WHAT CRISIS DEMANDS OF THE MANAGER
 

It was the rare organization that did not find itself in a crisis this past year. Most workplaces, whether private or public sector, small or large, had to scramble as the pandemic hit in early 2020, and they still have to. The young are often left to their own devices, be it at school, university or on first career steps. New priorities asserted themselves, long-established ways of doing things proved unworkable, and in a complex and fast-shifting environment, reliable information was hard to come by. It is in such situations that a manager’s mettle is tested.
 

Your essay should share an insight – based on your experience as manager, entrepreneur or student, or on the observation of an institution you know well – about responding effectively to crisis.
 

What manager or (educational) institution did you see having positive impact? How, and in what way? As you describe their decision-making or behavior, you might also engage with other questions: Why is it hard for others to do the same in similar situations? Is it a matter of traits or training? How could managers be better developed in “normal” times to be more capable of dealing with the next trauma?
 

And finally, could this also be the moment for the younger generation – digital natives who unlike their elders have grown up with societal disruption – to step up and show the way forward? If so, tell us how the younger generation – your generation – could be better (uniquely?) equipped to move us through this crisis and its aftermath.