Margaret Heffernan in seven

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1. How can businesses prepare for the future at such an uncertain time?

The first step is to understand how little of the future can be predicted with accuracy. The second is to understand the difference between work that is complicated – which is linear and where all factors and influences are known and measurable – and the complex, which is non-linear, multifactorial to a degree that all factors can’t be seen at once, and subject to immense change, so expertise can’t always keep up. You should appreciate that the complex is made more dangerous with efficiency and needs human judgement, and the complicated should be optimised for efficiency to free up resources, time and attention for the complex.

2. What can Covid-19 teach us about resilience?

That running entire systems for efficiency amplified dangers and costs. That is one consequence of treating everything as though it should be optimised for efficiency. Resilience in complex systems lies in robustness – having more than you think you need. One reason Germany did so well in the crisis is that its healthcare systems always had excess capacity. Resilience is also maximised if you have built, and sustained, deep, wide networks of trust and social capital; these will prove generous and responsive in times of crisis. In the UK, the absence of any social capital between government and the medical and scientific communities made decision-making difficult, faltering, slow and lacking in credibility.

3. What constitutes good leadership in times of uncertainty?

Good leadership is consistent, competent, benevolent and manifests integrity. Organisations going into a crisis with these qualities can emerge even stronger after. It’s important never to appear more certain than is possible. Don’t reassure with wished-for, but unpredictable, outcomes. Don’t make promises you aren’t 110% confident you can deliver. Be transparent about what you do and do not know, and remember: people will forgive decisions that play out badly if you can explain why and how the decisions were made. 

4. Are senior management teams paying enough attention to research?

They pay very little attention to research, except into the technical matters in the industries they are part of. In terms of leadership or management research, almost no leaders or managers read academic research into these areas.

5. What is the role of insight in addressing a lack of diversity in business?

Insight is helpful anywhere, but only if accompanied by coalition building and action. My own view is that we have spent decades paying lip service to this idea, with very few organisations achieving very much. If we are serious about building organisations that look like the society we serve, hard decisions will need to be taken that, to date, have mostly been shirked.

6. Do you feel the modern workplace has become more open to greater debate and exchange of viewpoints?

No. In general, research shows that employees have many issues, concerns and ideas that they do not voice. That is a theme in my book Wilful Blindness. When things go wrong, it isn’t because no-one knew, but because nobody did anything. 

7. What will be the greatest management challenge in post-Covid-19 workplaces?

The big issue will be legitimacy. Companies benefit from massive public goods – safety, the rule of law, education, health and transportation systems. To the degree that businesses are seen as takers from society, rather than givers, I think the public mood will turn against them. The relationship between organisations and the society they serve needs to be more dynamic, humble and open if we are to use the immense power of organisations to address crises.

Margaret Heffernan is an entrepreneur and writer who has been chief executive of several businesses. The author of six books, and a Ted speaker, she mentors senior leaders and is professor of practice at University of Bath School of Management.

This article was first published in the October 2020 issue of Impact.