The myriad ways in which this pandemic has been painful and difficult for everyone is hard to capture.
For business leaders, the scale and speed of change has been particularly challenging, especially for those leading smaller or family firms. Their decisions have often come at personal cost; affecting their workforce, customers, and supply chain, plus their communities and loved ones.
No matter how flexible leaders are, the unpredictable, ever-changing nature of the restrictions imposed to keep us all safe meant even the most prepared directors shredded short-term plans, switching to survival-mode.
Now, as restrictions ease for some, and anticipated pathways are set out for others, leaders must gather their energy to face yet more change. They must call on their personal resilience, skills and knowledge to rebuild and lead their organisations into the future.
As these pandemic ripples of disruption continue, the airwaves and social channels are awash with predictions and theories about the future.
While much has been said about “building back better”, perhaps it would be preferable to talk about building forward better.
As the author Arundhati Roy said: “Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next.” She also posed the question about what we want to leave behind and what to take with us as we step through that gateway.
This “next world” will raise questions about the future of work – and there are many lessons from our experiences to learn from.
Flexibility and working from home were previously seen by some as perks of the job, yet for many they were an entirely necessary and important part of the working equation during the pandemic.
And whilst some were able to carry on their role from home, for cross-sector essential workers it was a different story. We saw them step up and put their own health at risk in order to save lives, help others and keep vital services going. Some of us doubled our workload to support our companies through periods of furlough; while entire industries were shut down, unable to provide any work for staff. And the impact of inequality was writ large, with profound negative impacts on women, people with disabilities and those who are marginalised.
As we now seek a return to some form of equilibrium, the experiences from this period have introduced the challenge of setting new parameters. For many, the divide between work and home has never been tougher.
The new rhythm of work experienced by so many, with its associated pros and cons, creates another change process for leaders to navigate. This will come with different levels of complexity depending on the kind of organisation they lead.
While it may feel like a mammoth task following a year of such uncertainty, if we have learned anything over this time it’s the importance of collaboration and peer support to come up with solutions and get things done.
We don’t have to do it alone. We’ve seen what happens when private, public and third sector organisations unite to solve problems; when people come together to share their challenges and ask for help.
That spirit of collaboration that was so powerful in early-stage of lockdown should be re-embraced as we move forward, and pass through the portal. Remember the proverb: if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
Louise Macdonald is national director of IoD (Institute of Directors) Scotland
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