“The extraordinary challenges around the coronavirus pandemic are testing leaders as they’ve never been before,” says Stephen Miles, CEO of The Miles Group/TMG in “Leading During the Coronavirus Crisis,” a new C-Suite Intelligence podcast. “Many leaders aren’t cut out to handle an event of this magnitude and complexity.”
“The long bull market we’ve seen over the past decade has meant that a lot of executives haven’t led through a real crisis before – they don’t have those leadership skills, and if they do they are very rusty,” says Miles. “Also, the best leaders during ‘peacetime’ or calm waters can sometimes be highly ineffective in ‘wartime’ or rough waters.”
“A large subset of executives react poorly to a stress event and turn inward. They don’t leverage their teams. They amplify the stress and set a tone at the top of Chicken Little – ‘the sky is falling!’ They focus on self-preservation and hoard information from staff.”
The most effective leaders, Miles says, turn outward. “They leverage the teams and advice across the company so that they’re using all available information to make decisions. They absorb stress and maintain calm, knowing that everyone is looking to them for direction.”
Miles explains how the uniqueness of the pandemic creates unusual layers of complexity. “First, the global reach – the fact that this affects everybody, everywhere – is unprecedented. Also, we have the element of ‘protecting our people.’ Usually, we’re just focusing on protecting the enterprise, but now we need to make sure that our employees are working in a safe environment and are being taken care of.”
A third overlay is that leaders have to manage the severe business impact and the human element of all this while working from home. “Most people are moving their leadership of their companies from analog to now virtual as we all hunker down working from home. If you did not believe your business needed to be wired for digital before this will bring that reality home! The nature of work will change and there will be lasting effects of this crisis which will affect every company.”
TMG’s C-Suite Intelligence podcast series covers a range of leadership lessons from decades of working with high-performing CEOs. Other episodes in the series include:
- 10 Critical Keys to Business Survival
- Dealing with Sudden Change
- Managing Underperformance
- What Does a General Counsel Do?
- The Agent Problem: Becoming a Better Advocate for Your Best People
- Dealing with Difference: Adapting to a Diverse Global Workforce
- SocQ: The New Leadership Skill Required for the Social Economy
- Managing Your Most Difficult But Most Valuable Employees
- When the Right Person Is in the Wrong Role
- The Importance of Asking Questions
- Fostering Idea Conflict
- The Talent Private Equity Firms Are Looking For
- How to Avoid Having Another Worthless Meeting
- Working For a Tough Boss
- Protecting Your Job in a Merger or Acquisition
- Stasis vs. Growth Mindset
- How the Smartest CEOs Are Preparing for the Next Recession
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
For more information, please contact Davia Temin or Suzanne Oaks Brownstein of Temin and Company at 212.588.8788 or news@teminandco.com.
