you are in – one key word comes to mind – Agility!

Filed Under: Cornerstone Blog

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Leadership Academy: In Your Corner- Emotional Intelligence: An Important Leadership Skill for 2023 and Beyond
  • The Cornerstone Eagle – December 2022 – Pause, Reflect, Learn and Take Action.
  • Making Certain Your Organization is Resilient  
  • Leadership Academy: In Your Corner- GRIT
  • Leadership Academy: In Your Corner- Uncertainty: The Times They Are A-Changin’

Recent Comments

    Archives

    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • August 2022
    • July 2022
    • June 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • February 2018
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • July 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • October 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • October 2014
    • June 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • December 2013
    • August 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • May 2012
    • March 2012
    • January 2012
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • July 2011
    • May 2011
    • March 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010
    • August 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • September 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
    • June 2008
    • April 2008
    • March 2008
    • February 2008
    • January 2008
    • December 2007
    • September 2007
    • August 2007
    • June 2007
    • April 2007
    • December 2006
    • November 2006
    • September 2006
    • August 2006
    • July 2006
    • June 2006
    • March 2006
    • February 2006
    • January 2006
    • November 2005
    • October 2005
    • September 2005
    • August 2005
    • July 2005
    • June 2005
    • May 2005
    • April 2005
    • March 2005
    • February 2005
    • January 2005
    • December 2004
    • November 2004
    • October 2004
    • September 2004
    • August 2004
    • July 2004
    • June 2004
    • May 2004
    • April 2004
    • March 2004
    • February 2004
    • January 2004
    • December 2003
    • November 2003
    • October 2003
    • September 2003
    • August 2003
    • July 2003
    • June 2003
    • May 2003
    • April 2003
    • March 2003
    • February 2003
    • January 2003
    • December 2002
    • November 2002

    Categories

    • Cornerstone Blog
    • Uncategorized

    Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org

    Copyright © 2023 · JP Cornerstone · Sitemap

    Website Development by LimeCuda