Trend barometer

Leadership experiences a renaissance during the Corona crisis

During the Corona pandemic, company leaders are again being increasingly called upon to take on leadership roles. This assumption is suggested by the current Leadership Trend Barometer of the IFIDZ.

127 leaders surveyed about leadership

In the online survey that underlies the trend barometer, the IFIDZ wanted to know from the participating leaders what the greatest challenges in employee leadership and communication are during Corona times. A maximum of three answers were possible. Among the top 4, two items emerged from the survey that, in our opinion, are closely related to the deep uncertainty that many employees are currently experiencing.

Challenge: Providing support and orientation to employees

Nearly three-quarters of the 127 surveyed leaders (73 percent) indicated that a central challenge for them is to “provide employees with the necessary orientation and support”; in addition, 55 percent cited “taking sufficient time for employees and their questions” as one of their greatest challenges.

Challenge: Leading employees from a distance

Also among the top 4 greatest challenges were two items that are closely linked to the currently increased need to lead employees at a distance. Nearly two-thirds of the surveyed leaders (65 percent) identified “maintaining relationships with employees in home office” as one of their greatest challenges at this time, and more than half (51 percent) generally noted the task of “leading employees from a distance.”

Challenge: Preserving relationships and team spirit

It seems that in addition to maintaining relationships with individual employees, leaders are increasingly struggling to maintain team spirit under the current conditions. At least 45 percent of them stated that one of their top three challenges is to “preserve the necessary team spirit for performance delivery.” All other challenges mentioned in the survey appear to play a rather subordinate role compared to the aforementioned issues.

The role of leaders is changing as the pandemic progresses

This result is notable, among other things, because in the last Leadership Trend Barometer in March 2020, just after the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, leaders still cited tasks closely linked to their decision-making function as their greatest challenges. For example, 58 percent emphasized that one of their greatest challenges is “setting priorities: deciding quickly and correctly in a crisis.”

This means that the role of leaders has changed during the course of the crisis. While they were primarily asked to be decision-makers immediately after the outbreak of the pandemic in Europe, they are increasingly being called upon to be “leaders” as the crisis continues and seemingly normalizes.

Leadership remains important in the VUCA world

In light of the survey results, the IFIDZ asserts that we can speak of a “renaissance of leadership” in the current crisis. Until the outbreak of the pandemic, there was lively discussion under buzzwords like Holocracy about the extent to which leadership and leaders would still be needed in the companies of the future. However, it has become clear during the course of the crisis: “Leadership must change, but it becomes increasingly important in the digital age and VUCA times.” The IFIDZ also advocated this thesis before the outbreak of the pandemic.

The survey results in detail

We have published the specific results of the current Leadership Trend Barometer below for you. We are planning the next survey for spring 2020. We would be pleased if you would participate again in the online survey then.