Rethinking Leadership, Reshaping How We Work

 

As we emerge from the fog of pandemic, a vastly different work terrain is coming into focus. In a new remote work reality, how has the challenge of managing change, well, changed? What does distance leadership look like? How can project managers help their teams and organizations navigate these transformative times?

Take a look at how 54 thought leaders are answering these questions, and others, by perusing PMI’s recently published The New Leadership Dyamics, which offers insights and ideas, curated from an array of PMI events or platforms. Together, they show how project leaders can move forward and thrive in a still uncertain future. Following are several excerpts from this thought-provoking compilation:

On testing the limits:

“Our definition of resilience was risk versus preparedness. What we found was that the risks were changing on a daily basis. We found that the traditional linear model of risk assessments and then mitigating actions and things wasn’t working anymore. Our clients sometimes have very little time to make very important decisions.” — Caroline Das-Monfrais, chief strategy officer, EMEA, at FTI Consulting

On leaving your comfort zone:

“You can think about a crisis as an unfreezing—an opportunity to reshape things, to create new language, new institutions and new ways of doing things.” — Martin Reeves, chairman, Boston Consulting Group Henderson Institute

On defining your reality:

“The first role for every leader is to define reality. And once you define reality, then you can come up with strategies on how you want to move your team forward or to execute the project. Right now, COVID-19 is our reality. It is a storm before us. And it calls for a leader who is decisive, highly adaptive and who’s ready to learn.” — Billy Samuel Mwape, PMP, assistant information and communications technology manager at Development Bank of Zambia and TED@PMI speaker

On purpose-driven leadership

“The role of the project manager— or in my language, the facilitator—is to help create a psychological connective tissue. The biggest mistake we make in any type of gathering is we assume the purpose is obvious. Always start by stating the purpose of a meeting. And then connect people to the purpose—and to each other.” — Priya Parker, author and host of Together Apart

Read more great insights from trailblazers and innovators in The New Leadership Dynamics here.