One thing Covid-19 made crystal clear to me is what leadership is really about. I remembered learning about different leadership styles in university; I was asked to reflect on my own leadership style during my consulting years; and I have observed and encountered many good and probably many more bad leaders during my career.

Couple of days ago, I experienced the worst possible leadership: My manager forwarded an e-mail from the CFO with a proposed salary cut and requested me to accept it as the cut wasn't too bad compared to others. That's it. The email also seemed like it was hastily typed, perhaps my manager wanted to get down to a clean inbox and this particular email was in the way.

It was the worst delivery possible. These are extraordinary times, we all know it. But true leaders would have not compared one's salary cut with any other person's cut - because frankly speaking, it doesn't matter. A salary cut is shit. Period. And there is no right-sizing or putting this into any right light. True leaders would have provided acknowledgement of the bad situation, compassion for the cut and encouragement for the future. I made a mental note to express that when I had to tell my own team about their salary cut and I would encourage you to do so too, if you should be in this situation.

On a general level, I realize that excellent business (wo)men don't necessarily translate into great leaders. Most people I have encountered tend to be rationale and know how to run a business, but many suck at managing people.

At its core, leadership is a concept of war. The challenging task of a war leader is to lead people into battle, pump them up even though there is a high chance that they may die. A great business leader is someone who not only is strategic and has a plan, but is also capable of providing guidance, care and --at times-- hope to employees. In my opinion, this is the only leadership style that matters.