CEO leadership learning during our global pandemic: voices from the C-suite

Abstract

Purpose – This study answers the question, ‘‘What are the learning experiences and drivers that provide CEOs with the knowledge, skills, and abilities that will allow them to lead their enterprises through crises?’’ Design/methodology/approach – Thirty chief executive officer (CEO) interviews were conducted with two trained interviewers that lasted an average of 76 min. These interviews covered CEO experiences in challenges faced, adaptation, learning and lessons gleaned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Findings – The interview responses were content analyzed to provide ten main drivers of CEO learning during the pandemic.

Originality/value – The size and scope of the pandemic provides for lessons on leadership learning never experienced before. This study provides in-depth insights from CEO experiences during the pandemic.

Keywords Change management, Coaching, Learning and development, Leadership

Paper type Research paper

There’s no getting around the fact that the pandemic has created significant problems for everyone’s business, and we have all had to pivot to solve problems quickly […] quicker than any other time during my career […] I can’t speak for everyone, but I can say that my company has experienced real challenges, and it came down to either learn to solve problems, make adjustments fast, do things entirely different, or get crushed… The pandemic has created the biggest single learning event of my career, and because of it, I believe I have become a better leader. (CEO Fortune 500 Observation

When a crisis, no matter the size or scope, hits any organization, it is the chief executive officer (CEO) who is ultimately responsible for leading the enterprise through that crisis (Aguinis and Burgi-Tian, 2021). When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world during 2020, businesses were suddenly confronted with a “new pandemic reality.” This new reality required CEOs in every segment of the world economy to make rapid adjustments and solve problems quickly or, in the words of CEO quoted above, “get crushed.” It goes without saying that the pandemic caught business leaders off guard and virtually overnight; businesses around the world were forced to realign their business models, adjust their business processes and pivot into “virtual workplaces” and “COVID-19 safe work environments.” The changes required were numerous, rapid and, in many cases, radical. This demanded CEOs in every organization to lead their organizations at a whole new level, which is true in any crisis (Bowers et al., 2017). While most CEOs have had some experience leading their organizations through various business challenges and dilemmas, the scale and immediacy created by the pandemic was previously unseen.

Previous research has found that for a CEO to successfully navigate the waters of rapid change, serious “leadership learning” is required. Stated differently, leaders must possess the ability to adapt, think and act differently to respond to needed changes that might currently lie outside of their experience base (Longenecker and Insch, 2019). Previous research clearly demonstrates that in times of crises, organizations must respond quickly and frequently requires “rapid learning” on the part of senior leaders, regardless of industry, if organizations are to survive (Lacerda, 2019). From that perspective, leaders and organizations around the world have had to adapt their way through the challenges created by the pandemic, and, thus, it has been an unparalleled period of exponential leadership learning. While the TV stations, newspapers, bloggers and the breath of virtual media bombarded all of us with stories and accounts of the difficulties experienced by customers, suppliers and workers during our “viral trial,” surprisingly little has been communicated about how senior leaders and CEOs in particular have “learned their way through the pandemic.” The words of the CEO in our opening quote, “The pandemic has created the biggest single learning event of my career, and because of it, I believe I have become a better leader,” beg the question, “How do these CEOs learn?” Thus, our research question is when an organization and its CEO are confronted with a crisis, such as our pandemic, what are the learning experiences and drivers that will provide CEOs with the knowledge, skills and abilities that will allow them to lead their enterprises through these crises?

To explore this important question, both authors conducted in-depth, face-to-face virtual interviews with 30 CEOs from ten Fortune 500 companies, ten Fortune 1000 companies and ten large multidivision privately held enterprises. The purpose of these interviews was to explore the factors that contributed to CEO leadership and learning through these unchartered waters of our global pandemic. The CEOs that participated in the study represented the following industries: light and heavy manufacturing, banking, financial services, health care, logistics and industrial services and had on average 13.8 years of tenure in the CEO position. Interviews averaged 76 min, and the detailed notes from these interviews became the database for a content analysis conducted by three trained individuals. The observations presented here are ranked in order of frequency from the interview data and will include direct CEO quotes where appropriate:

I think that we have all had to learn to do things differently very quickly and I’m not ashamed to say that I was open to any and all ideas from any source if you could help us fix a problem. We needed information and fast so listening, reading, and connecting with lots of people became critical. (CEO Fortune 1000 CEO Observation)

CEOs candidly discussed the challenges they faced and how they work their way through and conquered these difficult situations. We have labeled these interview discussion points as leadership learning drivers. We will review the top ten leadership learning drivers, including CEO quotes to help illustrate and illuminate these drivers. In addition, we have added a leadership question to each of these findings to stimulate readers’ application of these important learning concepts.

Leadership learning driver #1: working closely with crisis team

One of the first things to take place in organizations at the onset of the pandemic was the creation of a cross-functional, problem-solving team that was to become a focal point and clearinghouse for ideas, advice, recommendations and solutions to the myriad of challenges facing organizations. CEOs were quick to note that creating these “COVID response teams” was critical and quickly became a cornerstone in helping senior leaders frame the scope and nature of issues. CEOs quickly learned how to depend on these teams as a ready source to help track and handle the manifold changing circumstances and problems that came with the pandemic. These teams were typically staffed by influential members of the organization, frequently from many levels, from a wide variety of functional areas. These teams were charged with a wide variety of responsibilities including conducting rapid SWOT analyses, keeping up with government information and regulations, tracking COVID-19 cases within the organization, prioritizing problems and providing recommendations to CEOs and senior leaders. In the words of one CEO, “Our COVID-19 task force provided me with daily briefings which were priceless in helping us understand what we are up against and how to best formulate our informed response.” While CEOs want to have all of the details, many interviewed were quick to point out, that they had to rely on these teams to research and provide these details in summary form, so that CEOs could remain strategic:

Leadership Learning Lesson #1. Are you quick to draw upon and empower the cross-functional talent that surrounds you in your organization?

Leadership learning driver #2: listening and asking questions like never before

Listening always been a critical component of any CEOs job, but the pandemic made leadership listening in the words of one CEO, “a life and death skill set.” As CEOs worked hard to understand the scope and impact that the virus had on their enterprises, they were forced to listen to glean information from anywhere that might help in this endeavor. CEOs discussed the challenge of separating “noise” from “actionable information” which they were quick to admit was a real challenge. Also, CEOs shared that they really needed to listen to understand, rather than to react. Active listening and asking good questions were two paramount activities that allowed leaders to better understand what they were up against and how to best respond. Many of our participants pointed out that their listing skills, in all contexts, have greatly improved because of the pandemic:

Leadership Learning Lesson #2. Are you actively listening to those around you, and are you good at asking the right questions?

Leadership learning driver #3: leaning in on your senior leadership team

Our participants spent a great deal of time talking about the importance of their senior leadership teams taking on challenges associated with our viral trial. Loosely connected senior leaders were suddenly forced to pull together, despite being remote in most circumstances! CEOs benefited by building out better and more effective one-on-one relationships with the members of their senior leadership teams, which became invaluable in navigating the challenges associated with the pandemic. Spending more time one-on-one and in more timely and meaningful meetings became part and parcel of this “leaning in” learning driver. A comment from one of our CEOs captures the essence of this finding when she said, “My senior leaders have really become a real team that I can depend on more so than in normal times […]. I have learned a lot from them during the pandemic”:

Leadership Learning Lesson #3. Are you quick to draw upon the leadership talent that surrounds you in your organization?

Leadership learning driver #4: increased personal thinking and reflection time

As CEOs reacted to the initial wave of the pandemic, they quickly realized that many things were beyond their control and that many of the business problems they had to address were beyond the scope of their experience. Our participant CEOs made careful and frequent reference to the importance of getting away and taking time to think and reflect on what they were doing, how they were spending their time and how they were going to move their organizations forward. Thus, with all the additional time spent with senior leaders and others, it became more important to take dedicated and intentional time for personal thinking and reflection. While many of these CEOs made this activity a priority in normal times, it became increasingly important during the pandemic to be able to think clearly, stay focused, process information quickly and make effective and timely decisions. One CEO’s comment is particularly germane in this context when he said, “Finding time to think has always been important to me during my career, but during the pandemic, I have had to make time to spend more time thinking and thinking clearly”:

Leadership Learning Lesson #4. Are you making personal thinking and reflection time a daily priority so that you can make clear and thoughtful decisions?

Leadership learning driver #5: managing by walking around both physically and virtually

The practice of managing-by-walking-around was made famous in the 1982 bestseller In Search of Excellence by Peters and Waterman. While travel was restricted in the earliest days of the pandemic, CEOs did their very best to get out and connect with people across their organizations both physically and virtually. “I felt it was critically important to get out and move across our organization and be as visible as possible and to be in a good position to share relevant information, answer questions, help people stay calm, and listen to their concerns […]. I preferred to be there physically, but if that was not an option, I used lots of different virtual tools to be able to connect with people.” CEOs stated that they learned a great deal about themselves and their workforces by making a conscious decision to get out and connect with their people at all levels and across the enterprise. Many CEOs reported holding virtual meetings for the entire company to keep them informed and to answer questions, with several stating that they plan to make this a permanent activity:

Leadership Learning Question #5. Do you make it a priority to get out in front of your workforce to share relevant information, to listen to their needs, and answer their questions?

Leadership learning driver #6: candid, transparent and authentic dialogues with customers and suppliers

Of all the problems created by the pandemic, not being able to service customers and an inability to secure critical resources from the supply chain were at ground zero. This situation created the very real necessity for CEOs to reach out to have very challenging conversations with CEOs and leaders of these two categories of stakeholders. While the people our CEOs were reaching out to add their own unique set of problems driven by the pandemic, these problem-solving and brainstorming discussions required all parties to demonstrate candor and transparency in trying to find solutions. “The pandemic really tested our working relationships with both our suppliers and our customers, and needless to say, it required us to walk a mile in each other’s shoes, which isn’t always easy and especially in a crisis”:

Leadership Learning Question #6. Do you make it a real priority to nurture great working relationships with customers and suppliers that are critical to your organization’s success?

Leadership learning driver #7: focused reading, webinars and podcasts around critical issues

As we are living in the information age, the CEOs in the study were quick to draw upon relevant sources of information to help with their decision-making, planning and problem-solving activities. These information channels included access to industry periodicals, financial reports, pandemic updates and governments, among others. In the age of technology, this access came not only through reading but also through widespread webinars and podcasts which made it easier for CEOs to tap into relevant and targeted information. While reading has always been a critical job component for every CEO, in the age of COVID-19, accessing and processing this information became even more so. In the words of one CEO, “In my position, I frequently find myself drowning in information, but during the pandemic I have found myself very focused and intentional in making sure I’m getting my hands on the right information through a myriad of important sources”:

Leadership Learning Question #7. As a leader, do you use all of the relevant informational resources available to you to keep current and properly informed?

Leadership learning driver #8: drawing upon professional networks and boards

The CEOs in our study clearly stated that as the pandemic unfolded, they drew upon their personal and professional networks to help solve problems and answer questions that were pressing in on organizations everywhere. Our CEOs were quick to call other CEOs in their circle to share information, ideas and solutions (even competitors!). Our CEOs were also quick to connect with leaders in professional trade organizations who were in a position to help them deal with a particular challenge. In numerous cases, our CEOs were also board members of other organizations, which allowed them to tap into information, resources and solutions that might not otherwise have been available. It has been said to be successful, “it isn’t what you know, but who you know.” We would amend this by saying to be successful during a pandemic “it’s both what you know and who you know” that allows you to survive and thrive:

Leadership Learning Question #8. Do you take the time to build and foster great relationships with your professional network?

Leadership learning driver #9: drawing upon your board

The CEOs in our study made discussion points around soliciting input from their boards of directors, but not in the traditional sense of presenting and soliciting feedback from the whole board during formal meetings. CEOs cited that they would call upon select members of their boards seeking counsel and guidance around particular issues. CEOs shared that these more informal discussions with board members were appreciated and made them feel more “in the know” and useful during these uncertain times. CEOs shared that they will continue to call upon specific board members’ expertise more frequently even outside of the pandemic:

Leadership Learning Question #9. Have you cultivated effective working relationships with the members of your Board of Directors, as individuals, so you are in a position to draw upon their wisdom on important issues?

Leadership learning driver #10: executive coaches

Finally, a number of our CEOs commented on the fact that they make ongoing use of executive coaching to help with their professional development and personal effectiveness. In the midst of the pandemic these relationships became yet another source of important information, input and counsel to help CEOs navigate the uncharted waters of the pandemic. Our CEOs describe their coaches as, “a trusted confidant,” “another set of eyes and ears,” “a neutral party that knows how I work” and “someone that understands my situation,” among others. Executive coaches served some of our CEOs effectively during the pandemic to help them lead their enterprises forward in an optimal fashion:

Leadership Learning Question #10. Would an executive coach be useful in helping you develop and flourish as a leader?

A time for reflection

Pain is a powerful motivator, and I have to say that pain is also a powerful tool that has forced me and other leaders to become better leaders as we have learned how to navigate the pandemic!(CEO Large Professional Service Organization)

There are three overriding themes in the top ten CEO learning drivers that emerged from these interviews. First, securing accurate and meaningful information is critically important in navigating any crisis. How did CEOs in the study get their hands on this information? They created a pandemic crisis response team, they listened and asked questions like never before in their career, the drew upon critically important relationships with senior leaders, they got out and spent time with their workforce, customers, suppliers, professional networks, boards, and they used executive coaches. Second, they drew upon strong working relationships with important people in their circle. These working relationships proved invaluable in providing leaders with information, advice and consult. Finally, the pandemic caused CEOs to invest extra time thinking and reflecting about what they needed to do as a leader to move their organizations forward. It is only fitting to conclude this discussion with the words of one CEO in this regard, “The pandemic has caused our business to take a step back and rethink almost everything, and I think we will emerge on the other side stronger, as we have all grown and learned a great deal during the pandemic [.. .]. I wouldn’t want to go through this again, but thinking and rethinking about where we are going and how we are going to get there is never a bad thing!” Something for all of us to think about.

References

Bowers, M.R., Hall, J.R. and Srinivasan, M.M. (2017), “Organizational culture and leadership style: the missing combination for selecting the right leader for effective crisis management”, Business Horizons, Vol. 60 No. 4, pp. 551-563.

Aguinis, H. and Burgi-Tian, J. (2021), “Measuring performance during crises and beyond: the performance promoter score”, Business Horizons, Vol. 64 No. 1, pp. 149-160.

Lacerda, T.C. (2019), “Crisis leadership in economic recession: a three-barrier approach to offset external constraints”, Business Horizons, Vol. 62 No. 2, pp. 185-197.

Longenecker, C.O. and Insch, G.S. (2019), “Leadership development learning accelerators: voices from the trenches”, Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, Vol. 33 No. 2, pp. 12-15.