The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted some weaknesses in leadership and changes that need to be made. Some of the leadership benefits to be realized post-pandemic include improved preparedness, better communication, and adaptability to change. The coronavirus has shown leaders the importance of adequate preparation for all situations. The countries that have recorded the lowest death rates instituted stringent measures to curb its spread. It is a testament to the importance of vigilance and preparation (Jin et al., 2017). These two skills apply to government officials and organizational leaders. Leadership post-pandemic will also be marked by efficient communication (Chen et al., 2021). The crisis has shown them the need for clear and efficient communication channels that allow for collaboration. Leaders will strive towards improving the exchange of ideas between themselves and the people they work with or lead. Finally, they will also be more receptive to change rather than cling to outdated ideologies. The pandemic has shown the need to embrace changes such as telecommuting and virtual meetings (Ting et al., 2020). Adaptability is a key leadership change that will be observed in the future.
On the other hand, some negative attributes will persist after the pandemic. First, leaders are likely to continue to push others to work even when circumstances do not allow it. Many leaders did not let their juniors take a leave of absence even when coronavirus cases rocketed. In the future, national leaders are unlikely to institute policies to allow people to rest when the situation necessitates it, while organizational leaders will probably continue overworking their employees despite prevailing circumstances. Another negative leadership attribute that will remain after the crisis is the failure to prioritize people’s health and wellbeing. Some politicians have refused to take measures such as enforcing mandatory mask-wearing and social distancing that would protect their constituents’ health (Guerriero et al., 2020). Similarly, some organizational leaders do not allow their employees to work from home (Diraniet al., 2020). Judging from how a lot of leaders have handled the pandemic, it is clear they prioritize other things over the health of those they lead. Although some positive leadership changes will be realized after the pandemic, certain negative attributes will still prevail.
References
Chen, J. K., & Sriphon, T. (2021). Perspective on COVID-19 Pandemic Factors Impacting Organizational Leadership. Sustainability, 13(6), 3230. Web.
Dirani, K. M., Abadi, M., Alizadeh, A., Barhate, B., Garza, R. C., Gunasekara, N., Ibrahim, G., & Majzun, Z. (2020). Leadership competencies and the essential role of human resource development in times of crisis: a response to Covid-19 pandemic. Human Resource Development International, 23(4), 380-394. Web.
Guerriero, C., Haines, A., & Pagano, M. (2020). Health and sustainability in post-pandemic economic policies. Nature Sustainability, 3(7), 494-496. Web.
Jin, Y., Meng, J., & Berger, B. (2017). The influence of communication leadership qualities on effective crisis preparedness strategy implementation: Insights from a global study. Communication Management Review, 2(01), 8-29.
Ting, H., Ling, J., & Cheah, J. H. (2020). It will go away!? Pandemic crisis and business in asia. Asian Journal of Business Research Volume, 10(1).