Reaching The C-Suite In A Post-Covid World

What a difference two years makes. Today’s executive is dealing with greater uncertainties, more unknowns, and greater pressures. Whether a chief executive, the head of Human Resources, or a company’s C-suite, each is navigating everything from a hybrid workplace to the Great Resignation and supply change disruptions. Two years into the pandemic, an executive team’s portfolio has greatly expanded to include mental health, racial justice, and the transmissibility of a virus during a global pandemic.

Yet for those who still aspire to join the C-suite, the competition for top jobs is intense. For those with their sights set on the C-suite, it’s time to recalibrate and adjust to a new reality.

A Broader Portfolio of Capabilities

Long before Covid, a leadership team needed to remain nimble to survive today’s fast-paced business environment. Sweeping forces such as globalization, offshoring, and digital transformation have made sure of that.

Yet the pace of change has only sped up over the past couple of years. Covid has had profound impacts on the workplace, as has the death of George Floyd and the racial reckoning that followed. Reinvention and adaptation have become more essential than ever. So, too, has good judgment and decisiveness. Finally, gender and racial equality are critical issues in today’s C-suite.

My advice for managing these times of great change is the same advice I’ve been giving for years to those who aspire to a leadership position: broaden your capabilities to make yourself more desirable. Take an honest look at your strengths and opportunities, and ask for the same from mentors, coaches, and unofficial board of advisors I encourage every aspirant assemble.

No one expects today’s CEO to be super-human. No single human can be the perfect chief executive. Executive teams can complement a chief executive’s skill set.

Yet the broader the would-be executive’s portfolio of skills, the stronger their chances of securing the job they seek.

Showing Vulnerability as a Leader

Mental health is another issue suddenly front and center inside the C-suite. Today’s corporate executive needs a basic fluency in mental health issues as they apply to the workplace. Covid has accelerated a trend that has more employees recognizing that their basic wellbeing is essential and demanding a better work-life balance.

This shift inside the C-suite will provide opportunity for many. The lens through which potential leaders are being viewed has changed, giving an advantage to people with the right balance of executive and emotional intelligence. Good political instincts seem more important than they did just a few years ago, as is an ability to show vulnerability – to communicate empathy and authenticity while still leading.

Organizations are actively seeking to diversify their leadership teams. That will provide greater opportunities for many. The Great Resignation presents another opportunity as people reevaluate their priorities, creating openings for the next generation of leadership.

These are uncertain times for businesses and for the wider world. Those who aspire to a position of leadership need to embrace uncertainty and see the opportunities that uncertainty and change present.

Original Article: (https://www.forbes.com/sites/cassandrafrangos/2022/08/04/reaching-the-c-suite-in-a-post-covid-world/?sh=6f6a79e07379)