eBusiness Weekly
Arthur Marara
This is the season that most businesses are doing their strategy sessions and retreats. By now, you have read or watched the news. You will be aware that a new strain of the virus that causes Covid-19, known as B.1.1.529, has been labelled the “Omicron variant” by the World Health Organisation and classified as a “variant of concern”.
Majority of Europe has closed its borders to international travellers from Southern Africa and many other parts of the world. Rwanda has done the same. The United States has also done the same. The President has announced a raft of measures to proactively contain the new variant.
Covid-19 is here to stay
This is sadly true, whether we like it or not. Covid-19 is here to stay. We have to learn to live with the virus, and to make decisions in spite of it. 263 million people globally have contracted the virus, and 5,22 million have succumbed to it.
The numbers of new cases have arisen globally. Covid-19 has not brought in a new normal. The new normal is that there is nothing that is normal. What this means is that you and I always have to be on our guard, and lead with this reality in mind.
There is need to accelerate the vaccination drive amongst employees, and also to adhere to the strict standard procedures for Covid-19 prevention. Let us take time to encourage our employees as well to exercise caution during this festive season. Like I hinted in the previous instalment, chances are high that we may pay for the sins of the festive season.
The role of leadership during this period is to prepare our human capital for this period. The future is here, and the time has come for everyone to be ready for the new world that we are living in.
Most importantly, there is need to focus on nurturing competencies that will help the organisation navigate during this period.
So how do you navigate during this period? I shared some thoughts in the previous article on focusing on the controllables. This week I will share four more.
1. Agility
Businesses that are agile are flexible, and responsive to change. With the changing trends in the business world, you need to be agile in order for you to succeed. This is now more urgent than ever before in the world that we live in currently. The pandemic has changed the way people consume and experience products and services as customers, consumers, partners, employees, and humans.
Without doubt, the impact of the disruption is being felt by companies globally. Inevitably, even the way we do business with our customers will change as well.
Companies need to embrace the impact of these changes on the way they design, communicate, build and run the experiences that customers need and want. Agile thinking and quick responses will make or break an organisation. This will set you up in order for you to cater for the evolving needs of the market.
2. Resilience
There are so many demands on your life as a leader, and as a private citizen. Achieving a balance is not always an easy task. Working whether from home or from the physical office is never easy during such a time. You always have to be alert and on guard. This can actually be very draining if you are not careful.
There is also pressure on the people that you lead. In the past years some companies had to terminate contracts of employment in order to remain liquid. This sense of ambiguity and uncertainty around job security, concern over skills and roles being relevant in new normal can often be sources of emotional strain.
What will keep you going in such times is the ability. In these situations, it is critical to build emotional resilience. You will constantly experience setbacks, you need to develop the ability to bounce back from challenging situations. Handy, is also the ability to stay calm and positive, handle stress constructively. This will enable you to see through your work to completion.
3. Forge collaborative relationships
You are not an island, you need other people. This never normal period introduces fresh and challenges of getting your employees to deliver work either from office or from home. Several companies locally have maintained remote working, and the trend is likely to continue with this new strain.
New normal bring in unique challenges of getting work done while working remotely, engaging with new partners to deliver new products and services in an environment with restrictions. There is need to build team cohesion, and to nurture, collaborative relationships within and across teams, within and across organisations.
Achieving corporate goals is going to require that you establish an effective network. We can all ride on the strengths of others, and this will effectively help all of us to achieve our goals and contribute towards the recovery of our respective organisations.
4. Flexibility and adaptability
Adopt or Die! This has always been the reality of life. According to Darwin’s “Origin of Species,” it is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able to best adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself.
We need to build businesses and hire people because of their ability to be entrenched in change — and for them to learn to like it. The most successful employees, managers, and leaders will know that today’s popular product or service will be tomorrow’s history lesson. It starts by being okay with a faster rate of change.
Then, the vision is realised when we start leading by example, showing our employees that change is okay, teaching them as best as we can to embrace it, and creating a culture that loves the possibility that change can bring us.
In order to successfully adapt to the given situation and thrive through it, business leaders need to be open to change. Be ready to unlearn and relearn. It is Alvin Toffler who is credited with saying: “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” This is the attitude for people who want to succeed in times as this.
Have you heard the line about the seven most dangerous words in business: “We have always done it that way.” This is where many businesses are falling behind. They look back frequently at the past and look forward timidly at the future. Do not be attached to the past.
The future of business will be defined by companies that can change faster than the competition — those that can adapt to new market demands and execute accordingly. This isn’t a far-out requirement. We’re already in a world where cars drive themselves, smart phones, and speakers listen and grant our wishes.
Too many businesses are falling behind — or will be — because they’re failing to build change-ready cultures that can learn, unlearn, and relearn to keep up with the wants, needs, and desires of their customers. You need to adjust to changing times.
The key to survival in business today is to be ready to accept that things have changed, and I need to evolve — as an individual and as a professional. Whether it is remote working, or social distancing norms, employees have to be quick to adapt to the new ways of working and living. This culture has to be nurtured across the board.
Arthur Marara is a corporate law attorney, keynote speaker, corporate and personal branding speaker commanding the stage with his delightful humour, raw energy, and wealth of life experiences. He is a financial wellness expert and is passionate about addressing the issues of wellness, strategy and personal and professional development. Arthur is the author of “Toys for Adults” a thought provoking book on entrepreneurship, and “No one is Coming” a book that seeks to equip leaders to take charge. Send your feedback to [email protected] or Visit his website www.arthurmarara.com or contact him on WhatsApp: +263780055152.
