Meeting the leadership challenges of 2020
Here are three pieces of advice for current and future leaders as we head into a new year.
Little did I know when I became CEO in 2016, that overnight in 2020 I would go from being a peacetime CEO to a wartime CEO fighting for Segal, our people and our clients against the coronavirus. As the leader of an established employee benefits consulting firm, I am often asked to share my thoughts on how to lead in this challenging, new reality. Here are three pieces of advice for current and future leaders:
1. Pace yourself and your employees.
When it comes to COVID-19, we’re not running a sprint or even a marathon. We don’t know where the finish line is, so pacing is key. When it comes to my firm, I view each employee as part of the crucial ecosystem that supports our clients, delivering our company mission to provide trusted advice that improves lives. Many companies are seeing employee hours shoot up, but if people burn out then we won’t be able to sustain success.
Related: 5 key steps managers can take to address workplace burnout
Wherever you turn in sports, or any competitive domain, successful people have established a practice to pace themselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. When it comes to setting the pace in the workplace, it needs to start from the top down. I recently went camping for a week and fully unplugged. When people take care of themselves they will be better able to serve clients and fellow employees.
2. Embrace the social awakening as an opening for your organization.
Diversity has been a natural part of my life. Not only were my parents refugees during World War II and immigrants to this country, but the schools of my youth were racially and ethnically diverse. As a result, it took a while for me to realize that my experience growing up was not the norm and that, while I am still learning and growing in the area of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), there are many people who have an even steeper learning curve.
Even though the events that triggered it are tragic, I view the current social awakening as a real opening for our institutions and businesses to make significant progress in dismantling systemic racism, prejudice and discrimination. It is now accepted wisdom that a diverse business is a more successful business and there is a surge in interest, support and engagement by employees. BUT progress will only happen if organizations bake DEI into their strategy and give their managers and employees tools to be successful like bias awareness training, and hiring and talent management support. This unique moment is a tremendous opportunity to make meaningful progress.
That brings me to my third and final piece of advice:
3. Expect the unexpected.
To counsel people to “expect the unexpected” is paradoxical, but true. The pandemic has reminded us of this lesson, and more. As we sit here in Q4 2020, with the miraculous development and deployment of an effective vaccine, I believe we are now closer to the end of the pandemic than to the beginning. While I want a quick exit as much as the next person, it will still be months before we are back to anything that resembles our pre-pandemic lives.
Our safe emergence from COVID-19 will require agile, adaptable leaders who communicate often and with honesty and humility. These are the traits that can help leaders and their organizations meet all known and unknown challenges ahead and enable them to navigate through uncharted waters successfully.
David Blumenstein is president and CEO of Segal, an employee benefits consulting firm, where he is responsible for setting strategy and leading the Executive Team. He has been with Segal since 1988 and is frequent speaker at benefits conferences and industry forums. As someone who cares deeply about benefits and their positive impact in people’s lives, he continues to serve as the lead consultant to several major clients.
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