Leadership During COVID Crisis-Part 1

Abstract

Leadership is a positive and key force as Leaders create better organizations, better communities, and a better world. Leadership is required for many reasons and is a never-ending journey. A good leader thinks rationally and focusses on what is to be done. They have the big picture as well as focus on the details to understand the causes and find a solution to the problem. Great leaders trust the people who work with them by listening actively and attentively to understand the situation. They listen, respond, and not react. They delegate and instill confidence to act independently and decisively.Great leaders will give the respect due to the experts and try to get the best out of them. They cannot be whimsical. They will never ridicule or berate others or speak ill of the previous leaders. Great Leaders will readily admit their mistakes and open for suggestions to improve. They never can be arrogant at any time. People who do not have leadership skills are good at making jibes and blaming others.Leaders must have the ability to visualize the path to see the light at the end of the tunnel before others can see it. They need to be transparent and innovative, ready to learn from early setbacks and consolidate. Leaders need to have fortitude, the mental and emotional strength to face the adversity. Trust involves being trustful and trustworthy. A virtuous leader tends to trust others, and is trustworthy.Leaders must have the ability to inspire, motivate, and foster commitment to a shared purpose Leaders need to embrace complexity as opportunity, value collaboration, and develop a network mind-set. Leaders must take ownership and accountability. The arrival of COVID-19 has turned the world upside down. COVID-19 has put us in the midst of a devastating calamity that has made most people helpless and this is the time we look upon our leaders to deal with the resultant crisis and save us. Good leadership is essential especially at turbulent times like a compass in unknown terrain. But unfortunately there was a collective global leadership failure. The COVID-19 has exposed the dearth of real leaders. COVID-19 has proven that pathogens thrive in disruption and disorderMost of the current global leaders are populist leaders. They may good in running an effective campaign or a giving a stirring speech. Democratic leadership is not necessarily populist and about popularity. Doing what is right is more important. Competence and confidence are not same. Kindness is contagious and it calms the situation and heals faster We need a kind and gentler approach and not a stern and aggressive approach during the pandemic. The current COVID-19 situation requires leaders to identify and address the most critical issues at each point. They are required to think ahead, and retain the sight of the bigger picture to avoid decisions that could have unintended adverse consequences now or in future. The rapidly changing nature of this crisis necessitates agility in thought well as action. As the situation evolves, Leaders must evaluate and recalibrate the way forward continually Most of the male elected leaders seems to have no clue and were not able to lead. They tried the traditional method of controlling and were not transparent or authentic with the result that they were not able to instill any confidence on the people. They failed to show the leadership during the Crisis.Exemplary leaders during this pandemic were compassionate, courageous, databased, decisive, and kind. They engaged in calm, caring, clear, empathetic, honest, science-driven, and transparent communications to the media and public.Leadership has to change from an individualistic to collective process that requires a paradigm shift of leadership spread across networks of people. By democratizing and by innovating we need to develop collective and responsible leadership. Leaders should be willing and ready to change as the situation demands. They also should articulate enough to communicate the vision of the organization and drive everyone towards the attainment of that vision.