Now is the time for instinctive leaders to step up and show what they are made of…

I have lived through a number of pretty momentous and dramatic events in my career. Among them Sept 11 (when I happened to be on a plane), the Brexit vote, at least three recessions and experiencing war at pretty close hand when I was in the Middle East – it is not that often that a client calls you to say that cruise missiles have landed near their facilities.

But nothing can compare to what is happening now. As a leader of a business I find myself in a situation where experience helps, but where instincts seem to also be playing a large part in my day to day work. As I begin the third week of working from my living room, I seem to be busier than ever. But that busy-ness is focused more around the core skill of listening than anything else. Listening to clients, industry contacts, suppliers and above all to employees. At times like this it is so important to not only be as reassuring as possible, but also to take the time to allow people to share their stories. To really connect. Ironically, I am not sure whether I have ever felt closer to some of my key people.

We are pretty big in our industry but pretty small in the grand scheme of things. If this is dominating my life in a business of 300 odd people, I can imagine for many leaders in large business it is a major challenge to keep listening, particularly when it takes up so much time when you could be doing actual real things. Taking decisions. Being proactive. Seizing the day. Being ‘leader-ly’.

And of course, many of our clients are working with us to help them on real live actions. Our crisis and issues teams are working round the clock as you would expect, but so are many of our other consultants from across the business. Brand marketing experts are helping to repurpose product campaigns, our healthcare team is running virtual congresses and our PA team is briefing regulators by video on key issues.

This dramatic change in our work, our management needs and how our clients use us got me thinking (in between Teams and Webex calls). Who is going to emerge from this not only with their reputation intact but perhaps enhanced? What can businesses do now to get themselves better placed for the recovery, whenever that comes? And how can leaders show their true mettle?

For me, the key is going to be about behaviour. How companies and leaders behave now is going to be crucial. Employees and influencers are going to be hugely influenced now and will have long memories into the future. So what might be a few “golden rules” to think about. Here are some I think worth mentioning:

• Employees come first. We have already seen the visceral reaction when CEOs put profit before people. Yes, you have a business to run, but without people you may not have a business in six or twelve-months’ time. What you do and say now will have massive ramifications for the next few years.
• Trust your intuition. If you think that an action feels inappropriate, it probably is. Trust that voice that tells you to be you. Don’t overthink things and ask your closest advisors for their views. And then trust yourself as your people trust you.
• Be authentic, human and be honest. It is fine to say you don’t know how all of this is going to work out. It is fine to say when you are finding things challenging. The day of the ego leader was already behind us (in business, if not in politics!) but this crisis will really put a nail in the coffin.
• Make optimism a core value. There will be an end point, but we don’t know when or what it will look like. Whilst hope is not a strategy, it is important. China is recovering, the human race rebounds. The same will happen here. So without being naïve, be positive. It will pay dividends.

Many businesses around the world are stepping up to the plate and taking decisions now that will enhance their reputation significantly – making the recovery all the quicker and the opportunities in a transformed world all the bigger. A few are making some really significant errors that will cause them pain for many years to come, whatever their sector or their size. I know which side of history I would like to come out on.