How the Pandemic Negated Negative Leadership
An insecure leader I know berates his people and expresses his emotions like a freight train about to derail. The team suffers from the barrage. This leader is smart. Charming at times. Not afraid to be candid. But things turn dark when he’s not satisfied.
Then, the virtual work world of the COVID era changed this dynamic. Relegated to video calls, the leader’s outbursts ebbed. The virtual reality of the pandemic made it nearly impossible for him to rule by outburst.
As a result, what happened to the team? Productivity and sound decision making soared. The leader’s style no longer engendered ill will. He changed in ways he never would have if not for a reality forced by a grim virus.
As the work world returns to normality, perhaps the best advice for this team is to continue meeting via video conference! Who knew that a medium of communication, made manifest in pandemic, could negate a poisonous and negative leadership style?
There was a lot to be said for the way virtual working, or maybe virtual meeting, levelled the playing field and made everyone more equal in their little square boxes. The emotional explosions of the egoist pre and post meetings were no longer spectator sports and and the emotional contagion of the unruly leader was stymied by social distance. A blessing for us all, I think!