The Best of This Week
The week’s must-reads for managing in the digital age, curated by the MIT SMR editors.
Topics
Weekly Recap
During the COVID-19 crisis, we at MIT SMR want to support our readers by offering free resources to help during the pandemic.
MIT researchers and HR expert Josh Bersin have launched a pulse survey on how COVID-19 is impacting organizations. Join the interactive conversation here.
Managing the Remote Work Shift With Peer Coaching
Employees who’ve suddenly found themselves working from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic might be struggling with feelings of isolation and worry — emotions that can make it even more difficult to stay focused and productive. Peer coaching is a powerful tool that can help support employees through this transition.
Good Leaders Need More Than Vision
No one can discount the importance of vision for leadership, but when a leader’s strength rests on vision alone, it can be difficult for a leader to adapt to give employees the support they need in a time of crisis. As Gianpiero Petriglieri writes in Harvard Business Review, “People never forget how managers treated them when they were facing loss. And we will remember how our institutions, managers, and peers, held us through this crisis — or failed to.”
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New Leadership Imperatives for Tech-Transformed Business
Transformative digital technologies are changing every aspect of business, including leadership standards. Successful leaders will evolve in five key ways: They’ll champion inclusivity, learn fast and wide, collaborate more intensely, nurture creativity, and act as digital guardians. Adopting these imperatives today can help prepare you for tomorrow.
Let Go of Your Agenda and Prioritize Empathy
Laszlo Bock, CEO of Humu and former head of People Operations at Google, writes that leaders must prioritize empathy in the short term to have any meaningful outcome from this crisis. In the long term, it’s important to emphasize resilience, both internally and externally. As Bock puts it, “Resilience is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s an imperative for business continuity.”
Managing Social Media Risks to Your Organization
Responsible managers must understand the dangers posed by social media and how to protect their organizations — and they should take a more active role in regulating and monitoring social media activity. Despite increased scrutiny, risky online behavior continues to be a big issue.
What Else We’re Reading This Week:
- Many states’ unemployment systems are built on a decades-old programming language
- Social un-distancing: Why now is a good time to revive your dormant social network
- Why FEMA uses the Waffle House Index as an informal gauge of a crisis’s severity
Quote of the Week:
“As businesses grapple with the COVID-19 crisis, CEOs have a historic opportunity to demonstrate wise leadership and positively reshape the mindsets of their employees to serve the larger good.”
— Navi Radjou and Prasad Kaipa, in “Leading With Your Head and Your Heart”