Canadian HR Reporter

November 2021 CAN

Canadian HR Reporter is the national journal of human resource management. It features the latest workplace news, HR best practices, employment law commentary and tools and tips for employers to get the most out of their workforce.

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56 www.hrreporter.com F E A T U R E S Kartik Kumar is a partner at Legacy Executive Search Partners in Toronto. He can be reached at kartik. kumar@lesp.ca or visit www.lesp.ca for more information. THE past year has been incredibly volatile across all industries. While some industries remained steady and stable, others suffered significantly. As we begin to emerge into a post-pan- demic way of life, new beginnings will always call for new leadership and new perspectives. As restrictions begin to loosen with more and more Canadians being vacci- nated, there are several critical leader- ship qualities and competencies that will serve leaders well in the public sector for a steady, safe and final reopening across the country. Here are nine critical skills that leaders will need post-pandemic: Strong digital communication: As we saw throughout the pandemic, timely and factual information must be distributed to reach large audiences very quickly. Future leaders will need a balance of skills to understand how to best leverage communication platforms and tools such as tweeting and texting for urgent public alerts. Adaptability: As workforces begin to return to the office, new leaders will need to be adaptable and encourage a hybrid model of remote and in-person work. Future leaders will need to embrace this and shift the cultural perspective Transparency and trust: As we saw with scandals, social justice issues and even vaccination delays creeping into 2021, trust was fractured across the economy and Canada. Effective post-pandemic leaders will need to be transparent to build confidence and trust back up within governments, municipalities, public services and more to move past the severe impacts of COVID-19. Tenacity, courage and resilience: Many difficult decisions were made in the pandemic that riddled industries, including the public and private sector. For municipalities to recover from these hardships in the long term, leaders will need to be bold, tenacious and resilient. Future leaders will need to redefine their strategic direction and vision after a year of diversion, delays and disruption, and take these skill sets with them into post-pandemic planning. Motivation and influence: Trust and transparency will be critical to instill a renewed faith in governments and Canada's economy. As we emerge into a more familiar way of life, strong leaders will need to motivate and influ- ence communities to impart a feeling of safety for restarting the economy again. By providing an initial assurance of comfort and trust through transpar- ency, strong leaders will then be tasked with pursuing this momentum and to value productivity over physical pres- ence in an office. Most employees and teams understand the best ways they work and future leaders will have to flex and accommodate accordingly while keeping an eye on productivity. Digital transformation: As work- forces went fully remote for over a year, many organizations were blind-sided by this drastic shift, putting an immense strain on technology and resources. This unexpected transition to entirely digital delivery for services, meetings, events and more will remain with us even after the pandemic subsides. Future leaders will need to champion and continue to support a hybrid model for digital and in-person services to their communities and citizens, even post-pandemic. There are several critical leadership qualities and competencies that will serve leaders well as Canada emerges from the pandemic, says Kartik Kumar of Legacy Executive Search Partners, including transparency, tenacity, empathy and innovation WHAT'S NEEDED FOR LEADERSHIP NOW convincing communities that the end of the pandemic has arrived through influence. Empathy: Even beyond catastrophic pandemic times, strong leaders must always remain empathetic for their teams and communities. To be successful, strong post-pandemic leaders must remain steadfastly empa- thetic and recognize the individuals and stakeholders that were essential to survival over the past year-and-a-half. In addition, effective future leaders must be mindful and recognize the impact that COVID-19 has and will continue to have on society's mental health. By remaining vigilant to these risks and possible side effects, leaders will be able to better support the well- being of their teams and their commu- nities across Canada. Collaboration and partnerships: The pandemic has shown us the true benefits of collaboration and informa- tion sharing. Future leaders will need to heavily rely on partnership for building a new future together. Within the last year, there were key strategies and proj- ects that worked well and others that were less successful. More often than not, collaboration and partnership contributed to Canada's success during a time of volatility and future leaders will need to continue building upon these relationships. Innovation and flexibility: Many municipalities, local governments and even libraries depended upon innova- tion to help them adapt to chaotic and unprecedented times. Post-pandemic leaders will need to lean heavily into innovation which will in turn demand flexibility. Whether leaders are tasked with finding alternative revenue streams, incentivizing workforces to return to the office or even accelerating new businesses to open and return to urban areas, creative thinking and flex- ibility will critical skills to set these initiatives in motion and course-correct the future for Canada's economy. CHRR More often than not, collaboration and partnership contributed to Canada's success during a time of volatility and future leaders will need to continue building upon these relationships. L E A D E R S H I P

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