In the year 2020, the world altered the way it dealt with customers and their employees. Regardless of this uncertainty, companies and their leadership found a way to create employer-worker relations. Let us consider a couple of leadership lessons learned from 2020.

Clarity and Transparency In Communication

Leaders always encourage transparency and open communication in working surroundings to create a cordial relationship between employees and management. 2020 changed things and put some ideas to the test. Be it COVID or hard economic times, leaders had to find ways to engage with employees. Creating transparency in communication and connecting with employees proved to be a test of survival for organizations and personnel. Leaders found themselves talking about financial management virtually to their teams.

Create Boundaries

2020 taught leaders the essential rules of thinking outside the box and demonstrating flexibility, compassion, and awareness. Employees have tried their best to keep afloat and perform. Leaders encouraged employees to set boundaries since it was essential to creating a healthy work environment.

Diversify

The lesson learned by leaders was that change starts with understanding, sympathy, addressing discrimination, and setting clear goals to have productive results as far as diversity is concerned. Some leaders had shown the will to diversify by recruiting different people from different races and nationalities. They want to stand out and be counted.

Agility and Trust

Agility is a requirement for success. Agility is sustainable when companies trust their employees and do away with old workplace organization and settings rules. Once employees earn that trust, jobs and functions cannot only be demonstrated in the office but also remotely. This experience was an eye-opener for corporate leaders to trust and have confidence in their teams’ capabilities and skills. True agility needs to create a flexible business, enhance current infrastructures, develop a new working environment, and acquire new technologies that improve productivity.

Flexibility

Flexibility is necessary at this time of health and economic crisis. Working from home meant employees had the means and resources to complete their daily duties. It was also essential to create more business hours to develop and appreciate employees’ efforts. Flexibility is one way of empathizing.

To lead in 2020 required courage, transparency, and sympathy from the employees. It meant a willingness to stand up, have serious conversations, and ask hard questions. Other lessons learned included acknowledging mistakes and challenges to be ready for any eventualities.