5 Qualities of an Effective Leader During a Pandemic (and Beyond)

Throughout history, we have seen leader after leader emerge into excellence after facing adversity. Today’s environment offers fertile soil for an effective leader to grow into an exceptional visionary. With the world changing faster than we’ve had to deal with before, creating a culture of resilience will ensure your organization thrives. L&D leaders play a key role in shaping leadership and culture.

Why is Effective Leadership More Important Now Than Ever Before?

When things are uncertain, effective leaders are able to remain calm and maintain a positive outlook. As financial institutions begin to transition out of lockdown, there are even more questions and unknowns. Roles and responsibilities from the front line to the boardroom are drastically different than they were pre-COVID-19. Leaders were focused on breeding innovation, driving revenue and gaining market share. Today, those same leaders are faced with having to make quick decisions on cost control and are facing unforeseen challenges (supply chain issues, running skeleton crews, working from home). Effective leaders are navigating all this change, while still leading their staff who is navigating their own health/safety concerns, caring for family and dealing with the fear of the unknown.

During times of crisis, staff looks to their leadership team to set the tone and drive a resilient culture. For some, it can be a learning curve. We know that self-care has been healthy for us all during quarantine. Leaders need to invest in their own professional skills as well.

5 Qualities of an Effective Leader During a Pandemic (and Beyond)

Where to even start? These five leadership qualities will help you be a more effective leader not only during a pandemic, but for years to come.

1 – Courage

During times of unpredictable change, a leader’s purpose, mission and values may be challenged. An effective leader is courageous enough to stand firm in what they believe and not lose sight of themselves. At times, they will be asked to make hard decisions. Effective leaders have the courage to make hard decisions while being well-informed from trusted sources of information.

effective leader during a pandemic

2 – Humility

During the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have had to do business differently. Those who are leading with humility are seeing the benefit. A recent COVID-19 study by Edelman showed that 71% of those surveyed said they would lose trust in a brand forever, if they believe it was putting a profit over people. In fact, 89% of people surveyed wanted to know that the brand was helping others.

When there are uncountable unknowns, people need to know who they can trust. At the workplace, employees look to their leaders for direction and to know that they are going to be ok. An effective leader puts people first.

3 – Resilience

Effective leaders are resilient. Resilience is more than just bouncing back and recovering quickly from setbacks. It’s more than managing stress and knowing how to cope when overwhelmed. True resilience means staying focused, being a purpose and having the grit to weather the “storm” (and future storms for that matter).

You can learn more about resilience from Sandy Asch, TEDx Speaker and best-selling author in this free webinar: Staying Resilient and Thriving in Uncertain Times

Register for free webinar

4 – Informed

Leaders have the responsibility to stay updated with creditable information. During this pandemic, there is so much information coming as us from all different directions. Effective leaders can sort through the noise to focus on creditable sources such as the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Effective leaders also leverage the resources and their professional network in order to find creative solutions, based on fact. OnCourse Learning and published a Guide to Pandemic Preparedness. This guide is updated regularly with both free and paid resources.

5 – Empathy

Having empathy for someone doesn’t mean you agree with them. It simply means you acknowledge the humanness in someone else. It requires understanding the other person’s emotional experience. Effective leaders listen to understand rather than analyze.

Effective Leaders Need Training Too

Not all leaders have what it takes to be the best on their own. Effective leaders know the importance of investing in themselves. Professional Development is key to take your leadership to the next level and beat the competition. There are many different training providers within the financial services industry. OnCourse Learning provides both compliance training AND professional development courses – all within one comprehensive solution.

Rachel Davis - Product Manager at OCL

About OnCourse Learning:

At OnCourse Learning, we provide compliance training and professional development education for your entire staff – from the frontline to the boardroom. Through our Learning Management System, your people get educated and certified – and your financial institution can efficiently manage complexity, change and growth.

LEARN MORE
Rachel Davis - Product Manager at OCL

About OnCourse Learning:

At OnCourse Learning, we provide compliance training and professional development education for your entire staff – from the frontline to the boardroom. Through our Learning Management System, your people get educated and certified – and your financial institution can efficiently manage complexity, change and growth.

LEARN MORE
By |2020-05-29T14:13:50-06:00May 20th, 2020|Bank, Credit Union, Financial Services|0 Comments

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