Thankfully, I’ve never been on bed rest. It sounds like an entirely miserable situation. Of course, if the only alternative is death, it sounds pretty good. But even when necessary, patients who come off of bed rest are informed that things will not be as simple as merely getting out of bed and going right back to life “as usual.” Instead, patients generally require physical therapy and all sorts of deliberate care to help them get back to full strength. No one goes off bedrest one day and into a marathon the next. 

My hunch is that too many organizations are tempted to think of the post-COVID reality like that though. To put it another way, the temptation is for leaders and organizations to conceive of things as if we are simply flicking a light switch back on. 

Not only is that assumption naive, but it will also likely prove dangerous to any organization’s health, sustainability, and effectiveness.

Thanks be to God, we are seeing real and measurable victories in the advance against this horrible pandemic. If ever we needed a demonstration of what theologians call “common grace,” this is one. 

So as we move closer to a post-COVID 19 reality, what questions do organizations need to ask right now in order to be fully prepared? Deferring these questions, and the actions that they require, will only prove increasingly costly. Asking the right questions is just the beginning. Leadership demands a willingness to act.

1) What Habits Have We Formed?

Whether you know it or not, your organization has developed new “muscle memory” throughout the pandemic. For example, most companies and organizations have had to incorporate more remote work models than ever before. In some ways, that has brought with it heightened efficiencies. I suspect most of us are more dependent on digital communication in moving projects forward and we’ve drifted away from in-person meetings. That may not be a net negative. Frankly, many organizations get mired down in unnecessary or inefficient meetings. But chances are your organization has also inadvertently developed habits when it comes to internal communication and planning. Leaders would do well to audit those habits, identifying the ones that have been intentionally instilled and strengthened, but also those that have formed unintentionally. They may actually be beneficial and worth sustaining. But if they are costly and undermine your effectiveness, you cannot afford not to identify them and then change them. 

2) How Has Our Market Changed?

Some sectors of the economy are likely to be changed forever. I’ll refrain from speculation on some of those, but we all expect that the airline industry will adapt to a post-COVID 19 reality, just as it did after September 11, 2001. In many sectors, there is the expectation that air ventilation will become a broad concern requiring that companies and organizations significantly upgrade their capabilities. In other words, now would be a good time to be in the HVAC business.

For most industries, the pandemic seems to have actually accelerated pre-existing forces that were already pushing change. That’s certainly the case in higher education. Colleges, universities, and seminaries that once thought they had no need to invest in quality online education platforms learned a painful lesson. At the same time, it seems clear students still long for the irreplaceable experience of being on campus and in community. The “market” is changing though in that the value proposition for students and their families has to be justified. While undergraduate students in particular may still prioritize being on campus and in a physical classroom, they may be far more willing to pursue alternative learning systems if the pricing model is dramatically different. To put it another way, colleges and universities will need to accelerate reviews of their business models, trim the cost to students, and work harder than ever to communicate why their residential model still represents a good value.

3) How Do We Need to Communicate?

I suspect this has the potential to hamstring far too many leaders and organizations. That’s because for many the temptation will be to simply race ahead and assume that everyone else in the organization is following at full speed. The larger and more complex the organization, the more deliberate and more consistent communication. But regardless of size, most of us have put into place all sorts of new policies, processes and institutional instincts that have likely served us well in the pandemic. Moving forward, leaders will have to give clear, specific, and regular communication about decisions being made, timeline phasing, and expectations. If you’re not communicating, you’re not leading. It’s that simple. Thankfully, we have more outlets for internal communication than ever before. Most organizations will need a combination of all of them. However you do it, just make sure you do it. Be clear, be consistent, and be honest. 

But what about your messaging and communication to external constituencies? Businesses are rapidly adjusting their marketing strategies to get ahead of the post-COVID 19 wave, but the same will hold true of non-profit organizations. Perhaps the most immediate temptation is for organizations to get stuck in COVID messaging, reflecting on all that they successfully accomplished in the past year. There are a place and time for that, for sure. But if the bulk of your messaging right now has to do with COVID-19, you are likely stuck in the mud. Your external communication right now needs to signal to stakeholders where you are going and the significant opportunities ahead for growth and impact. 

4) What Personnel Do We Need to Move Forward?

Chances are you’re familiar with how the National Weather Service grades tornadoes. It’s called the Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale and it assigns a numerical rating to tornadoes based on wind speed and expected damage. While rare, a tornado with an EF-5 rating is the most devastating. 

We still do not have a full picture of the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the global economy and our broader social and cultural structures. It seems probable that it is on the scale of 9/11, shaping an entire generation. If it were a tornado, it would carry an EF-5 rating.

That kind of disruption has an immediate impact on organizations when it comes to how they utilize their most valuable resource: human capital. Yes, automation and technology are an inevitable pressure on so much of the job market. But no organization is better than its people. To borrow from Jim Collins’ analogy, now is the time for any healthy organization to make sure it has the right people on the bus, and in the right seats on the bus. That may mean some difficult decisions and conversations to get things aligned rightly. It may seem easier to defer or delay those decisions indefinitely, but that’s an abdication of leadership. If it’s the right decision, then it needs to happen. Just make sure it’s done with integrity and a good faith effort to help people avoid unnecessary embarrassment.

At the same time, your organization may need to staff up and add human capital. You may be anticipating significant opportunities for growth in the near future, but recognize that it will require some investment to capitalize on that opportunity. If leaders fail to seize that opportunity right now, even though it may require investment costs, they will surrender future opportunities for growth.

Now is the time for your organization to do a full personnel review. What gaps do you have? Where do you have underperforming team members who seem unwilling or unable to meet communicated expectations? Who are those team members who are your “best bets” for leadership development and have proven their capabilities in the past year? What’s your strategic plan for the coming year and what investments do you need to make in personnel to get there? If you don’t ask those questions now, you will pay for it later.

5) How Has Our Mission Been Clarified?

In theory, your organization’s mission is relatively fixed. In fact, it should be the driving force that frames and reframes everything else. In some cases, a massive disruption can actually prompt a change in mission. But those really are rare. Even when your industry is transformed and the market realigns, most companies retain a consistent mission. But that does not mean that your mission does not need to be clarified. 

Perhaps the most dramatic example of this is in the dissonance that exists between many organization’s stated mission and their functional mission. The latter is what shows up in your reports, website, etc. In theory, it does not change and it is what pushes your organization forward strategically. But too many organizations are not honest with themselves. Most of the time it is not deliberate dishonesty, but rather a dissonance. 

Mission drift is real and dangerous. It gradually pulls organizations away from their fundamental existential purpose and redirects resources, energy, and focus toward something else. Sometimes that “something else” can seem especially urgent. Or it can be imposed by a broken leadership culture. But whatever the cause, mission drift has the potential to severely sidetrack any organization and, if left unchecked, to destroy it eventually.

Perhaps the most significant question in every sector right now is to ask how market circumstances and context have changed in turn demanding that an organization change to fulfill its mission. Answering that question will likely demand changes in strategy. But you cannot afford to leave the question unanswered.

6) What Changes Do We Need to Make?

This builds off of the other questions, of course. But once you have audited your organization you won’t be able to avoid this question. Leadership means not only identifying the need for change but having the will and the courage to drive change within your organization. That’s easier said than done. But it’s essential. Leaders have to know and communicate what are those core commitments and convictions that are not up for debate. That’s part of the job. But beyond that, leadership falls apart when you identify a problem and then fail to bring a solution. 

You may need to ask questions about strategy. If your mission is unchanged, chances are your strategy--how to seek to fulfill that mission--is going to require some significant review as you emerge into a post-COVID-19 context. I suspect you are already seeing this all around you as a consumer, from disruptions in the food service, airline, tourism, education, and entertainment industries. But if you think that your business or industry is somehow exempt from the disruptive force of the pandemic, you are already sinking. 

A Word for Pastors

Few leaders have had a heavier burden to bear in this global pandemic than pastors and church leaders. We’re all rightly aware of the extraordinary and tireless heroism of frontline medical workers. Those men and women have stepped up and stood out in remarkable ways. But pastors and church leaders have often been the ones called upon not only to provide care and counsel for the afflicted, but also for those left behind with grief. 

But the challenges have not stopped there. Churches have generally been unable to meet together as they normally would. Financial uncertainties have not left churches unscathed. And the corrosion of trust and basic civility in our public life has bled into our churches. Pastors receive complaints from every corner and I realize many are wondering who will be there when things “get back to normal.”

Pastors are called to lead. And the standard for leadership in the church should not be any lesser than in the world. Pastors must ask the right questions and be willing to lead. At the same time, a pastoral vocation is unlike any other profession. 

One particularly powerful illusion for many pastors right now seems to be that things will “go back to normal” once the pandemic subsides and the strains of the past year dissipate. While understandable, reality is a lot more complicated. To begin with, if your church has been plagued by discord, division, and strife, then simply moving beyond Covid-19 will not remedy the situation. Ministers of the gospel should be the first to recognize that external circumstances merely reveal the idols of the human heart. The circumstances may change, but the sinful habits of the heart need something far more urgent: repentance. Pastors are called to shepherd the flock of God in a way that reflects the heart of the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5). 

The most urgent questions you need to ask are about the spiritual maturity of your church. The organizational stuff matters, to be sure. But don’t mistake that for what most matters for eternity. Spiritual leadership demands that you be particularly mindful of the ways in which those under your care are following in the way of Christ. That’s what matters for eternity.