Skillsets of Young Managers in a Post-COVID Era
Professor Rishikesha T Krishnan, Director, IIM Bangalore, in a conversation with Higher Education Review, discussed the changing nature of managerial effectiveness in a post-COVID environment. He emphasized the growing importance of scenario planning, agility, and expediting bias awareness within personal decision making and strategy. Regarding the future of leadership, he expressed the importance of lifelong learning, agility, flexibility, and creativity to provide young managers with the skills to succeed in an uncertain AI-driven world.
With deep expertise in strategy and innovation, Prof. Rishikesha T. Krishnan is the Director of IIM Bangalore and former Director of IIM Indore. An alumnus of IIT Kanpur, Stanford University, and IIM Ahmedabad, he has authored influential books on innovation in India. He has served on corporate boards and national committees, including the expert panel that developed India’s data protection framework.
How has the definition of managerial effectiveness changed for young leaders in a post-COVID world?
In the post-COVID world, managers should visualize different scenarios practically and understand the potential impacts of those scenarios on their businesses or organizations. In this context, scenario planning represents an aspect of strategy development. Another major shift is the biases that influence decision-making. These may include confirmation bias, anchoring, and others. In the post-COVID environment, there is a potential need for managers to be more aware and sensitive to these types of biases to improve their potential effectiveness.
Another dimension in the post-COVID era is risk and risk mitigation. This includes being alert to potential risks, identifying early warning signals, and ensuring business continuity plans are in place. These elements are now considered vital additions to effective management in the post-COVID environment.
Which traditional management skills have become less relevant, and what new skills have replaced them? What digital competencies are now essential for young managers leading hybrid or remote teams?
Fundamental competencies such as leadership, communication, and empathy are even more vital than before. However, additional skills are required to meet current demands. Resilience and agility have become prominent competencies today. One of the greatest challenges for managers today is identifying which generative AI tool to apply in a given situation, and the ability to apply it accurately. Increasingly, recruiters are seeking candidates who can show the ability to apply digital tools, especially GenAI in their work. This reflects a broader trend in the industry, where GenAI and other digital tools are being actively integrated into professional skills.
How can young managers build team cohesion and trust without physical interaction? How important is emotional intelligence in managing burnout and mental health post-COVID?
In organizations, teams that had created a mutual understanding during the pre-pandemic time were generally able to adapt more quickly to remote work. However, employees who were onboarded during the pandemic faced challenges to work virtually, as they had no prior exposure to the organization’s environment or culture. Once in-person connections with team members are established, subsequent collaboration in a virtual setting becomes significantly easier.
Burnout and mental health are growing and serious concern with students and professionals, especially in corporate environments. The prevention of burnout takes a wide range of skill sets and resources. In the physical office, the boundaries of the workday are typically more explicit, and when it goes beyond regular hours, it is more recognized. When the office transformed into a virtual work environment, work could happen at any time, leading to a lack of structure and increased burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In what ways have empathy and inclusive leadership emerged as strategic strengths for young managers? How do young managers prepare for and lead through uncertainty and future disruptions?
One of the key challenges young managers face today is that they are expected to carry more of an expectation in the workplace. When organizations are demanding and do not allow for individual consideration, such as personal time off or flexibility, employees can become disengaged and cynical. Many studies have demonstrated that the younger generations, including Gen Z and Gen Alpha, pay much closer attention to their personal time and work-life balance.
What role does agility play in decision-making, and how can it be developed? How are young managers driving innovation in response to shifting consumer behavior post-pandemic?
Agility has become an essential competency in today’s rapidly evolving work environment. One effective strategy for cultivating mental agility is scenario planning. Organizations can promote agility through job rotation and assisting teams with different training and skill sets. These approaches bring individuals with varied skill sets and backgrounds, fostering a culture of innovation and collaborative problem-solving.
Moreover, the critical element of organizational innovation is finding strategic ways to use the data to understand consumer needs. Today, businesses can track customer interactions throughout their entire buying journey - from an initial interaction point, through the purchase process, and into post-purchase service and support. With this complete tracking, companies can gain a valuable understanding of how their products and services are perceived by their customers. By leveraging data and digital tools in integrated and insightful ways, organizations can stay ahead with market dynamics and drive continuous innovation in a rapidly evolving digital environment.
What strategies are they using to align short-term pivots with long-term business goals? What continuous learning habits should young managers adopt to stay relevant in evolving industries?
Organizations must focus not only on long-term sustainability but also on short-term survival. The difficulty in balancing short-term performance with a longer-term vision is one of the more constant challenges in management. There are many transferable capabilities to address this challenge; one is the organization's ability to quickly and flexibly reallocate resources with the least amount of operational disruptions. Maintaining alignment with the evolving market demands will require a collaborative effort between individuals and organizations.
How can young professionals future-proof their leadership skills in a world of automation and AI?
The operational and day-to-day skills are required to be relevant in a shifting work landscape. Managers can leverage generative AI tools that can provide efficiencies to complete tasks and increase productivity. However, it is crucial to understand the various aspects of these tools and identify which tool is best suited for each specific task. Staying open to innovation, keeping up with advancements, and adopting tools are essential for maintaining relevance in the workplace.
It is crucial to develop sustainable traits such as resilience, agility, adaptability, and creativity. To be an outstanding performer, creativity and the human thought process, which can be enhanced by digital technologies and AI, represent a new way to achieve better effectiveness and greater success. Human creativity, the ability to think outside the box, and the capacity to synthesize information will remain essential skills in the future.
