Phase 3: COVID 19 Full Site Doing and Being: How the COVID-19 Crisis Has Humanized Leadership

Learn How

Why Leadership Matters More than Ever

Phase 3: The Slow Restart

Leaders navigate the reopening of their organizations from both practical and ethical perspectives

Learn How

“Reopening” looks different for every business and every employee. Some companies have welcomed employees back to the office (in a socially distanced manner), while others remain shuttered indefinitely. Others never closed. Regardless of what reactivation looks like, the reality is that work is different. The environment, the way people interact, and the purpose of the office have likely changed forever. The main takeaway from our thousands of virtual conversations with C-level executives over the past few months is that leadership has changed, with once-confident executives instantly forced into uncertain new roles and responsibilities. More than ever, we believe a leader cannot be successful during this time without utilizing both the “being” and “doing” aspects of their role. Read on for our insights on how these methods of leadership connect.

Doing and Being

Doing

Being

This refers to the actions a leader takes, including making the operating decisions such as hiring and layoffs, spearheading workplace safety, handling finances, and more.

This is the human side of leadership, the essence of who you are and how you connect with and motivate others.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam

Redefine the office

Doing

Doing and Being

Being

Egon Zehnder Chairwoman Jill Ader on Leading with Self

Take care of yourself so you can reinspire your teams

Some people are fearful of leaving their homes, while others are excited to return to the office. Leaders must empathize while also motivating and energizing employees.

Find the tradeoff between care and performance

Different Dynamics

“There is a mental health aspect to consider for those returning to the office. What is that experience of sitting six feet away with a mask on? What does that mean for productivity?”

Dig Deeper

The Reopening Dilemma: Care, Then Performance

Ensure people are physically and emotionally comfortable with returning. This means everything from updating cleaning policies, to supplying PPE, to allowing remote work.

Keep people safe

Dig Deeper

How to Return to the Workplace: A Practical Guide

Boost technology and IT security spending for employees working from home

One audit chair said attempted cyber incursions at his company went from 3,000 per day in 2019 to 260,000 per day during the crisis.

260,000

per day

“We wanted to make the work environment the safest place to be.”

Doing

Doing and Being

Reevaluate productivity

Doing

Doing and being

Being

Emphasize purpose

Doing

Doing and Being

Being

One leader said morale jumped after a staff member recovered from COVID-19 and returned to work. Another CEO shared how difficult it was to call the wife of an employee who passed away.

Connect your organization’s goals to society's greater good

Egon Zehnder Chairwoman Jill Ader on Owning Your Purpose

How purpose helps leaders meet the challenges today and stay true to the their values for the long-term.

Dig Deeper

COVID-19 Accelerates New Business Models

Doing and Being

Recognize employees, telling them how much the company—or the world— needs them

Nearly all of the CFOs on a video call agreed that businesses will be judged by how they acted during this crisis toward employees and stakeholders, not simply shareholders. “There’s going to be a pretty harsh lookback on companies that didn’t behave appropriately during this time,” said one CFO from a consumer products company. “Consumers are expecting companies to play a positive role here.”

Shift from shareholder first to a more inclusive approach

Doing

Dig Deeper

‘Humbled by the Inability to Forecast’: Global CFOs on What Comes Next

A leading UK retailer explained how his company recorded videos of grateful colleagues and customers to share with workers. “The most important thing is connecting to the customer outcomes, to show them the impact employees are having on helping millions of people stay home and stay healthy.”

Dig Deeper

Foundations Look to Fund the Future

The Ultimate Stress Test

“This is your moment to improve lives. It’s your moment to choose prosperity of the human spirit.”

“HR leaders, together with the rest of the leadership team, have an opportunity to refine their organization’s culture around a common purpose, deeply rooted in society, where inclusion, trust, and accountability emerge as core values."

Rethink your talent

Doing

Doing and Being

Being

Develop Rising Stars

“You see people in the team actually step up,” said the head of a chemical company’s China division. “Those are the leaders. You don’t tell them [what to do]; they just step out and get things done.” He is now including these leaders in cross-functional teams that are looking at new ways to work in the post-COVID-19 era.

Observe who emerged as a leader and help them develop during the reactivation

The People Function and COVID-19

Doing and Being

“We may need to reinvent ourselves not only to meet our numbers but to keep every single employee on the payroll.” –Global CHRO

Rethinking How to Deploy Talent:

Dig Deeper

The ‘New Normal’ Is Waiting: Are We Ready for It?

Doing

“In an industry that has a tough time attracting talent, we are also trying to keep in mind the long term, not letting go of, or losing the entry-level talent that will be critical for the future.”

Being

“Taking breaks, being open about exercise and family needs—that’s not the way we normally lead. But these are positives, and I am seeing some leaders in my organization do this.”

It's not just professional wellbeing. Leaders must emphasize communication, empathy, and resilience. Nurturing the full employee allows them to sustain their energy and passion for both their work and their personal lives.

Focus on employees’ emotional welfare

COVID-19: The Only Way Is Forward, Say Italian CHROs

“The dynamic changes required to manage the current crisis have opened the aperture to question other work processes in a way we wouldn’t have before.”

HR Leaders Look Ahead at Implications of the COVID-19 Crisis

Doing and being

Dig Deeper

‘All Firms Will be Remembered by How They Treat Employees and Clients’

“We’ve encouraged team leaders to flex with teams. People are not productive if they feel limited or unable or have other domestic responsibilities.”

Help employees create flexible schedules

This requires “a mindset change for what a productive day looks like,” one HR leader shared. “Managers can no longer view their day as a series of meetings. They must be thoughtful about different ways to engage with and develop their teams.”

Rethink everything from meetings to measurement

Doing

Make tough decisions about permanent employment and paying underutilized employees

Read more reopening insights:

Banking CEOs Work Out a New Normal

Banks are trying to return to a new normal, looking to reopen branches while adapting to a changing world, as Egon Zehnder found out in its latest call with global banking CEOs.

Now What? China-based CEOs on What Reopening Really Means

China is slowly reopening. Egon Zehnder asked a group of CEOs what that means and what happens next.

A Post-Crisis Role for CTOs: Coach

Many sense a new opportunity for the CTO role—one that evolves the position from toolbox to solutions provider.

How the COVID-19 Crisis Is Changing – and Challenging – Humanitarian and Development Organizations

CEOs of NGOs share how the pandemic has changed their views on their organizations and their work in the world.

How leaders and organizations are navigating a new reality

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

Phase 4

Phase 2

Phase 4

Phase 2

Phase 3

Read all of our insights from leaders across geographies, industries, and functions for how they are handling COVID-19.

Egon Zehnder can help you lead through crises.

Get in Touch

Foster a greater sense of belonging and shared sacrifice

Thinking Bigger:

“People are feeling more attached to company values, and to their colleagues, and it will be good to build on that.”

— CHRO, technology company

"Senior management cares, but they talk more naturally about the business pressure. HR’s role is to remind them that they have to show their own concerns and issues to make sure that people see they are concerned about that, too."

— China-based HR leader

— Global technology company CHRO

“There is a mental health aspect to consider for those returning to the office. “What is that experience of sitting six feet away with a mask on? “What does that mean for productivity?””

– Asset management firm CEO

— Senior HR leader

— Humanitarian organization CEO

— Global HR leader

— Jeanne Bliss, five-time Chief Experience Officer

— Global utility company CEO

— Retail HR leader

Dig Deeper

Egon Zehnder’s Global HR Practice Leader Gizem Weggemans spoke with Professor Carl Zangerl, Faculty Director for Graduate Communication and Human Resources Management Programs at Northeastern University, on how the global pandemic is transforming the human resources function.

Doing

Being

Next: Being

Previous: Being

Next: Doing and being

Doing

Doing and Being

Being

Doing and Being

Doing

Next: Being

Next: Doing and being

Doing

Doing and Being

Being

Doing and Being

Doing

Next: Being

Doing

Doing and Being

Being

Doing and Being

Doing

Next: Being

Next: Doing and being

Previous: Being

“We may need to reinvent ourselves, not only to meet our numbers but to keep every single employee on the payroll.”

— Retail HR leader

Doing and Being

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

Phase 4

The Emergency Unfolds

Being and Doing

How the COVID-19 Crisis Has Humanized Leadership

Managing During the Crisis

The Slow Restart

Business Unusual

Being and Doing

How the COVID-19 Crisis Has Humanized Leadership

Phase 1

The Emergency Unfolds

Phase 2

Managing During the Crisis

Phase 4

Business Unusual

Learn more about Egon Zehnder's restructuring expertise.

“We may need to reinvent ourselves, not only to meet our numbers but to keep every single employee on the payroll.”

— Global CHRO

Doing and Being

Phase 1

The Emergency Unfolds

Phase 1

The Emergency Unfolds

Phase 2

Managing During the Crisis

Phase 2

Managing During the Crisis

Phase 3

The Slow Restart

Phase 3

The Slow Restart

Phase 4

Business Unusual

Phase 4

Business Unusual

Doing and Being

Phase 1: The Emergency Unfolds

Phase 2: Managing During the Crisis

Phase 3: The Slow Restart

Phase 4: Business Unusual

Content Lead: Jennifer Reingold, Cheryl Soltis Martel | Digital Project Leads: Luke Sherwin, Kelsey McGillis | Communication Strategy: Stacy Drumtra