Leading in a dynamic and virtual world | MIT EMBA

The world we live in has changed, and it will continue to change as we navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic. The formidable challenges we face require leaders to develop new capabilities and fresh external perspectives.

Leading during the pandemic — and in the new normal — poses leadership challenges and opportunities requiring different leadership skills and approaches. We need to lead, inspire, and engage teams in a virtual environment. We need to support people through difficult times, recognizing that everyone copes differently. And we need to navigate evolving customer needs, priorities, and circumstances.

The MIT EMBA program prepares leaders to be effective in this dynamic and virtual world. Through classes that build on each other, students learn the frameworks, tools, and lenses needed to adapt to new and uncertain environments. Here are a few examples:

Three lenses

I learned to apply an organizational process framework called the “three lenses” to any situation. The lenses include strategic design, political, and cultural. This framework is really a mentality. Leaders need to constantly assess if the organization is designed in the right way. If not, what changes need to be made? For example, we can use a political lens to examine the impact of remote work on maintaining and making connections. Are we able to continue to maintain a strong social system in a team and organization? How do we make sure work is getting done? We need to balance productivity with sensitivity. And culturally, the symbols, artifacts, and routines at the office are now lacking at home. If employees have kids, they are home too. How are we supporting people in this new normal? Some people find working at home stressful, while others may find it preferable. By applying these three lenses, we can look at what can stay status quo and what needs to change.

The power of questions

An important part of leadership is understanding the power of questions, especially in virtual environments, which are ripe for making bad assumptions. Everyone is dealing with the situation in different ways. Some may assume the way they are dealing with the pandemic should be the way everyone deals with it. Instead of making assumptions, ask questions and show you care and are sincerely interested in what is going on personally and professionally. Expectations have changed as we find new ways to engage customers and do work. We may not be able to engage customers in person during these times, so we have to engage them digitally and that creates new work for people. By asking questions, we can find out how to tailor our approach based on our team members’ individual circumstances.

Asking questions also helps avoid jumping to solutions too fast. It invites team members to provide information that might change your thinking and help you make better decisions. It also helps team members feel engaged, heard, and cared for.

Leading with impact

Leaders must constantly assess what they are doing. This means experimenting with new ways of leading and then reflecting on what worked and what did not work to experiment again. It is a learning loop. No one is ever done evolving as a leader – there is always room to grow and improve to make a bigger impact.Crises can define leaders, but leadership is not static. The learning loop will continue long after we recover. While we try to find the right leadership for now, remember that this is a series of leadership journeys.

How do you lead in a dynamic and changing world?