What 2020 Taught Leaders

American Lean Weekday: Leadership | Lean Culture & Intrapreneurship | Lean Methods | Industry 4.0 | Case Studies

Let’s talk about what 2020 taught leaders and the rest of us, but first a story.

The Voyager spacecraft was leaving our solar system in 1990 and NASA had it take one last picture since it was leaving our solar system. Voyager was 3.7 billion miles from the sun. What it captured has become known as the pale blue dot picture.

Its impact is more than a picture. It shows Earth from the perspective of the edge of our solar system and how insignificant Earth looked. You can barely see it in the picture below. If 2020 has taught us anything, it has taught us to:

Keep Perspective

If you are reading this or hearing my voice on the podcast, congratulations. You made it through 2020. Maybe you have had family or team members lose someone in their lives. I’m sure you’ve read about the many job losses and changes to people’s livelihood.

Hopefully, you have been spared that kind of impact on your life. It’s easy to complain about the changes you’ve endured as a leader this year. Keep perspective for great things you have had this year and…

Have a role model mindset

It’s more important than ever to act as a role model for those you lead. Given the tremendous strain your employees have been under, it’s important you show them how to act and react when situations arise.

We can’t predict the future, but you can as a leader…

Remain Confident

It’s important to believe you will figure things out. Have the belief you make the absolute best decisions given the information you can gather. Have the confidence your team will follow your direction and do their best to carry out the company vision.

Has your company had to pivot? There are those that have done extremely well during the pandemic because they…

Don’t wait

Did you grow or create when things changed? I hope we are all aware that fortune goes to those companies that take action. Don’t wait till the right time to take action because that time will never come.

Leaders show up

You show up because you want to be a servant leader. You understand it’s important to lead the employees who are lost or have questions. You may not become famous as the pilot Sullenberger when he showed up as a leader in a short time of crisis.

Do it because you want to make a difference in being a leader. Great leaders also aren’t afraid to…

Ask for help

As we transition into 2021 don’t feel like you have to go it alone. Find mentors and others from whom you can learn. Go back and listen to the leadership episodes on my podcast. Hopefully, they have added value to your leadership journey and you can reflect upon what 2020 taught leaders.

As always, it is an honor to serve you, and I hope that you and your company are getting better every day!

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