Editorial

Citation

Bajer, J. (2021), "Editorial", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 1-1. https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-04-2021-0014

It's time to stop explaining and start exploring

Dear leader of people during COVID,

It is not just you. Most people are also confused, exhausted and feeling under pressure. But I will not dwell on the explanations behind why we are all feeling this way but will attempt to summarise what is working for me and others, in the hope you will also find what could work for you and your teams.

To lead others under such extreme uncertainty, there are two things you must do:

Build your own resilience

This is neither optional nor a theoretical concept. Behind resilient organisations we consistently find leaders who are looking after themselves. There is no way you can lead others through these testing times while your brain and the rest of the body are busy fixing inadequate sleep, poor posture, lack of exercise or nutrient deficiency. If you are spending more than 4 h a day online, then you need to at least have an hour per day doing something outdoors, finding ways to reconnect with the physical reality in which you (also) exist. You surely heard of zoom fatigue and of the psychological and physical side effects that the continuous social isolation is already having on people just like you.

Have an outward focus

When talking to your team, your family or even to yourself, avoid spending too much time looking at belly buttons. Make sure that most conversations you have are about the value that you and your teams will create in the lives of clients, patients, citizens, users or whatever you call them. Resist the temptation to get stuck in conversations about the difficulties of the context, converting them into ones where the explanations become explorations of what we can build to make the world a better place. Here is the caveat: try to do this through your core business, through your products and services, not as a side “corporate responsibility” box-ticking exercise. This is the time to rethink the purpose of your organisation and ask the question, “What business are we in?” The answer should involve both the need for profit and the drive for outward value.

I hope you will enjoy reading this current issue of Strategic HR Review. Even more, I hope that it challenges and inspires you to stop explaining and start exploring.

If not now, when?

If not you, who?

Warmly,

Dr Javier Bajer

Cultural Architect

Editor-in-Chief, Strategic HR Review