THE 
          CORONAVIRUS 
          LEADERSHIP 
          CHALLENGE
          The coronavirus may be the most challenging crisis 
          many leaders will face in their lifetimes.
          Yes, most of today’s executives     Leaders of businesses are 
          managed through the financial       figuring out what to do almost 
          crisis and recession in 2008.       daily. Should companies that 
          And many faced existential          are experiencing a downswing 
          crises brought on by                in business embrace a full-scale 
          technological disruptions           defensive strategy that entails 
          or surprisingly fast moving         cancelling new investments and 
          and innovative competitors          laying off workers? While that 
          in recent years.                    approach will reduce financial 
                                              losses and may ensure long-
          The coronavirus challenge is        term survival, it will also severely 
          different. Unlike past crises       constrain or cripple any near 
          where CEOs could make               to mid-term growth agenda.  
          reasonable judgements based         And most likely it will cede 
          on economics and market             market share to competitors 
          behaviors, the coronavirus          and hurt the organizations’  
          presents an entirely different      brands among employees  
          type of risk.                       and other stakeholders.
          ASK THE EXPERTS: Leading Through and Beyond COVID-19
                                      On the other hand, should the                                          “ As importantly as  
                                     handful of companies that are                                            making high quality                                   
                                     experiencing a coronavirus-driven                                       strategic decisions 
                                    boom hire new workers and invest                                      
                                    in new production – even though                                          - they must consider  
                                    there’s a possibility that the                                          and respond to  
                                   pandemic will recede much faster                                        everyone touched by 
                                   than most experts predict?                                              the organization in a    
                                                                                                        
                                  For business leaders, the                                                thoughtful, empathetic,  
                                 strategic questions are difficult                                        & positive manner.”
                                 – to say the least.                                                  
                                                                                                      
                                Decisions at the senior levels in                                    
                                organizations are often made                                         
                               based on incomplete information                                      
                               with an element of risk due to                                       
                                                                 uncertainty.                       
                                                                 In this                           
                                                                 situation, that 
                                                                uncertainty is 
                                                                amplified and                    But the challenges facing CEOs 
                                                               leaders more                     and other leaders are not simply 
                                                               than ever,                       strategic – they are inextricably 
                                                              must act.                        linked to the people they lead, the 
                                                              This creates                     human bonds that organizations 
                          a high stakes dilemma. Waiting too                                   have built with their employees, 
                          long (even a day or two) creates                                    customers, and other stakeholders. 
                         very real business and health risks                                  As importantly as making high 
                         and reduces options, moving too                                     quality strategic decisions -  
                        quickly could put a company                                          they must consider and respond 
                        on the wrong side of events.                                        to everyone touched by the 
                                                                                            organization in a thoughtful, 
                                                                                           empathetic, and positive manner.
       THIS IS CRITICAL BECAUSE  
       OF THE UNIQUE FEATURES  
       OF THE COVID CHALLENGE:
              There is high uncertainty and it appears unpredictable 
              in the near term.  No one knows how many people will 
              become infected, how long societies will remain locked 
              down, and when the virus will subside.
              It challenges us near the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy 
              of needs – at the level of safety. This has the potential to 
              trigger what Dan Goleman calls an “amygdala hijacking” in 
              people. A personal, emotional response that is immediate, 
              overwhelming, and may be out of measure with the actual 
              event because it has triggered a much more emotional 
              threat. In this condition our reasoning, problem-solving  
              and even our ability to “hear” things can be impaired.
              It is a rapidly evolving and changing situation with 
              conflicting sources of information. This creates a situation 
              where attention is constant and fragmented, and at the 
              same time there is no single expert solution on how it  
              may resolve. These two features are what make it 
              disorienting for leaders and those around them.
        “Great leaders in these times, must 
        move people from being in fear, to 
        acting on purpose.”
        With that in mind, here are five actions leaders must 
        “be” in a crisis, and five things leaders must “do” to  
        lead effectively during this time...
           A LEADER MUST BE...
                                CALM
                                      “Anyone can hold the  
                                      helm when the sea is calm.”
                                      - Publilius Syrus
                                 We all know it’s easy to be          range of emotions and a “worst 
                                 calm when things around              case” scenario – so that they 
                                 us are calm, and challenges          aren’t surprised. If they are 
                                 we face are predictable. As          surprised, they need to pause, 
                                 leaders navigating through the       walk, take a break and not try to 
                                 coronavirus crisis, leaders will     power through if they’ve been 
                                 encounter all levels of fear – from  triggered. They must exercise 
                                 heightened anxiety to outright       emotional self-control. If leaders 
                                 panic. While a level of concern      tend to be stressed, critical, or 
                                 is obviously justified, leaders      negative – that stuff leaks out, 
                                 themselves must stay calm.           people can tell. In these times, 
                                                                      people are very aware of their 
                                 Unfortunately, for all of us,        leader’s mood or state.
                                 emotions sometimes are our 
                                 worst enemy. When confronted         Strong leaders display grace 
                                 with an intense situation, leaders   under pressure. They not only 
                                 must first exercise personal         manage their own feelings; they 
                                 control so that they can avoid       help others remain level-headed 
                                 their own amygdala hijack.           and rational in the face of 
                                 They can do this by planning         difficult circumstances and  
                                 for meetings, considering the        hard-to-control emotions.