Leaders faced massive challenges adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020 (and beyond), requiring rapid, dramatic and at times traumatic change and decisions. Uncertainty and disruption became the everyday and many industries were facing scenarios they had never planned for.
A report by PWC asked thousands of CEOs from across the globe and industries to reflect on this and then look forward to what lies ahead. PWC conducted its 24th Annual Global CEO Survey in January and February this year and captures the lingering effects of the previous year.
The most important and encouraging finding is the vast majority of CEOs see improvement on the horizon and are confident that over the next 12 months things will get better, including improved growth.
On the other side, it is interesting but not surprising that the top-20 threats CEOs are facing have changed dramatically. The top two are now pandemics and other health concerns (previously not rated) and cyber threats (previously number four). Other threats previously not listed but that now loom large for businesses are supply chain disruption, readiness to respond to a crisis and declining employee wellbeing. Another threat that is now considered much more serious—moving from 20 to 10—is misinformation and its spread, which highlights the finding of other research that we are experiencing historically low levels of trust.
A number of interesting challenges arise from the attention of CEOs being drawn away from what were previously considered major threats in 2020 to even more pressing issues:
- While these other issues may have shifted down the list of threats, they still remain as threats and their potential impact cannot and should not be ignored. It’s just that other threats with more serious potential consequences have arisen. The threats remain and need to be managed. How are leaders and managers going to mitigate these threats? Is this the time for (out of necessity) greater delegation to and empowerment of other people in the management structure? Will younger more inexperienced managers have to step up?
- The PWC report notes leaders and managers had to adapt in 2020. They had to: make fast, high-quality decisions; focus on the big issues that mattered most; engage with people up and down the organisation, and; push early to understand unintended consequences. These approaches proved highly effective and successful but will they go by the wayside as leaders and managers begin to “normalise” the organisation once more and revert to familiar leadership and management styles? Has this redefined what we consider the key skills and attributes needed for leadership and management in the post-2020 era?
The events and responses to events like 2020 force us to focus on what is really important, both personally and professionally. The challenge for us now is to find a way to keep that focus on the important, embed the learnings and gains and avoid falling back into old habits and ways of leading and managing.
This is a wake-up call for all leaders. Let’s not fall asleep at the wheel again.
Photograph
Yanalya from www.freepik.com.
Share