LAST WORD

FAISAL PANDIT \ PANASONIC SYSTEM SOLUTIONS COMPANY OF NORTH AMERICA GUIDING NEXT-GEN LEADERS

Our top people need to be able to show empathy, to embrace diversity of voice and thought and to maintain an agile mindset.

Faisal Pandit is president of Panasonic System Solutions Company of North America. BY NOW, EVERYONE KNOWS what uncertainty feels like. As businesses continue to navigate Covid-19, it’s increasingly clear that the way we work has been redefined— and digitally transformed for the future.

The distributed workforce in some form or fashion is here to stay, making it increasingly important for business leaders to connect with their people in new and innovative ways. In a digitally disrupted world where company events, on-site meetings and direct in-person touchpoints are not guaranteed, how do leaders continue to lead while supporting business continuity?

The answer lies in three critical leadership skills: showing empathy, embracing the diversity of voice and thought and maintaining an agile mindset.

The ability to recognize emotions in others by showing empathy and to embrace other people’s perspectives, is a critical leadership skill. It’s one I learned at the beginning of my career. Shortly after I started my MBA, my wife had to temporarily move to pursue her three-year medical residency program elsewhere. We had to juggle everyday work with family commitments, training and homework. Fortunately, it all worked out in the end. Having to strike a balance between competing priorities helped me gain a strong sense of the value of empathy. Many of the people we work with have a lot going on behind the scenes; seeing things from their point of view and fostering an open and healthy dialogue can engage the hearts and minds of team members to uncover unique solutions that exceed expectations.

Empathy not only helps build strong internal teams, it enables companies to better understand the people they are trying to reach and realize the needs of their customers. It also allows leaders to predict the impact their decisions and actions will have on their core audiences and strategize accordingly.

Strong leaders also understand that having a range of perspectives, cultures and backgrounds all evaluating the same problem and coming up with different solutions is the backbone of innovation. Successful digital transformation only happens when silos do not exist.

From IT, sales and product development to factory workers, supply chain and customer service, varying perspectives help leaders gain a full grasp of the challenges that already exist or may arise. This enables them to analyze feedback, build out a proper solution and help the company work toward its goals—whether that’s launching a new product, deploying new technology or reaching a wider set of prospects or customers.

When faced with market shifts and changes, strong leaders are never rigid. Instead, they embrace flexibility and adaptability—our approach to embrace a hybrid workforce and allow employees to work anywhere is a great example.

While working remotely, it can be more challenging for employees to power down— both physically and mentally—but it’s imperative to avoid burnout. One way to encourage employees to do so is to lead by example, being open about how you’re incorporating flexibility into your schedule and taking time away from work. Putting this in practice requires strong, continuous conversation across teams.

Strong leaders also eliminate gaps in their companies’ operations by aligning internal structures to support external goals. Digital transformation doesn’t happen overnight— leaders who embrace an agile mindset can make changes to business strategies as they embark on the journey, building a resilient enterprise that’s ready to respond to challenges and solve customer pain points.

When it comes to company culture, organizations that put people first get ahead. They attract the best talent, and as a result, their business flourishes. As the Virgin Group’s Richard Branson says, “Take care of your employees, and they’ll take care of your business.” Simply put, the key to engaging your customers is to engage your workforce.

CE