Great Leadership: More than a “cookbook recipe”

In recent months I have seen managers looking for advice, training or a kind of “recipe” on how to lead their teams through the Covid-19 situation. Of course, Covid-19 has changed our lives, the way we work and the way we live. Being a leader in these times is challenging. Some of use might be fearful, while all of us have needed to adjust to the new situation and some of us have had to learn to lead remote teams for the first time in our careers.

In situations like these, following a prescribed path might provide good orientation and can serve as a “recipe” for success. At DPDHL, our leadership attributes involve leading with the Head, Heart and Guts. They also provide the ingredients – behaviors and tools – required to deal with our rapidly changing world. My own experience is that leaders who have the ability to put these attributes into practice really lead by balancing respect and results. At the same time, I have noticed that those leaders who also use their intuition, who can show genuine empathy and care, who communicate openly, who are prepared to share their fears and vulnerabilities really stand out. Not just as good leaders but as great ones. Leadership qualities of this kind are hard to prescribe since they touch on emotions and not all leaders are prepared to be so open.  But during the Covid-19 crisis I have witnessed this more than ever. Perhaps this is evidence that we can all be more open about our emotions once we get out of our comfort zones.   

During the past weeks, I have also learnt that simply talking to colleagues and understanding how they are coping with the situation, what they have learned and what matters to them, can also help tremendously. Let me therefore share six perspectives from leaders across our DHL Global Forwarding business.

For Jennifer Baer (Station Manager, Atlanta/USA) HAVING AND CREATING TRUST is key:

Laurence Cheung (Managing Director, Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos) shared a quote by Benjamin Zander with me:

Lisette Nap (VP Global Sales Transformation and Governance) thinks that BEING POSITIVE ABOUT CHALLENGES, UNCERTAINTY & CHANGE is key and roadblocks can be turned into stepping stones. She said: 

My colleague Sudeep Tandon (VP Airfreight Product Development) believes that these times require leaders to FOCUS ON CLEAR PRIORITIES. He summed it up to me as:

Samson Tingbani (Head of IRR & SE Middle East and Africa) is remaining very RESULTS ORIENTED and told me: 

Eva Mattheeussen (Head of HR DGF Middle East & Africa) shared with me why PROVIDING PURPOSE has been especially important for her: 

For me personally, it’s about living all the attributes and using them effectively at the right time. It will help us emerge stronger and ready for what lies ahead.

What is your favorite leadership model? Do you have a “recipe for success” and has it changed over the past months because of Covid-19?

Published: August 2020

Image: iStock