COVID necessitated isolation and made ZOOM a verb with a new
meaning. It also precipitated an accelerated and permanent shift to remote/hybrid work which does have advantages for individuals and organizations (convenience, independence, work from anywhere). But these are measures of efficiency, not effectiveness, and organizations are just starting to feel some of the negative consequences of an all-remote workforce.

SIOP always addresses many themes, and emerging technologies is always a huge one. Whitney Martin offers her firsthand account of the conference and the “Skills First” trend of hiring for skills rather than education and experience that has become ubiquitous in HR media over the last 6-12 months.

After 50+ years in the world of work, plus four decades of organizational consulting, I have concluded that the basics of good leadership do persist across time. My first, and best, experience with an everlasting leader was as a young officer in the U.S. Coast Guard. Here’s my story.

With much face-to-face training and coaching still on hold, leader training has faced a challenge. But one technique has not missed a beat during the pandemic: survey guided leadership development, using a 360° survey to diagnose a leader’s strengths and opportunities. OSI continues to support a number of coaches and organizations involved in 360°s. Here’s a consensus from them on best practice for this methodology.

Our abrupt shift in 2020 to remote work seems likely to stay to some degree for countless individuals. This has come with personal and social costs for many. This raises the questions, what are the differences, if any, in what remote teams need from their leaders? How does/should leadership change in a remote environment?

During the pandemic we’ve been fortunate enough at OSI to be able to shift much of our work to remote, safer locations. In my case, I’ve set up shop in our comfortable home library, which we affectionately call the Jumanji Room as it contains mementos of our 40+ years of travel.

The current global pandemic has resulted in an extraordinary need for strong leaders. Citizens in every city, state, and country are desperate for direction and hope. Those of us in the leadership business find ourselves immersed in a remarkable living leadership laboratory.