Leading In The New World Of Work

Should we change the way we lead in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis?

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed almost every aspect of people’s lives around the world like nothing in modern history. In the United States, as occurred after our Civil War, the Great Depression and World War II, it’s possible that this pandemic will end up impacting almost all aspects of our lives. As an example, in the blink of an eye, Covid-19 has already forced numerous institutions to go virtual – churches, schools, government, medicine, to name a few. The term “paradigm shift” is a well-worn term. Today, however, we are experiencing sweeping worldwide changes at a speed never before experienced in human history. Everything seems to be changing. However, are there some areas of life that shouldn’t change? What about leadership – do leaders need to change the way they lead in the wake of this pandemic? Given the challenges leaders will face in the ensuing months and years, it’s an extremely important question. 

There’s good news here. Amid the turmoil of change that we’re experiencing and will continue to grapple with going forward, the behaviors that leaders need to employ to effectively navigate these challenging waters will not need to change. 

In my experience and study of leadership over the past thirty-five years, one common theme is shared by all effective leaders over the past two millennia – great leaders have earned the trust of their followers. Trust is the most critical leadership principle – trust in the leader’s competence, vision, character and care for those whom they are responsible for leading. While all four principles are needed to earn trust, the latter is not only the most significant, but is one that a leader has the most opportunity to quickly impact. Caring and respect – the way the leader treats others and the regard they have for others – are behaviors that have an enormous influence on the level of trust they can earn. They are quick to impact because they are conveyed by the behaviors – not words – of the leader. 

In 1959, Victor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor who between 1942 and 1945 labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, published his epic book, Man's Search for Meaning.  The book has sold more than 10 million copies in twenty-four languages and is one of the most influential books ever written. In it, Frankl wrote, “The immediate influence of behavior is always more effective than that of words.” Therefore, with respect to leadership, the fastest way to earn more trust is through the leader’s behaviors, not words. More specifically, behaviors that convey caring and respect – the way the leader treats others and the regard they have for others – expedite the trust building process. This is true today, and it’s been true for the past two thousand years. 

While the technologies that humans have created over the centuries have changed, the very human dimension of leadership has not. History teaches us that all great leaders have touched the souls of their followers by showing them that they care for their well-being – this magical connection inspires people to overcome the greatest of calamities, face any danger and, yes, deal with dramatic changes triggered by global pandemics. What did the great ancient philosophers have to say about the importance of leading with care and respect?

Aristotle stated that by showing care to others the leader would inspire respect instead of fear. Plato wrote that the leader’s duty was to take care of the needs of the followers over their own needs. Xenothon, a pupil of Socrates and an ancient Greek historian, philosopher and soldier, stated that everything a leader does must demonstrate to his subordinates that they constantly think of their welfare and work for their benefit.

It would appear that Alexander the Great heeded the advice of these ancient thought leaders, according to John Keegan’s Mask of Command. From 334 BC to 323 BC – one hundred years after Xenothon and mere decades after Plato and Aristotle – Alexander subdued the largest tract of the earth’s surface ever to be conquered by a single individual. How did he lead? He treated his soldiers with respect and cared for their well-being. For example, he granted home leave to all the men who had been married before the fighting began, he always made sure his men were well fed and well rested, showed great concern for the wounded and listened patiently as his soldiers recounted their exploits. Alexander the Great cared for his soldiers and that care was reciprocated with superior effort.

A mere 150 years ago, a great leader emerged who saved the hope for a system of free government for countless generations. Abraham Lincoln, viewed by most historians as the greatest leader the United States has ever known, led in a time of tremendous uncertainty. Through four years of America’s bloodiest war, Abraham Lincoln created a team that was inspired to go beyond that, which members thought was possible. Lincoln treated all people, including those who were opposed to him, with the utmost respect. He would take time out of his incredibly busy schedule to hear what people had to say. He created friendships that paid enormous dividends over the course of the war, as Doris Kearns Goodwin points out in Team of Rivals. Lincoln’s leadership was a case study of what the ancient philosophers championed – earn the trust of your team members by showing care and respect toward them.

More recently, Christopher Kolenda notes in Leadership: The Warrior’s Act, historians have concluded that military leaders who take care of their soldiers lead units that were the most combat effective. The same is true today for civilian organizations. Numerous studies have concluded that what makes for high performing teams is the amount of trust within the organization. The key to building this trust is less what the leaders do and more how they do it. What matters is the relationships that the leaders build with the employees – in short, whether the leader cares for their employees. In other words, happy employees – those who feel cared for and consequently trust their leader - result in healthy bottom lines, say Michael Burchell and Jennifer Robin in The Great Workplace.

When it comes to effective leadership, the common theme that threads through the past two millennia is that followers of great leaders were not coerced to act for the greater good – which by definition is not leading – but instead were inspired and persuaded to act for the greater good through acts of caring by the leader.  These hundreds of innocuous acts of caring resulted in greater trust up and down the chain and a passionate drive to accomplish lofty goals. 

Today, in the face of our current crisis, our team members grow more anxious as the number of unknowns mount daily. The key to effective leadership – inspiring and persuading individuals to action – is trust. You can help earn that trust by showing them respect and showing that you care for their well-being. What can a leader do today to show that you care?  A lot! All interactions between the leader and a team member are opportunities to earn more trust. Certainly, some will be more impactful than others – but each and every interaction is an opportunity. The fact is you have numerous interactions with your team members each day – hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute, second-by-second. They’re in abundance. As an example, while it’s always important for the leader to be seen – either live or via webinar – by their team members, it’s of extreme importance during a crisis. These meetings are tremendous opportunities to show that you care. You can create one right now by reaching out to a team member. Don’t talk about work – simply ask them how they’re doing. Listen to their concerns. Get to know a little about them. That is a conversation they’ll remember. 

Amid the swirl of sweeping changes that the world is wrestling with today, and will continue to confront for months and years ahead, it is comforting to know that there is one important aspect of our lives that does not need to change – the way we lead.  Whether a school principal who suddenly must convince her teachers to teach online, the owner of a small brewery who needs to abruptly change his product from beer to hand sanitizer, or a politician who needs to persuade the public that individual sacrifices must be made for the greater good, the key behavior in influencing others is showing care and respect. 

As was true two thousand years ago, it is still true today – the key to effective leadership is earning trust, and much more trust can be expeditiously earned through acts of caring. The more caring, the more trust earned, the greater the effort – this dynamic has not changed through the centuries. While the way to lead need not change – what does need to change is that leaders need to employ more of it. We need caring leaders more today than at any other time in modern history.