Leadership in lockdown: Socia’s response to the COVID crisis
We have produced a practical weekly note – to support leaders who need easily digestible hints and tips to help them cope in these exceptional times. As the lockdown has progressed the advice has moved from leading your team through the short term survival phase to dealing with the longer term demands on leaders as they shape their organisation to respond to a new normal. You can read the full series of these notes below.
Not knowing and still leading – February reflections
“TS Elliot may have said that April is the cruellest month - but February is giving it a run for its money this year” There's no doubt that leading an organisation is a tough job right now – as that quote from a colleague shows. And there's nothing about your status...
Leadership lessons for a New Year
The turn of the year is always a time for both looking back, reflecting on the highs and lows of the last 12 months and looking forward with hope to the Spring to come. Given the exceptional circumstances of 2020 it’s all too easy to want to put last year behind us as...
From fast food ads to Abraham Lincoln – 2020 leadership lessons
In early November Burger King posted an advert on Twitter with the title ‘Order from McDonald’s’. Whilst at one level this was an eye-catching bit of marketing, the text which addressed the question of supporting take-away food outlets of all kinds as we enter another...
What teams don’t talk about on Teams
As leaders come to terms with the prospect of not being able to get their teams back into the office for face-to-face meetings for some months, it’s timely to reflect on what has been working well in on-line team meetings and what people are missing. It’s remarkable...
Preparing for a new term…
As a very strange Summer begins to turn to Autumn many people’s thoughts are of a return. Return of children to school or University, return to the daily commute, return to leading office-based teams. But these are rarely if ever going to be returns to things as they...
Managing virtual Board meetings
Board members and chairs have generally been impressed with the commitment of Board members to adapt to the constraints and realities of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, they report that in a virtual environment, Board meetings take more active management and more...
Week 15: What have we learned in 100 days?
Life before the lockdown feels an age ago. In fact, it’s just 100 days and so we’ve been reflecting on the changes that leaders have faced as the weeks turned into months. At the beginning, the sudden shock of lockdown was a problem that had to be addressed with...
Week 14: Time for more cross-organisational conversations
As high streets cautiously re-open their doors to shoppers and people look forward to the possibility of enjoying some sort of summer holiday, public health officials try to forecast the likelihood of a second wave of the epidemic and business leaders explore multiple...
Week 13: Leaders have tough choices ahead
Leaders have been on an unprecedented journey in the last three months. The shock of the dramatic lockdown in March prompted the need to control events. The government acted in a necessarily directive manner telling sectors who could trade or not, enforcing home based...
Week 12: Little things can make a big difference
Nearly 3 months into lockdown, it’s a good time to review what we’ve learned and, assuming we’re going to be leading teams remotely for some time to come, to invest some time and effort in improving the experience for all concerned. Here are some of the tips we’ve...
Week 11: Leaders use what they can control – to make things better
More than two months into lockdown and some leaders report a sense of powerlessness. For the first few weeks, the talk was of a quick ‘bounce back’ to normality, but the reality is becoming clear. There is no simple reset button that restarts organisational life as it...
Week 10: Leadership endurance & sharing control
New policy announcements and changes to government lockdown advice across the UK mean that for many businesses and their leaders this week feels like the transition to a new phase in dealing with this epidemic, and as with any transition this can bring both enhanced...
Week 9: Creating a better virtual conversation
Two months into the lockdown and many of us have become regular users of the various digital conferencing media products that now are available - Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex and others. These products are essential leadership tools to keep decision-making...
Week 8: Many rivers to cross
Many analogies for leaders planning a major change use the image of crossing a river. They talk of building a bridge; starting with pathfinders feeling their way on stepping-stones, before raising bridge supports on solid foundations to carry the weight of the...
Week 7: Two strategies for coping with uncertainty
Coping with uncertainty. As we enter week 7, talk is of recovery plans and exit strategies. But deep down as leaders we know that these public pronouncements will only present a new set of challenges for our organisations and our staff as the environment of...
Week 6 – Hitting the wall
Hitting the wall - and how to get through it. In the last week many of the leaders we work with have described just how weary they are getting. Unfamiliar work routines, long hours in front of a screen and continuing uncertainty about the future, all take their toll....
Week 5: The change you didn’t choose
The change you didn’t choose – and how to handle it Week 5 of lockdown and the long-term impact of the current situation is starting to become evident to organisations across all sectors. For all leaders, there is a realisation that they have entered a change process...
Week 4: Being a leader not a cheerleader
Being a leader not a cheerleader. Week 4 of lockdown and, for many of us, we’re through the initial phase of practical coping; setting up a home-based office, getting the technology to work, getting used to on-line team meetings – and now the leadership challenge is...
Week 3: A marathon not a sprint
Running a marathon not a sprint. Week 3 of the lockdown and the shock of the change is receding, but the bad news keeps coming. A prime minister in hospital and the Queen speaking to the nation underscores the seriousness and justifies the fears that people have. We...
Week 2: Making the best of new communication channels
Making the best of new communication channels. After a second week of Socia’s home based working, involving much time on Microsoft Teams and Zoom, here are three big lessons we have learned about hosting effective on-line meetings. 1 Be clear about the different...
