There is a need to quickly invent/discover, experiment, apply and recalibrate
Dr Om Manchanda, Managing Director, Dr Lal Pathlabs
It has been nearly one and half years since the time pandemic started. An unusual time, no one has experienced such time ever in living history. All of us went through strict lockdowns starting March last year and then tried to bring back life on tracks as much as possible over the next 12 months. Then comes Bolt from the Blue – Wave II.
COVID-19 Wave II has been sudden, brutal and has taken all of us by surprise. It has thrown the entire demand-supply equation in healthcare completely off-balance. On one hand, demand multiplied manifold in a matter of hours and days giving no reaction time for supply ramp-up, on the other no one clear solution in sight for the problem faced by our country. All leaders in healthcare organisations have been facing unique challenges never experienced before. I share some of the insights that I have gathered along especially during Wave II that started early April 2021 onwards.
Leadership during a pandemic is not a ‘Business as Usual’ but is all about a ‘Business in Crisis’ Crisis usually has some unique characteristics:
I It throws up unfamiliar challenges
II Depletes resources at a rapid pace and doesn’t give time to plan
III Drains everyone strength due to fear, anxiety and stress
IV Takes away the ability to think on one’s feet
Pandemic has done all of the above. When it’s ‘business as usual’, we tend to project situations as being better than what the reality is. However, during a crisis, one has to confront reality. One is suddenly thrown from a ‘Known-Known’ into an ‘Unknown-Unknown’ zone. The skills required in ‘Unknown-Unknown’ are quite different – there is a need to quickly invent/discover, experiment, apply and recalibrate. The luxury of time doesn’t exist.
Being in a ‘Known-Known’ position tests management skills while in ‘Unknown-Unknown’ tests and builds leadership skills.
The current situation of healthcare leaders reminds me of the inspiring story of Ernest Shackleton, a polar explorer, and how he led his crew to survival once their ship got stuck in ice. It is a story about a test of leadership in a crisis.
A few lessons from his story are
• He managed himself well: mentally, emotionally and physically
• He realised that the path is long and arduous.
• He realised that the mission had changed – from ‘exploration’ to ‘survival’
• He kept his men believing in themselves and their ability
• He never let his team know of his inner fears
• He was constantly vigilant for any break in his team’s morale
•He celebrated his team’s achievements.
Many of the above lessons are relevant for leadership during the pandemic.
Leadership during a pandemic is all about empathy and compassion
As they say, true wealth is having an abundance of things money can’t buy, empathy is one of them. There is so much pain around us, pandemic leadership requires us to feel the pain of others, and lend that helping hand that can make difference to people’s lives.
Leadership during a pandemic is all about leading with purpose
Most organisations have a Vision, Mission and Values. Leadership during a pandemic requires each person in the organisation to balance the interests of all stakeholders like investors, customers, employees and society at large at the same time. It is a time when the balance is tilted towards purpose and each leader has to lead their organisation with a sense of purpose.
Leadership during a pandemic is all about staying in problem-solving mode
Any leader needs to stay focussed only on one thing – What is the problem we are trying to solve?Leadership is not rank or privileges, titles or money, leadership is a responsibility – Owning the problem is in most cases a huge part of solving the problem. True leaders have to keep the focus on solving the problem at hand.
Leadership during a pandemic is all about human connections
It is important to quickly get into planning and execution mode. Arrange all the required resources. But this is all about hardware. Don’t forget to leverage a very important resource i.e. human software i.e. passion and humility. These can beat all the resources.
