Staying true to who you are
Lisa believes that leaders must thoroughly listen to their inner compasses and be well- grounded in their own beliefs and morals. “When you are true to who you are and never compromise with your beliefs, it is easier to navigate a stormy sea,” she says and adds that she sees many organisations struggling with lack of delegation. “I don’t believe in a lone genius, and therefore I believe that no CEO should make all the difficult decisions by themselves. That is just too much of a risk. Involving your employees in the difficult questions minimises the risk and makes leading much more rewarding. For this to work, you have to make people understand the full complexity of the issue they are facing. If you only give halfway, it’s a more significant risk because they act without the complete information. I don’t think control is a good steering mechanism; I believe trust is a much better steering mechanism. What you will get in return is people’s engagement, passion, lots of ideas, and a great sense of responsibility.”

High pace makes leading complex
Viveka agrees: “The high pace indeed makes leading very complex. There is no time to settle down. You never feel really done with things, and you can never stop and think ‘okay, we got this’. You have to be on your toes at all times, leaning forward and think about what steps to take next. To be able to keep up with the high pace and make sense of everything that’s happening around you, I think it’s necessary for the leader to be very open and curious, to not firmly believe that you’re the one who knows best, or that things need to be done in a certain manner because it has worked before. It’s crucial to get a lot of different perspectives, so a leader should strive to discuss matters with people within their own organisation, from other organisations – big and small – and also from other countries.”

A leadership for the future
While all agree that the covid pandemic indeed has made leading more complicated, they also seem confident that there is a silver lining to it. “In a world where people work remotely, solving communication becomes even more important than before. How do you reproduce the communication and transmission of knowledge that you have in physical meetings? How do you keep the sense of belonging in the team? How do you make sure people feel well? These things I believe will drive a lot of thought and consideration,” Oscar says.

“I think that this new reality has been challenging for almost all leaders,” Lisa says. “The pressure has been high, and the constant connectivity makes it difficult to relax. I am a leader that relies strongly on relationships and energies that appear when you meet in a room. This has not been easy to maintain and recreate over digital means, but I think that I’ve finally found my way. For me, this crisis has made me become even more of who I am. I am more personal, more transparent, and more vulnerable than ever before. Just because for me, there was no other way to tackle a situation as strange as the one we experienced this spring and summer. Of course, not all leaders have managed the merger while trying to find new ways of working for a new multinational team on a distance, but I think many people can recognise themselves in what I’ve experienced. I believe that this crisis has shown that we need a new type of leadership. People need leaders that can translate the ‘why do we do this’ and ‘why should we be the ones doing it’ of our existence into a language that everyone can understand. We need leaders that guide us through uncertainty by making people feel seen and heard while doing it. One needs leaders who acknowledge that people need continuous learning and are not afraid to learn new things themselves.”

Firm believer in Learning Society
“I am a firm believer in what I like to call the Learning Society. Every organisation should add a layer of learning and knowledge-sharing to its existing operational models and that this is the way into the future. As a leader in the future, I believe that you have to feel and act with empathy. I think that pedagogical communication and storytelling are crucial, that leaders have to be skilled critical thinkers, creative, and like to experiment. If you manage those five, you have a solid foundation for tackling the future and finding your leadership style,” Lisa adds.

Emotional part of leadership more important since pandemic outbreak
“I think the emotional part of the leadership has become even more important since the outbreak of the pandemic. Sometimes it’s about being present in a different way, like getting in touch with team members, and sometimes it can be to dare show your own vulnerability. I also think that the pandemic shows and underlines the great challenges we are facing, for instance, climate change. Perhaps even more so in terms of sustainability with the importance of social inclusion. The social gaps we’ve seen increasing for years have during the pandemic become even more evident. There have been rapid changes in the labour market in many countries which has made the importance of investing in upskilling and digital transformation clearer. Everyone should feel that they have a future and I think that these challenges are also leadership issues – someone has to take the lead, to visualise, communicate and act,” Viveka says.