Ahmedabad: Prioritizing people over business is the real test of leadership during a crisis like the COVID-19, experts and industry leaders said at a webinar on “Leadership Challenges in a Stretched Covid World” organized by the Gujarat branch of Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) on Wednesday.
“The pandemic has brought to the fore the health and wellness of human resources, which are critical for success of any business endeavour. The pandemic has thrown challenges at leaders as to how they take care of their employees, vendors, suppliers, etc and it was a real test of leadership,” Yatindra Sharma, MD, KHS Machinery Ltd, said.
Others like Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd formed crisis response teams for protecting its human resources.
“We formed crisis response teams to ensure assistance was readily available to employees in case of any health emergency. We also used the pandemic disruption to engage with them through constant interactions. As leaders, we conveyed hope to them, and this is why we could minimize the impact on operations,” said Rakesh Gaur, President of Railway Division at Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd.
Ajay Bhatt, President, Global HR at Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd, said the one thing the pandemic has taught to leaders is humility.
“We have been able to work through the pandemic because of empathy, transparency, expertise, and commitment,” he stressed.
Expressing her views, MICA professor Dr. Anjali Bansal stressed a collectivistic approach, transparency, communication, and tangible rewards to employees during a testing time like COVID.
In his opening remarks, Pankaj Bohra, Regional President of IACC Western India Council, said the pandemic has forced businesses to look for new products, new customers, new distribution channels and new operating method to adapt to the New Normal.
IACC Gujarat branch chairman Shailesh Goyal said the reaction to the pandemic has boiled down to one word – leadership.
“As we pass through an unprecedented crisis in the form of COVID-19, leadership has been put to the test at all levels. The uncertainty of the situation has made the leadership challenge even more complex than it usually is,” he said.
The webinar was attended by members of IACC, industry representatives, academicians, and professionals.