BackActivity vs action
Doctor, priest, teacher, parenta leader has to take on multiple roles in a crisis
PremiumOTHERS :
When dark clouds are on the horizon there are no points for predicting rain. There are points though for building the ark."
It is interesting how fancy it has become to talk of the Vuca (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world. What would be immensely useful, however, is to figure out what strategies are needed to negotiate the winds of change.
This month #ihrchat hosted C.P. Gurnani, chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director of Tech Mahindra, an information technology (IT) services and solutions company. He has played a pivotal role in the three-year transformational journey of IT services firm Mahindra Satyam (which has now been merged with Tech Mahindra) and is the CNBC Asia India Business Leader of the Year 2014. The topic for the chat was leading people through crisis and change. It began by considering what a leader’s first response should be in a crisis situation.
While it is true that the leader’s first response—whether in a crisis situation or not—is to work for his people, there are many things a leader can do to stop the downward spiral. Gurnani (@C_P_Gurnani) noted that being a realist optimist is a good place to start. The worst thing a leader can do, he said, is to not do anything. One should keep 10% of the time for decision making and 90% for communicating them. Having an evolving plan of action, keeping communication lines open and being transparent, are fundamental to the way a crisis should be handled. Leaders who are active on social media networks can take feedback instantly and turn it into an “infectious" sentiment which becomes a game changer, said Gurnani.
People and their emotions must always be central in a crisis situation. Leaders can often be over-focused on strategy creation and execution, without taking into account the toll it is taking on the people involved. Keerthi Kariappa (@Keerthi_AK), a talent management professional, was of the view that if the leader responds in panic, and is insensitive and un-empathetic to the needs of the people under strain, then the crisis can spiral into a full-blown disaster. The human element must be at the centre of managing a crisis.
Gurprriet Siingh (@JoyAndLife), India head of consulting firm YSC Ltd and a leadership coach, said one must begin by acknowledging the emotions in a situation. Denmark-based management consultant Kenneth Mikkelsen (@LeadershipABC) noted that one has to be a doctor, priest, teacher and parent, all in one, to be able to handle the situation.
An important question from a leadership point of view is whether leaders who do well in a crisis situation can be identified in advance. Gurnani believes that leaders who have a clear mind and don’t mistake activity for action should be identified. The ability to think quickly and act in an agile manner should certainly be considered, he said. The general consensus: Ultimately, there is nothing like a crisis to separate the leaders from the non-leaders.
To be a resilient leader one must actively pursue the discomfort zone: break out from patterns and not be afraid to fail. Gary Gruber (@GaryGruber), a US-based author and consultant, noted that discipline and self-awareness are key. Heidi De Wolf (@futurecatalyst), a UK-based management consultant, said that stress-testing one’s own response contributes to resilience. Ultimately, it boils down to broadening one’s capabilities and varying the response based on the situation on hand.
Sometimes, it can start with something as simple as trying a new cuisine, or pursuing a goal that one has been shying away from. Eklavya Sinha (@eklavyasinha), a learning and development specialist with multinational company Aon, said that celebrating failures, providing coaching, focusing on strengths and sharing learning gained from crises, enables teams and organizations to become more resilient. Gurnani talked of balancing experience with experimentation. He felt a healthy balance of experienced leaders with energetic young minds leads to resilience in teams. Creating a vision of change that people identify with provides a boost too.
Ultimately, as someone said, courage is going from crisis to crisis without losing motivation. Given the times we live in, being courageous is the only way to handle the future.
Tanvi Gautam is the founder of Global People Tree, a consulting and training firm. #ihrchat is Asia’s first trending Twitter chat for leaders. The next chat will be on 25 February.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
