Pivotal Leadership for 2021

The challenges caused by the 2020 pandemic demanded unprecedented responses that few leaders had ever had to make. Across all sectors leaders from business to healthcare to education to non-profits, faced new dilemmas on an hourly or daily basis.

 Pivotal leadership--the ability of leaders to pivot and adapt as their world is disrupting around them--is essential. What does it really mean?

Pivot means to make a fundamental, often abrupt, and rapid change in direction.

 Pivoting is essential to survive or thrive. Leaders had to pivot in 2020 and will continue in 2021.

 Some executives immediately closed their companies and furloughed their employees. Others adopted a “wait and see” stance, assuming the pandemic would end soon.

 But pivotal leaders quickly assessed the situation, sensed what their constituents needed, and responded! They gathered rapid action teams, brainstormed ideas, and quickly created solutions. They designed, focused, and applied on the move! 

 Pivoting takes vision, rapid decision-making, and ubiquitous communication. It’s a commitment to experiment and take immediate action. Time is of the essence!

 Leaders who pivot have a compelling, focused aim and a solid foundation of management thinking to draw from.

 We saw auto manufacturers GM and Ford pivot and produce 100,000-plus ventilators for hospitals. Beer distilleries made hand sanitizers. Luxury clothing manufacturers produced PPE gowns and masks. Schools pivoted to virtual learning, healthcare to telemedicine, and millions began working remote.

Why pivot? Current needs aren’t being met. The status quo doesn’t work. Leaders see a need and boldly jump into action.

 People who continually generate the most creative ideas are the most resilient and likely to pivot, survive, and thrive.

 Pivots Drive Transformation in Healthcare

As with any pivot, Chris Boyd, senior vice president & area manager at Kaiser Permanente, Santa Clara said, “We’re doing things we’ve never done before! For healthcare the pandemic got very real very quickly.” 

 Immediately the leaders at Kaiser identified its needs: safety; PPE; a Command Center; and accelerated and widely dispersed communication.

“At first the projections were so dire, but we succeeded in doubling the capacity of the hospital,” Boyd said. “By the second surge, we were well prepared.”

“Communication was crucial, and it had to be different for everyone. We did video visits with patients to video broadcasts to employees, but we also needed contact with others who were not at a computer.  Executives took a beverage/snack cart and visited staff to address their fears.”

Great leaders are always pivoting, creating, innovating—new solutions and markets! They see a crisis or amazing possibilities and bold opportunities.

Pivot to Social Entrepreneurship and Survival

In March 2020, serial entrepreneur Toby Corey (US Web founder, Solarcity, Tesla) founded GetVirtual.  The Santa Cruz-based organization connects small businesses affected by Covid-19 to tech-savvy university students who could help pivot the businesses online with digital tools. Students receive college credits from partnering universities (it started at UC-Santa Cruz), invaluable experience in entrepreneurship, and an opportunity to give back to the community.

 “The need is extraordinary. Everything is a process,” Corey said.  “There are already 100 students working with 100 small businesses. The students want to be social entrepreneurs. Be intellectually curious and experiment. Altruism is important. Generation Z is very altruistic. Modern thinking is mindful. It’s paying it forward; we’re doing that. We inspire greatness, disruption, and innovation.”

 The mindset of leaders who are able to pivot are focused on growth, the future, and meeting new needs with bold solutions.

IT Pivots As Saviors for Business Continuity

Leaders pivoted for the safety of their employees, contractors, and customers locally and globally. For cloud security company Zscaler, that meant also dealing with a new level of security. “One pivot has been the rapid, higher-level emergence of IT for the business continuity. IT has been a savior,” Kavitha Mariappan, executive vice president, customer experience and transformation, said. “Preventing disruptions, addressing threat activities (100 billion per day), being resilient, and innovating are what we do to protect the ‘crown jewels’ and protect our customers.”

 “We talk to our customers about transformation, and pivoting is critical, for security, safety and scaling for the future. The pandemic was a true test in leadership authenticity and empathy. It’s a time of growth. We accelerated our initiatives and invested more in our people, infrastructure, and customers. We have a ‘rest and recharge day,’ a day to take a break. We’re anticipating, ‘What does re-entry to the office look like?’” 

 Executive Briefing Centers (EBCs) Go Virtual

Industries such conferences, trade shows, travel and hospitality were impacted or devastated in 2020. The initial impact on global executive briefing centers where sales teams meet with customers was also felt.

 Elizabeth Simpson, president of the Association of Briefing Program Managers, reported how rapidly her 600 business members pivoted with each other, “It was a tsunami of sharing! Members immediately asked for resources to go virtual. We didn’t have them, but two members responded with help for the whole community!” She continued, “One of our members, Pam Evans, senior director of the Executive Briefing Programs at Palo Alto Networks, made a powerful pivot with her team. She met with the VP of Sales to say, “We’re open for business. We can take care of our customers virtually.”

 Pivot to Healing and Innovation

Interim President & CEO Bob Linscheid joined the Silicon Valley Organization (SLO) to help the wounded organization get on a new path forward. After an internal upset caused the previous CEO to resign, Linscheid is ready to make a pivot that heals. He is listening to the 1200 diverse voices of the members in the 133-year-old organization.

 “My job is to find the SLO’s path to reconciliation. As the No. 1 most innovative city in the U.S., San Jose is expressing its needs.” Linscheid said. “I’m doing a massive amount of listening to 1,200 diverse members’ voices and processing a lot of information. We have problems to solve, and we’ll be stronger as a group to make a difference. Great leaders hang out in uncertainty, but will be the most innovative.”

 Pivoting a Football Team

From his first day four years ago, Brent Brennan, San Jose State University head football coach began a holistic approach to develop the young men on the team. In December 2020 they won the Mountain West Championship (for the first time since 1991.)

 With 110 players, Coach Brennan defined success by many measures, not just on the scoreboard. They focus on academics, health, training, and engaging with the campus and community. The team supports other athletic events; delivers dinner kits, and visits schoolchildren.

 “Football is the best sport to learn about systems and holistic thinking. The game is a good training ground to pivot. It’s the process, the struggle. The players need to lean on each other.  The pieces come together. The mindset is keep moving forward: go to class, get stronger, make good choices, contribute to the community, deal with setbacks together. Their pivotal growth as a team came when they each started caring more about each other and giving to the team. They are more connected.”

 2021 Pivots

What do you anticipate in 2021? Are you ready to pivot at the speed you will need?  What leadership strategies and creativity do you need? Have you assessed your ability to lead and done your Pivot audit for 2021? It will not be business as usual.

Pivoting means that leaders will transform and go where they never before imagined!