In the words of Winston Churchill, “never waste a good crisis”.  (Good crisis is a striking oxymoron, right?)  The previously unimaginable events of the past year have shaken many of us to our core, but if we stop to reflect, to consider the lessons hidden in the extreme difficulty of the pandemic, most of us can identify ways to move forward into the post-COVID era wiser, stronger, and perhaps even more successful.

What are some of the lessons workplace leaders can take from the pandemic?  We learned that, by necessity, many of us had to embrace what we may have resisted in how we collaborate and communicate with our teams. This might have meant allowing team members to work from home, granting more flexibility in work hours and staffing levels, and adopting new technology when the digital way of accomplishing work became the only way of accomplishing work.  Many leaders have shifted their organizations from a culture of risk avoidance toward a culture of embracing what’s possible when we do things differently.

The foundation of good leadership has always been the relationships leaders build with those they lead.  Relationships are built on trust and connection, on being present for others.  Now more than ever, leaders need to be present, which can be a challenge for many leaders who are navigating the complexities of leading virtually.  Even though we may not be physically present for our teams, we need to be intentional about being accessible, another form of presence, by maintaining connectedness through regular, frequent “touches” via text, email, or video.  Making communication and connectedness with those we lead a priority can become a habit that will serve a leader well, even in the post-COVID era.

When the world becomes topsy-turvy, we sharpen our focus on what matters most, and we adopt new methods to succeed amidst the disorder.  For leaders, that begins with a gut check of the purpose of the work we do.  How does our work, and the work of those we lead, align with the greater purpose of our organization?

Never has it been more important for leaders to focus on the people in their organization and to equip themselves with the skills to lead through the turbulence. A few competencies have come to the forefront as keys to leaders’ success in the current climate:

• Adaptability – adjusting to new conditions through flexible ways of thinking and staying curious
• Authenticity – knowing your own strengths, limitations, and emotions, and leading with heart, while being mission-driven and results-focused
• Driving Innovation – leveraging your organization’s strengths and opportunities in the environment to create change that moves the organization forward

We can hope that the seismic rate of change we’ve experienced in the past year will slow down a bit, but we can be certain that leading in 2021 and beyond requires a tolerance for ambiguity, the agility to pivot as circumstances change, and a can-do spirit.  None of us can be sure how the world of work will change in the coming months and years, but all of us can take lessons from the past year to better equip us for the future.