True leadership: how to shine in dark times

The enormous human and economic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic is already being felt worldwide.

To fight the contagion, a growing number of countries are taking strong measures that would have seemed unimaginable a short while ago. Severe restrictions to freedom of movement, prohibition of public gatherings and forced closings of public-facing businesses have suddenly created a harsh new reality and uncertain future.

As a business leader, how can you navigate this scary and uncharted territory? The stakes are high. For many companies in the hardest-hit sectors, the decisions they make in the following days and weeks could determine whether they survive at all.

And yet, much of the conversation taking place right now in boardrooms everywhere is focused externally, on keeping up with what’s going on “out there”: the number of infections and fatalities, the latest government measures, supply chain disruptions, etc.

However, we recommend taking a different perspective: Coronavirus is an opportunity calling for leadership. True corporate, institutional and personal leadership. The key question is “how do I choose to respond to this situation?”.

No matter how long this crisis will last, it is undeniable that, from now on, our society will be very different in the way we as human beings relate to each other and the world around us (our way of communicating, moving/travelling, collaborating…), which will have a tremendous impact on the shape of entire business sectors and society at large.