Lead Upwards

CHAPTER FIFTEENLeading in a Post‐covid World

How do you successfully lead an organization as an executive in a post‐covid world? It's not easy, but there are proven strategies that will help you stay saner and empower your teams and yourself in our new landscape.

When the global pandemic struck in 2020, the trend towards remote work accelerated. Startup leaders had yet another layer of complexity to deal with: navigating a global crisis on top of a rapid change in the work environment.

Many companies shuttered, while others thrived, particularly cloud companies as more businesses switched to remote work and people spent more time streaming at home. At the time of publishing, all companies are reconciling the impact of the crisis on their workforce and how it impacts their systems and work styles. As a leader of people at a startup, you're charged with leading with high standards, authenticity, and empathy, more often than not without being co‐located with many (or any) on your team. By every measure, that's a tough thing to do.

I began a new executive role during the pandemic, and I'd only met three people in person (all prior work colleagues) for the first 18 months of my tenure. Building relationships remotely has become a skill we all need. To truly lead, no matter your office setup, you need to embrace new ways of working that meet the realities of our changing global workforce.

The Women in the Workplace 2020 report¹ published by the Lean In organization in partnership ...