Leaders are optimists by nature. After the first initial shock, they not only considered the risks but also the opportunities emerging from the current crisis. The global taskforce that was managing the crisis at one of the interviewed companies even had a separate workstream for the opportunities that were emerging.
Crisis teams were established, often separate from the board, but leaders were keen to avoid getting stuck in the fire-fighting mode. That mode was necessary early in the crisis, but after that emergency-response, leaders consciously decided to dedicate time to discuss strategy with their team. They embraced the long view.
This is the fourth leadership lesson drawn from 36 interviews about leadership during and beyond corona. Send us a message if you wish to receive the paper with all eight lessons.