How leaders respond to the COVID-19 pandemic will undoubtedly influence the way people live, work and engage with the organisations they work for in the future. The higher someone is on the organisational ladder, the greater the expectation of high levels of trust and moral decision-making. When it comes to authentic leadership, we expect leaders to do the right thing and understand the fundamental principles of right and wrong. It’s about morality in a crisis.
Leaders with a ‘moral compass’ will arguably drive the success of workplace culture into the future
Organisational Psychologist Nicholas Emler (2019) challenges the more technical aspects of conventional leadership, arguing authentic leadership involves courage, loyalty and humility. A ‘moral compass’ is defined by a set of principles and behaviours that support a duty of care and the survival of workplace culture.
People will remember leadership decisions and behaviours long after all this is over
The larger the organisation, the more powerful the leaders and the more vulnerable its workers are. People are currently expected to fulfil their contractual hours and, in some cases, prioritise work over personal and practical responsibilities outside of working hours too.
During COVID-19, the likelihood is that technical mistakes will be made and learnt from. We are living in extraordinary times; people will forgive, forget and learn and improve processes and procedures.
What will remain in people’s hearts and minds long into the future is poor relationships and bad leadership behaviours. Long after all this is over, poor leadership will fundamentally impact engagement levels, productivity, and the mental health and wellbeing of those they lead.
The 5 moral challenges that can seriously compromise leadership and culture
# 1 The attraction of tyranny
Watch out for the emergence of a ‘policing’ culture in which leaders begin to monitor and question workers who are unable to perform effectively during these challenging times.
Milgram’s (1974) research on obedience to authority showed how even the ‘unwilling,’ defaulted to tyranny if told to do so by people in authority.
Aligning with this form of authoritarian leadership will cause workers to feel trapped and disengaged. But hey, don’t worry, they’ll respond by ‘pushing through’ for fear of reprisals or unemployment.
The moral question is: how will leaders refrain from taking advantage of these current and unprecedented ways of working, to influence workplace culture into the future?
# 2 Ensuring fairness
Etzioni’s (1990) leadership and business economics research shows fair treatment matters more to people than getting as much as they can. Unfair treatment has been linked to lower morale and motivation and increased workplace aggression.
The moral question is: how will leaders pay careful and constant attention to decisions made, to monitor its impact on those they lead and resist the pitfalls of favouritism?
# 3 Pursuing a moral mandate
Social Psychologist Michael Hogg (2001) suggests that when people choose candidates for positions of leadership, they not only choose based on relative competence but also on moral integrity. Social Identity Theory predicts that for leadership to secure buy-in, an organisation’s mission, vision and values need to align with the wider collective and this underpins the ability of leaders to influence and support their people.
The moral questions are: How do your organisation’s mission, vision and values align with doing the right thing for the people in their care? Across what ‘rungs of the ladder’ were they decided at? How clear and transparent are they and do they directly and explicitly relate to actual behaviours? And finally, are these values and behaviours obvious to someone from the outside?
# 4 The risk of a mission failure due to poor leadership
The risk of mission failure is a moral dilemma when leaders discourage open discussions on decisions and strategy and fail to see their own limitations. Tetlock’s (1979) ‘groupthink’ research argues that leaders owe it to those who follow them to offer insights into the limits of their own expertise.
The moral questions are: do your leaders believe they are indispensable? Do they encourage and embrace insights from those they lead?
The problem is that leadership positions often attract people with very high levels of self-esteem, a quality seldom associated with clear insight into one’s own limitations. It certainly puts into important context the leadership characteristics of humility, loyalty and courage, previously highlighted by Emer (2019)
# 5 Avoiding collateral damage
Leaders as decision-makers, are ultimately responsible for anticipating the risks that their decisions entail. How leaders make decisions and behave during COVID-19 will ultimately determine both the profitability and brand perception of their organisation.
The retail workers who are being asked to essentially put their lives at risk, whilst their leaders remain behind closed doors and the managers adopting ‘policing’ principles as a way of enforcing task completion, will all face consequences in employee engagement, productivity and wellbeing, post COVID-19.
The moral question is: How vigilant are your leaders in understanding the consequences of their decisions and actions, beyond the explicit goals of their organisation? Do they recognise their personal responsibility?
Future-proofing leadership and culture post COVID-19
How will leadership identify and influence the more negative and counterproductive values, beliefs and behaviours that have been inescapably accepted as ‘normal’ during COVID-19?
Two important factors will require practical and strategic focus after COVID-19:
- Effective leadership development focusing on maintaining relationships, exercising moral judgement, and effective decision-making.
- How to ensure both leaders and their people have the mental, emotional and social skills to remain happy, productive and engaged.
The skills needed to lead through COVID-19 effectively and beyond undoubtedly highlights the importance of developing moral leaders able to build solid and trusting relationships and effectively respond to emerging trends, opportunities and threats.
My question to you is, how moral are YOU?
