Leaders’ Kitbag – Coronavirus Edition
Welcome to the April 2020 edition of Leaders’ Kitbag.
For many of you, it may well feel like the isolation we are now leading from has been with us for a while. However for us here in Australia at least, the impact of the isolation policies was not fully felt until after the broadcasting of the last Leaders Kitbag in March. How quickly the world can turn.
This month I’ve tried to balance the content recommendations in two ways. Firstly, I hope to provide some helpful insights on ways to navigate the turbulent waters of today and the immediate term ahead. Secondly with articles in particular that are starting to look more towards the horizon and consider what the world may well be like on the over side of the CoVid-19 pandemic.
One article on social and cultural norms that I read even went so far as to coin the terms B-CV and A-CV – before and after Co-Vid. I dare say for many of us, this certainly will be an event, a period of time, a societal moment that will be deeply etched in our collective consciousness. What we at 4i will of course be focusing on is how leadership is changing and is being impacted by and helps get us through and into the other side of this most unusual of times.
One thing in particular I’d like to invite you to do, which is to join us for a weekly virtual gathering, Leading in Isolation. Timed at the end of the week in Australia, we reflect on the week gone by, sharing experiences and offering advice from a panel on the 4i team. We ran the pilot last week which was well received, and intend keeping a weekly schedule moving forward to offer the best support we can to our leadership community, helping you to build connection with fellow leaders, foster empathy for peers and nurture hope for the better future we can all build. You can sign up here to receive a diary reminder and an email correspondence before and following on from the event sharing any resources we discuss.
As always, if you’d like to keep up with our content and the ideas we are sharing in between Kitbag editions, you can follow us now via these links to facebook, instagram, twitter and our company pages on Youtube or LinkedIn
As always, we hope that the content we’ve created and curated for you this month will be help inspiring you to continue to become a better leader during these challenging times, increasing your leadership impact and bringing some additional light to the world through your leadership during these dark days.
We love hearing your feedback on the articles we’ve recommended, and if there’s anything you’ve come across to watch, listen to or read that you’d suggest we include in future editions, please feel free to reply back to his note with your idea.
Scroll down to find this month’s content,
Be well, lead well, and build a better world,
Tim and all at 4i.
Imagine a better world built by better leadership (including yours).
This content is visionary, strategic or futuristic in nature, looking at the road ahead for leadership.
Looking forward can often be the best, or the only way, to get through a tough time. Here I’ve gathered what I hope will be an interesting range of articles and podcasts that are starting to look through the murky uncertainty of now and assess what awaits us ‘A-CV’.
From one of the most insightful authors I’ve encountered in the last few years, Oxford professor Yuval Noah Harari, you can READ or LISTEN (10mins either way) to an positive and exceptionally well articulated look ahead by in the Financial Times.
This article quoting Dutch thought leader Li Edelkoort (READ 15mins) was contained in another newsletter shared with me by an inspiring leader I’ve recently met, Paul Dunn of B1G1. Given my learnings and experiences around the benefits of defining and living your values, this really struck a cord focusing on how the Coronoa virus pandemic can provide. an opportunity to re-set our values.
More directly related to business activities and work practices, this HBR article (READ 10mins) discusses how this crisis is already re-writing how business will be done in the future, and this one from The Economist (READ 8mins) presents a similar view but highlighting different focal opportunities.
Ignite your potential to lead to your utmost ability.
This content is intended to be pragmatic, actionable and applicable to your leadership today.
If you enjoy these monthly editions, and you’d like to WATCH a quick, daily broadcast aimed I hope at providing actionable improvements to how you lead, you could tune into Time with Tim on Youtube. This past week I’ve focused on Leading in Isolation, sharing my experiences and insights, as well as those I’ve received from my clients as we all figure out how best we can navigate the uncertain market and steer our teams forward. In this post yesterday I review in 5 minutes what I covered throughout the week’s daily episodes, so if any of the areas are of interest you can head back to that post. If there’s any areas of particular interest that you’d like to explore further please do get in touch and I’ll answer any questions you have to the best of my ability.
One way to turn the frown of isolation upside down for me has been to focus on the more creative elements of my role, which benefit from the reduced distraction of the regular work day. There is a precedent for creativity benefitting from isolation, as the SMH noted in this article (5min READ) reflecting that many great breakthroughs have come in periods isolation – the classic Thoreau in the cabin, but also during imposed isolation also, such as Isaac Newton’s discovery of gravity during a plague pandemic.
Immerse yourself in our deep exploration of a focal leadership topic.
We’ve continued our focus on leading high performance teams, and as the Coronavirus impacted through the middle of our 8-week focal campaign, we have orientated several of the articles towards leadership in the current context. You can READ the series of articles by myself and Dr Tom Alan-Livernois here (8 articles, 6-min read each)
If this topic is of interest, Tom and I are also producing a weekly video conversation, TimTomTalks, which we have aligned with the high performance topic. You can WATCH short editions (5-6 minutes) of these on the 4i LinkedIn company page here, or the full length editions (25-35 minutes) on the 4i Youtube channel playlist if you prefer.
An excellent series of podcast broadcasts from Australian broadcaster the ABC – Coronacast is one of the best resources I’ve found so far for factual, applicable and insightful information on managing the impact of the virus. Click here for list of episodes, updated at least daily.
Inspire yourself or others who you may share this with.
Examples of great leadership, in particular what I call ‘Better World Leadership’ from the world at large.
One of the best examples I have encountered of inspirational leadership during the Co-Vid19 outbreak stage have been from the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien. I was first made aware of his speeches by one of 4i’s clients, and I’ve continued to be impressed by the clarity of communication and the reassurance he provides. One example to WATCH here (11mins)
Certainly a longer LISTEN (1hr50min), but if you can spare the time for a thought-provoking, existential and (especially at the end) emotionally charged interview on the Rich Roll Podcast with Dr Zac Bush. Zac combines a unique experience as an MD in Emergency and Palliative medicine, as well as internal medicine, and also leads several not-for-profits orientated towards making the world better through regenerative practices. NOTE – towards the end of the show, Zac expresses an emotional note of gratitude to front-line health professionals, as well as those who have died during the pandemic. If you are grieving the loss of a loved on due to this time, this element of the podcast may be upsetting, or healing, but I wanted to give you a heads up either way.
