Why are so many government leaders, corporate leaders, opinion shapers and members of the 4th estate all over the world talking about ”those in the front line” when they talk about healthcare workers and some others dealing with one aspect or another of Covid-19? It appears we are in World War III but didn’t quite realise it because it is not what or how we expected it to be.
VUCA. A term first developed by the US Army War College and applied to military strategy after the end of the cold war denoting volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. A couple of years ago that word VUCA started becoming a popular term in business leadership classes. The military is actually a good place for us to learn how to lead the troops at the frontline of the Covid-19 crisis. The military? Yes.
Many people think that the success of many military units is because fierce hardened people simply obey commands given by even more fierce hardened commanders. Not true. Research has shown the most successful military units in the world are successful because of high trust relationships between the leaders and the troops. How so? In extreme contexts such as war, military leaders who show individual consideration for their teams increase role clarity and develop a trusting relationship with them. These are two crucial factors that support soldiers in coping with uncertainty and imperfect knowledge.
Secondly, in unpredictable situations like war, there is more need for bottom-up communication. The more the workload during times of great stress, the more successful military leaders increase bottom-up communication not top-down communication. This makes the troops trust their leaders more and helps them to clarify what they really need to do (1)
Thirdly, it is important to keep the troops well kitted and cared for. How well are your troops kitted – resources, welfare, personal protective equipment, mental health support …….? Simple like that. This situation is not for a ragtag army.
In a war, the generals are in the situation room doing serious and necessary strategy, making life and death decisions. The troops are on the ground, doing battle on quickly shifting ground with shadowy enemies, facing life and death. Sometimes the ground shifts quickly and in high trust military teams, the generals know that if they have developed excellent unit leaders, they can trust them to make the best decisions possible for their country and for the men and women in their teams. The troops also trust that the generals appreciate “kitu kwa ground ni tofauti” – things on the ground are different but have got their back in every way possible. Including the outcome of decisions made based on a significant VUCA shift on the ground?
In most wars, the military has quite some intel. For the troops in this worldwide Covid-19 war, not so. Many are not even trained for war and yet they fight valiantly, some to the death for love of the cause.
Are you a leader of a hospital, health facility, medical research unit, logistics company, sanitation company, hospital chaplaincy unit, medical equipment manufacturer, pharmaceutical company, government security agency, emergency service, essential service, food retailer, caregiver facility, government ministry, central bank? Actually of any organisation or team or agency that is trying to keep the health and economy going in any way. How are you leading your Covid-19 squad, platoon, company, battalion …….. military?
Change Leadership Chronicles©
(1) Martínez-Córcoles, Konstantinos D. & Schöbel; Exploring the Effects of Leaders’ Individualized Consideration in Extreme Contexts, Journal of Risk Research
