Take your business to a new level: Shared decision-making as TOP post-Covid-19 leadership style
Guest post by Taras Bereza
14 September 2021
While today’s corporate environment is seeking the most feasible leadership style, the Big Question is whether there is one at all…
Leaders from various business domains are redesigning their corporate strategies in light of the current and forthcoming challenges. The new normal with all its overwhelming uncertainty urges corporate leadership to take unprecedented managerial decisions.
Until recently, the quality of decision-making depended on the right choice of a leadership style or a mix of few. Today, however, leaders are experimenting with their teams to make sure that the individual capacities of their subordinates match strategic corporate goals. The newly revealed strengths and skill sets among the staff serve as reliable metrics of individual key performance indicators (KPIs).
No magic bullet on a horizon
Covid-19 made business leaders reconsider Daniel Goleman’s Primal Leadership Model, while every leader is doing his/her best to diversify their staff-oriented approaches. The emphasis on emotional intelligence (EI) inclined many leaders to trust their remote workers more. They are showing more empathy in parallel to setting daily expectations. Still, there is yet no ‘one-size-fits-all’ leadership style capable of yielding the best results.
On this background, authoritarian voices contrast with democratic approaches. In the first case, command-and-control leadership with its emphasis on immediate compliance and obedience is counterproductive. In its turn, democratic (participative) leadership that entails delegating decision-making functions to the teams is not effective as well.
What’s at stake?
In most cases, leaders fear their reputation and stability in the face of challenging endeavors. Pressed by emergencies, many are prone to command leadership to sustain their position within the company. Others opt for exit strategies as their only savior angel. Consequently, workers are disheartened and disengaged workers. A lack of loyalty and demotivation result in low productivity.
Indeed, few leaders are capable of empowering people around them.
The Covid-19 realms are beyond normal, with increased unpredictability and a more and more challenging workplace. The dynamically changing corporate landscape necessitates the decentralization of decision-making through communication.
Be open-minded
The practice of decision-making sharing with the staff will serve as a cornerstone for elaborating and implementing a leader’s decisions. Joint action and teamwork will make leaders less anxious and vulnerable to tough decisions.
At the forefront are communication and team networking as the most feasible substitutes to command-and-control attitude. Crises urge leaders to share their decision-making potential with the teams. A ‘yes-man’ mentality helps to manage and lead operating processes smoothly. In case of emergencies, however, CEOs are solely in charge of major decisions. This is not the best approach whatsoever; still, as the last resort, many organizations rely on their CEOs in critical circumstances.
Open-minded conversations with personnel lead to:
- far more productive working atmosphere,
- less strenuous workplace environment,
- a better understanding of priorities among the staff,
- fewer conflicts, and
- optimized work-life balance
Developing and fulfilling team-oriented strategies require leaders to acquire new skills and pursue people-oriented leadership.
Rather than striving for a particular leadership style, effective people’s leaders should adopt smart management tools to track workforce analytics and arrange effective HR planning. The innovative solutions help leaders integrate within their teams and cope with crises through joint action.