Chapter 3: Leaders Change Their Ways
1. Leaders shift their values
a. The unprecedented disruption of the pandemic shook leaders from their moorings.
b. Leaders asked deep, existential questions like who am I and why am I here.
c. Leaders questioned their roles, priorities and goals.
d. Leaders recognized that organizations and society need to shift values at
scale.
e. The value of employee health and safety rocketed upward.
f. The value of individual connection at work increased.
g. Recognition of the value of psychological safety arrived.
h. Leaders who previously had over-valued achievement and numbers needed
to shift to value benevolence – compassion, trust-building and well-being.
i. Leaders began to value self-care more.
j. Leaders began to value family life more.
k. Leaders shifted from (Schwartz) values of self-enhancement and conformity
to values of self-transcendence, like humanity, grace, and optimism, and openness to change.
2. Leaders change their ways
a. Top-down direction and decisions were necessary in the crisis mode of implementing lockdowns.
b. Leaders began to listen more and understand people and their intentions better.
c. Leaders softened pushy, edgy tones to convey a calm, soothing tone.
d. Leaders learned to balance authentic vulnerability with confidence and
strength.
e. Leaders began to connect more and get closer to where people were doing
well and where they were struggling.
f. Leaders created more space and communication.
g. Leaders gave away power, empowering teams more.
h. Leaders slowed down decision-making to create space for collaboration and
diverse views.
i. Leaders confronted their vulnerability, their lack of certainty about the
future.
j. Leaders reassessed the necessity of excessive business travel.
3. Leaders reinvent their strategies
a. Leaders shifted from long-term planning to a rapid reevaluation of priorities and strategy.
b. Leaders focused on the here and now, the immediate problems, moving faster than ever before.
c. Leaders took more time to consult widely and get alignment on decisions.
d. Leaders saw the value in agile, adaptive organizations, in changing direction
quickly.
4. Leaders reset their priorities
a. Leaders commit to invest in relationships for employee well-being and alignment.
b. To improve work relationships, leaders became less formal and more personal.
Institute of Coaching
c. Leaders began to seek more diverse views and a collaborative style of leadership.
d. Leaders prioritized self-care to deal with ongoing, chronic, stresses and strains.
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