REFLECTIVE REPORT
Abstract
The role of flexible leaders and their approaches had grown significantly in this time of pandemic where the approaches had been focused not only on the safety of the workforce but also the promotion of the psychological safety of the workforce and other members of organizations. These approaches of flexible leaders were significant to ensure the proper assurance and confidence among the stakeholders. The consideration of the stakeholders was equally significant since they provide the business and profit to the organizations. The reputation of the organization is closely associated with the perspectives of the stakeholders of any organization. Proper communication of the approaches of the leaders ensure the building of stronger relationship amid this pandemic which will even stronger once this pandemic is over and economy has stabled in the world.
Table of Contents
Introduction
As far as I can perceive from my own experience, it is quite evident that the year 2020 has been a year with challenges and obstacles for each and every sector of society either it be the business or the individual striving for their lives. With the rise in this pandemic of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the global economy has faced a great downfall in the history of mankind where the outbreak of this pandemic has left only the destruction in its wake. This deadly virus has affected millions of lives where hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives; many have been suffering from diseases that can even have long-term consequences on the health of people. Leaders in all the sectors of the global economy have been under the responsibility of responding to the direct as well as an indirect effect of this pandemic, at the national, international and community levels, where there is no time for the preparation and implementation of the full fledge plan in the time of changing environment amid this pandemic. The leaders have been facing the major challenge of executing various decision making and developing rapid adaptive response concerning this time of pandemic which is not a usual expectation and requirement associated with the leadership quality in the more business usual times (Anderson, 2018). This global pandemic can be considered as a litmus test for the leaders who have been successfully leading their empires in the usual times of business. The leaders are required to consider the protection of the health and safety of all the employees of the organization along with the consideration of the health and safety of the community and partners as this can be considered as one of the significant responsibilities of the leaders in this time of crisis. All the leader of the organizations has been assessing the length of time which will be required to have the virus under control for active participation of all the employees of the organization. They have come up with different approaches in leadership to ensure the consistency of the productivity of the employees despite having the approaches of work from home during the time of lockdown all across the nation. I have been providing this report with the objective of analyzing the role of flexible leadership and individual perspectives in relation to leaders managing change of the pandemic. The report will also analyze this issue of COVID 19 as a pandemic affecting the business and their leaders with greater emphasis on the strategic importance of understanding leadership approaches and their impact on its stakeholders. I will be proving an insight into my understanding of the requirement of flexible leaderships in the wake of the pandemic with this report.
Method
The report has utilized secondary research as the research methodology for analyzing the changes which have been executed by the business leaders in this time of the pandemic. Secondary sources of data which is basically the analysis and interpretation of the primary sources (Ajayi, 2017) will be utilized for this report. It includes data from peer-review journals, articles, news and media articles, libraries, textbooks, and so on. This methodology of research has been adopted by me since the time of pandemic has led to the enforcement of social distancing and other measures to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
Role of flexible leadership and individual perspectives in relation to leaders managing change of the pandemic
In this part of the report, I will be providing an insight into my ideas of the role of flexibility and perspectives of leaders for smooth management during this time of the pandemic. This pandemic has hit the economy hardest amid all the businesses that have been approaching different strategies under their leaders for sustaining their pandemic and meeting the requirements of proper response in this time of uncertainty. One of the significant frameworks which gained popularity during this time of crisis is Trust–Confidence–Cooperation framework for risk management. This framework developed by Earle, Sitgrist and Gutscher has suggested that the community must have faith and confidence in the leadership (Siegrist and Zing, 2014) in this time of pandemic to ensure cooperation with the restrictive public health measures along with the management of the organization. The health of the business is one of the significant concerns along with the proper consideration of the health of the workforce, society, and planet as all of them are intractably linked to each other. This unimaginable shift caused due to pandemic has been requiring the companies and their leaders to not only adapt quickly but to identify creative and unconventional ways for operating and survive amid this pandemic. The flexible leaders who will be able to cope up with these sudden changes and requirements will definitely require to act on three different imperatives which are clarifying the purpose; supporting the existing stakeholders and bolstering the organizational and emotional resilience (Segel, 2020). I have found that what leaders need during a crisis is not a predefined response plan but mindsets and behaviors for preventing them from overreacting to the plan of developments followed previously and to go ahead with flexibility. The behaviors and mindsets that can help leaders navigate the coronavirus pandemic and future crises include the idea of organizing to respond quickly and effectively to a pandemic like COVID 19. There should be clear priorities as a response to the crisis which will lead to the mobilization of the organization and empower the same for discovering and implementing solutions that will be serving those priorities only. Another significant approach of a flexible leader which will allow having a better response and management of team and organizations in this time of pandemic is to organize a network of teams. In my perception and understanding after the analysis of this concept, this team network will be working united for a common purpose and work together in a manner that is similar to the individual who is working in single time collaboration (McChrystal et al, 2015). This team has some parts which are focused on identifying the implications of the crisis on the business activities and adjustments which may include helping the employees in the adaption of new working norms. The crisis is clearly embedded with various complexities which are to be addressed urgently by the organization and the team with such experts can be an effective actor for engaging with such ideas which will allow and facilitate the smooth functioning of the organization even in times of crisis as well. This organization of team networks by the leaders with transparency and collaboration can be considered as one of the significant methods of acting flexibly in this time of crisis where the urgent response to this crisis is free of any overreaction and hassle-free and also addressing this chaotic conditions of high stress for the organization, employees and society.
Another significant aspect of the role of flexible leaders in the time of crisis is to ensure that the psychological safety of the employees and team has been promoted to ensure the proper discussion and questioning without any fear of repercussions. The leaders also need to be flexible in the granting of the authorities to the employees for making and implementing decisions without having the need for approval concerning this pandemic. The architecture of decision-making should be established to ensure the accountability of the employees are clearer and decisions have been made at appropriate levels of the organization.
It has been seen that the experience acts as one of the most valuable attributes in the time of emergency which can be used by the leader in the time of crisis for better response and hold the organization firmly. The crisis response leaders must be having the ability to unify teams with a single purpose and frame the different questions for the teams to investigate. In my perception, the flexible leaders will have the deliberate calm quality which will allow them to think clearly and act prudently in the investigation even in the time of freights (Garcia, 2006). It is also expected out of a flexible and competent leader that they are having an approach which is qualifying the feature of bounded optimism as the display of excessive confidence in this time of crisis can even lead to the loss of credibility. It is significant for the leader to not only project confidence in this time of pandemic but also equally important to recognize the uncertainty of crisis. The optimism should not only be interacted with the collection of information over the present situation of the crisis but the passing of such optimism should also be facilitated by the leaders.
I have learned with my understanding int this pandemic and leadership that there are two cognitive behaviors which must be observed by flexible leaders which are updating and doubting. Updating is about the involvement of revision of ideas which are based on the collection of information and the knowledge which has been collected by the teams. Doubting, on the other hand, is about the consideration of all going potential issues and actions and taking decisions over the requirement of the modifications, adoption, or discarding of the taken actions. The leaders need to be resolved and the visible decisiveness will help in building the confidence of the organization in the leaders (Prentice, 2004). Leaders will need to consider and take proper care and attention to the struggles and problems faced by the people maid this pandemic to take proper measures which support and encourage them to the maximum.
The expression of empathy is equally significant for the leader where they have been demonstrating empathy towards another and is attentive to the wellbeing. The factors like stress, uncertainty, and fatigue are embedded with the outbreak of this pandemic which requires good judgment and processing of information by the leaders to ensure proper management and concern of the stakeholders of the organization (Alexander et al, 2020).
Critical analysis of why the issue has strategic importance in understanding leadership approaches and their impact on its stakeholders
In this part of the report, I will be providing an overview of my understanding of the issue of flexible leaders and their approaches in concern with their significance and impact on the stakeholders. With the scrutiny of the various journals and articles, I have come across the fact that the issue of choosing a strategy and leadership approach in this time of COVID 19 has greatly influenced the stakeholders of the organization. It is significant to ensure that the leaders have been tackling the management in this time of crisis effectively and efficiently as a same has a significant impact on the stakeholders of the organization. Protecting and supporting the stakeholders of the organization is significant as they may be vulnerable as well as acute with this outbreak of pandemic affecting the global economy (Segel, 2020). The stakeholders include a range of members of the organization which is straight from customers, investors, clients, partners, communities as well as the whole society. The implementation of short-term decisions like operating in the time of crisis to long-term decisions like bringing optimism for the functioning of the organization, even after the passing of the pandemic, is a crucial requirement for an efficient and flexible leader. The stakeholders are the members who drive and measure the success of the organization particularly in any situation where success is least expected and cannot be achieved without the full assistance and cooperation of the stakeholders of the company (Korn Ferry, 2020). The stakeholders must have trust and confidence in the leaders of the organization as this will only allow the organization to have smooth functioning of the management in the given time of the crisis. Developing strong relationships with key stakeholders and having a clear understanding of the role of individual leaders in this crisis is significant for having a business for the organization (Kaul et al, 2020). The development of effective supply chains and other processes are just a few examples which are closely associated with the approach implemented by the leaders in this time to ensure that the leader is considering the stakeholders and their position despite having the pandemic. These plans of the flexible leaders must be available at the divisional, divisional, corporate and regional levels.
Communication is also a significant aspect of running a business under effective leadership. It has even greater importance concerning the time of the pandemic. The proper communication and response to the stakeholders with respect to the approaches of the flexible leaders will also establish long-term bonding with the group of stakeholders. Proper communication of approaches, in my point of view, is significant as well as this will only allow the organization to work in collaboration with the other stakeholders but also build trust in the management of the organization under flexible leadership. The best leaders are strongly opposed to the tendency to give up even in this crisis. They look to the key stakeholders such as colleagues, suppliers, consumers, and employees other organizations to gather insights that will enable them to make better decisions. This can be understood with the example of the Texas-based grocery chain HEB where in February 2020, the leaders have contacted similar retailers in China (Bolton, 2020) (and with supply chain suppliers around the globe) to ensure efficient operations and. understanding of the implications of lockdown. Similarly, it has been found that the leaders of GI have been engaging in various communication and are maintaining constant communication, knowledge sharing, and experience with each other on various national platforms (e.g., AGA GI Chief’s Consortium).
It has been found that the stakeholders are even closely paying attention to the approaches taken by the leaders of the organization to cope up with the changes introduced with the uncertain event which can suggest that the approaches and flexibility of leadership are significant as they have an influence on the stakeholders as well. It is also crucial to address all the fears and emotions of the stakeholders as it is not only bound to the numbers and charts. One of the powerful way of acknowledging the fears are narratives which naturally surfaces in the time of crisis and also paves a path of opportunity which can be achieved only when the stakeholders are coming together and committing to overcoming the challenges which are standing in the way of success for the organization (Renjen, 2020).
This analysis and my understanding suggest that it is significant to cater to the emotional as well as other requirements of the stakeholders in this time of crisis as they are the ones who bring fortune, business, and success to the organization. The pandemic and its impact will be even to be felt after the passing of COVID 19 where the bonding and strength of relationship with stakeholders will be depending on the approaches and flexibility of leaders of the organization in this time of crisis.
Conclusion
It can be concluded with this reflective report that there are various approaches which have to be implemented by the flexible leaders of the organization in this time of pandemic to ensure that the organization has been considering the significance of this uncertain time of crisis and is equally focused in promoting the psychological safety of the individuals of the organisation. There are various approaches such as the construction of a network team and establishment of an architecture which is facilitating the decision making to be smoothening under the given level of authority in this time of crisis. This approach is about sharing and easing the process of decision-making in the time of emergency responses which is a requirement in this time of the pandemic. The leaders must engage with cognitive behavior such as updating and doubting as this ensures quick as well as sufficient response to the problems associated with the emergency such as the pandemic of COVID 19. The building of trust and confidence must be accompanied and utilized in the approaches of the leaders as this will allow the workforce and the stakeholders to stay in the organization and work in collaboration to rise in the wake of this pandemic. The experience is also a valuable attribute for the role of flexible leaders who is managing the team and organization with calmness and optimism in time of emergency responses as well. Since the pandemic has brought various changes and is also complex in nature, flexible leaders must have empathy for others along with the consideration of the safety of the members of the organization and workforce. These approaches are significant for the stakeholders as they are the one who is measuring and providing business to the organization. They must be assured and concerned when the global economy is facing this crisis and loss of business at a greater scale. I found the building of trust and confidence across the workforce as well as the stakeholders to be of paramount importance in this time of the pandemic. Having faith and confidence in the organization must be developed by the leaders within the stakeholders as they will be investing or backing out of the business which ultimately affects the profit and position of the company in the market. The flexible leaders and their approaches must look into these vulnerable and acute stakeholders. The development of strong relationships with key stakeholders and having a clear understanding of the role of individual leaders in this crisis is significant for having a business for the organization. It has been found in different companies that the leaders who have been engaging in conversation and communication with the stakeholders are able to sufficiently analyze and took timely measures to the various issues encountered due to this uncertain event of 2020. This report has put forward complete insight into my observation and understanding of the various approaches which have been taken by the different leaders to cope up with the changes which have been faced due to the uncertain event of COVID 19. I have also concluded the significance of these strategies concerning the stakeholders and the reasons for being flexible in role with the stakeholders amid this event.
References
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