Strong Leaders Discover Pandemic Possibilities

Six lessons that will shape business from now on

“Post pandemic.” “The New Normal.” Or the “New Abnormal.” As we all eagerly await the end of the pandemic and hope that our lives will return to some semblance of how we lived in the “before times’, what have we learned that we can leverage for business growth and performance?
 

Despite two years of navigating the “Crisis Trifecta” of health, social, and economic challenges of a lifetime, strong leaders learned that possibilities for business growth and performance always exist. 

Here are six lessons learned and the opportunities for leaders as we head into the third year of the pandemic:

1. Diverse Teams Make a Difference

Countless studies have shown that diverse teams outperform those that are not diverse, in every metric that business success is measured. Sales, profit, customer loyalty and retention, employee satisfaction and engagement, employee retention, and perhaps most importantly, innovation.  

2. We Must Change the Way We Think About “Diversity”

 

• Introverts & extroverts
• Family structure: single people, couples, parents, multi-generational households, “grand families” – grandparents who help to raise their grandchildren, partially or fully, financially or with childcare
• Creative thinkers & analytic thinkers.  An engineer thinks differently than a graphic designer.  Or a salesperson.  Successful businesses require all kinds of workers with all kinds of talent.
• Risk takers and those who are risk-averse
• Tech-savvy & tech-phobic (or tech clunky)
• Rural & metro
• Military & civilian
• Morning people & night owls
• Tenure – those with thirty years of experience are different from those with 90 days of experience.
• Neuro-diversity – those on the spectrum think differently than those who are not.  Companies are starting to recognize the value of neuro-diversity in their teams as they tap into the tremendous idea generation and innovation skills of their workers on the spectrum.

3. We Can Move Fast When We Have To

The pandemic required all businesses to think fast and move even faster.   New priorities had to be established, new ways of serving clients and customers had to be created, new ways of ensuring teams remained cohesive and productive had to be developed.  FAST.  Suddenly, the “bloat” in so many companies, especially large companies, was seen as a liability that there was simply no time for.  There was no time to “study the situation and test new methods for going forward”.  We had to act fast, and we did.  

4. Innovation Is Now Priority #1

Leaders quickly learned that if they wanted to keep selling their products or services, they had to reinvent their sales tactics, their delivery methods, their communication approaches - or even the products themselves.  Nothing remained as it was, and the companies that proudly claimed “we have one way of doing things” learned that organizational resilience was the key to their survival.

5. Remote Work Is Here To Stay – And It’s A Business Asset

Even as many companies work to start bringing their employees back to the office, employees expect more flexibility in how they get their work done. We’ve proven over two years that many workers can work from anywhere and that productivity increased, not decreased, as so many leaders initially feared.

6. Employees Have Leverage – And Options

Employers raced to find ways to support their employees in meaningful ways in the last two years. Adapting to remote teamwork was one of the first priorities. But good leaders quickly learned that their workers’ mental health, as well as their physical health, was on the line, as families grappled with illness and infection, childcare, education, job losses or reductions in hours and much more. Employees who didn’t feel supported found other jobs, explored new skills and education, or quit altogether.  Now, with a nationwide worker shortage, employers must woo workers and provide work environments that are flexible, satisfying and that recognize employees do best when they are seen and valued holistically, not just during the hours they are “on the clock”.

Two years into the pandemic, we’ve learned a lot. And as we head into year three of the most challenging business climate in our lifetimes, leaders must continue to observe, adapt and remain nimble enough to see the possibilities that can ultimately make companies and teams stronger and better.

Kelly McDonald is an acclaimed speaker who specializes in consumer trends and changing demographics. She is the President of McDonald Marketing and has authored four bestselling books on the customer experience, leadership, and marketing -- all from the standpoint of working with people "not like you".  Her newest book, It's Time to Talk about Race at Work debuted at #1 on a top business bestseller list.  Visit www.kellycmcdonald.com  Connect Kelly McDonald