What did the year 2020 mean for business leaders?
- By the time the ink dried on their goal-setting sheet, the lockdown had begun.
- The health of the organization now literally and directly depended on the health of their employees.
- Every month saw a new splash and scramble to swim against the storm as supply chain models, operations under social distancing, short and long-term decision making swirled in turmoil.
Some may want to remember the struggle and some may want to just move on to 2021. But what does it look like to be in the race in 2021?
- The businesses are in line to jockey for advantages as the markets reopen.
- Everything turns digital, and this trend may continue beyond the pandemic.
- The average customers and their spending patterns have changed.
- The average employee and their work patterns, mental health and even priorities are changing.
This is the playground for the business leader in 2021, and the ones who succeed in this arena will be the positive leaders. Why positive leaders?
Positive leadership is not the opposite of negative leadership or functioning in the limited realm of happy and nice things. Positive leadership behavior is a set of actions, to motivate and cultivate others through mechanisms of empowerment, engagement, and collaborative assignment to meaningful work [1]. For years, we have been looking at tensions in organizations through the looking glass like Alice. The organization is not a static entity, and we need to race towards change and possibility were nice words to hear. The pandemic pushed us to see these changes in close quarters.
2021 will require these three imperatives from leaders, and working from the space of positive leadership will better the results.
1. Leaders still need to keep their purpose future-oriented and filled with possibility
In the words of Alan Mullaly, ‘It's important to have a compelling vision and a comprehensive plan. Positive leadership—conveying the idea that there is always a way forward—is so important because that is what you are here for—to figure out how to move the organization forward’.
As we step into the next decade, walking over the embers of a worldwide pandemic, it is the job of a positive leader to see what is possible and then take steps to rally and create it. The vision gets shared and serves as the Dhruva-nakshatra, the Pole Star as the teams navigate towards building a successful organization in the coming years.
2. Foster positive relationships with all stakeholders to ensure they work towards future success
The first step in uniting a strong workforce towards a possible bright future is to remove all energy depleters doubt, friction, lack of sync, isolated team members due to social distancing and Work from Home are major energy depleters. Invest in relationships. Communication builds trust. Trust generates commitment. Commitment fosters teamwork, and teamwork delivers great results.
3. Build a strong, positive, resilient organization
The most important job in the coming year will be to rebuild, sync, grow your organization culture – not just a culture, but a positive culture. As a leader you would have to create a positive workplace that unites people together, it builds hope and resilience to overcome the challenges of the current pandemic business environment to get extraordinary results.
Positive culture connects the vision and purpose to everyday tactics, so that every work that happens in the organization, people ask themselves, “Is this what we stand for?”
Positive leadership is about creating such workplaces that become an unstoppable and positive force. Are you a positive leader?
References
- http://springer.iq-technikum.de/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_1341-1
About the Author
Dr Latha Vijaybaskar catalyzes positive transformations. As founder and Leadership Coach of V.I.T.A.L Conversations, she works with teams and individuals to enhance productive engagement and positive leadership. Her latest book is Masterstrokes – Reinventing Leadership in Uncertain Times is available online.