3 essential elements of leadership for the ‘next normal’

[Editor’s Note: PR Daily has partnered with The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations to develop our newest column, Lessons in Leadership. This column will rotate among Plank Center Board of Advisor members, their emerging leaders network and board alumni, concentrating on moments of personal leadership and the lessons they impart.]

Since last March, our world has been disrupted and our world of work has changed more than any of us ever would have imagined. I started a new role on April 1, 2020, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and I had my leadership epiphany immediately after my onboarding as I prepared a communication for our North America CEO regarding the crisis.

In determining the content, and more importantly the tone of the message, I realized that we were working in a very different environment. What people needed to hear and how they needed to be managed would be changed forever. Our new work environments are characterized by fluid structures, virtual teams and cooperation in networks—and our leadership needed to reflect these changes. Our leadership required a different type of empathy, a heightened sense of support, and a calming effect.