There was no question that much needed to be done, initially, to afford the right balance of care, clarity and technical support to ensure people’s contribution could continue in a home-based working environment. Making sure people still felt a sense of belonging, that their contribution was meaningful, and they had sufficient autonomy to make smart choices was vital. Helping the leaders think about this in the virtual environment was a beautiful challenge. Our experience in the quality and timing of conversations, harnessing the informal grapevine and understanding the fundamentals of the neuroscience of connection was regarded as incredibly useful. Running leadership sessions around dealing with ambiguity, paradox ad uncertainty was vital.
What became obvious early was that this still needed to be done in the context of a desirable future. Strategy and culture became even MORE important. Paralysis could not be an option. Learning became even more critical.
Important factors: Using technology to its best advantage rather than a compromise; building wellness into every interaction; using story (oral and visual) as the primary strategy communication tool; harnessing learning from the whole business as both a source of cleverness and a cause of deepening meaningful connection; strengthening the leadership community as a place of safety, cleverness and possibility.
Avoiding the overwhelming was a big learning. Teams spending time on “bite size” chunks of the strategy and become clear of their own part to play created a critical shift from simple ownership to the more powerful authorship. Living in the question “what is it time for now?” became a powerful part of engaged and focussed teams.
Finally in summary -
The leadership imperative was “Just enough” and “Just in time”. The default “Just in case” was dumped at light speed. “Just in case” caused worry, over work and wasteful busyness. We all learned much.