Webinar recap: The 3 winning practices for leadership in times of change

Recently we had the pleasure of hosting a lunchtime webinar on the challenges we face as leaders in an increasingly uncertain world. The current Covid19 pandemic, coupled with its after-effects (which will likely bring forward a recession), pose multiple challenges to how we lead our teams and, perhaps most important of all, ourselves.

Responding to these obstacles has been a mixed experience for many. In the recent 2020 Talent Implications Survey, a majority of employees reported that they expect clear goals, better communication, and improved support from the organisation when it comes to task prioritisation.So, how are we even supposed to respond?‍

The short answer is - we need to adopt a new way of working - both as individuals and as an organisation. Josh Bersin, the HR guru, labelled this looming recession a transformation. Successful workplaces will embrace accelerated digital transformation, a faster pace of change, and increasingly data-backed decision-making when it comes to leadership. These new and evolved workplaces will demand effective leadership.To misquote Darwin, it's a matter of 'Adapt or Die'.

Our webinar focused on three tangible practices for leaders, sourced from the experiences of some of our clients, as well as some of Winningtemp's own observations.

Let’s start with PwC. They believe in practising compassionate leadership. I can write a novel around this, but I would rather keep it short and emphasise the need to show humility. Start by trying to understand the perspective of your employees at every interaction. It’s not a new concept, but personally, I sometimes need a reminder of the importance of listening.

Parts of E.on use real-time data extensively within each team (by using Winningtemp, of course!). To guide managers, they have set a range of KPIs to which managers are held accountable. The first one is the survey participation rate to ensure people are heard. Second is a compound measurement, The Company Temperature, covering nine metrics which through validated research from over 600 studies which predict that a team will be high performing and innovative with high levels of wellbeing. Finally, the eNPS, or employee Net Promoter Score, is a crucial KPI as it directly shows how the people in the organisation contribute to the employer brand.

From AddSecure, we learn the importance of working in an agile way with real-time data. They use these trends to touchdown where needed, to target training initiatives, and to quickly see the impact of their activities.

What’s in common for these three organisations is that they use real-time data to support and guide their leaders.

As a starting point, they have the same metrics – The Company Temperature. Winningtemp can use the desensitised datasets to train our AI. The implication is that when you as a leader receive recommendations or tips from the platform, that it is based on what is most effective given the exact conditions and trends in your team, based on the experience of thousands of teams worldwide who have previously gone through something similar.As a final takeaway, we did run a poll about what issues the participants expect to encounter over the coming six months:

Hand on heart, we probably missed the most important option of all. It was clear from the questions and comments that leadership starts from within.

To lead well, our own wellbeing is paramount.Winningtemp can help you as a leader make decisions quickly and with calculated risks by providing real-time insights and data on the impact, helping you both to save time and make better people decisions.

Watch the entire webinar here