What the Pandemic Revealed About Great Leaders
THE LEADERSHIP EDGE NEWSLETTER | Your Guide to Exceptional Leadership
January 2026 | 1406 words = ~6 minute read
FROM LAST MONTH'S EDGE on Leadership Effectiveness
1. Leadership is not Management: Leadership is the art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations.
2. You Can't Lead Others Until You Lead Yourself: Your values, beliefs, mental models, psychology, and emotional intelligence are critical.
3. Your Team Wants the Same Thing You Do—And You're Probably Not Giving It: trust in leadership—not pay—is the top driver of long-term employee retention
THIS MONTH'S FOCUS
Hello Leaders! This month, I'm sharing insights about something most of us have stopped talking about—the pandemic. Even though it feels like ancient history, it was a revealing moment for leaders and organizations. The lessons we learned should shape the kind of leader we choose to become.
If this sparks an interest and you'd like to schedule a discussion, you can do so here: Select a Date & Time - Calendly.
Joe Folkman, co-founder of Zenger Folkman, wrote "People and Profits: A Leader's Guide to Balancing Results and Individual Needs." The research reveals something powerful: the high anxiety and uncertainty during the pandemic exposed which leaders actually care about their people and which ones were going through the motions. Joe discovered that small changes in some leadership behaviors can lead to massive shifts in how your team perceives your leadership.
LEADERSHIP INSIGHT 1: THE CONNECTION GAP
Can you name the top three concerns keeping each of your team members up at night?
If you can, you're ahead of most leaders. If you can't, there's a tremendous opportunity here.
The pandemic created unprecedented personal stress. Leaders who stayed curious about what their people were experiencing—not just about deliverables—built stronger, more committed teams. Why? Because retention is a heart issue, not just a compensation issue.
When your high performers ask for more autonomy, they're not asking for less oversight. They're testing whether you see them as people or just as producers. According to Folkman's research, improving just a few specific behaviors around personal connection dramatically increases how much your team believes you care about them.
Here's what's often happening: Your people aren't bringing their real concerns to you. They see you're busy. They don't want to add to your plate. They've heard the open-door policy, but they've also watched you rush past them to your next meeting.
Great leaders don't wait for people to come to them—they go to their people. They sense when something's off. They reach out. They'll miss a meeting if someone needs them. People don't care how hard you work or how much you do until they know how much you care about them.
Reflection Question: When was the last time you asked your people: "What's really going on with you right now" then stayed quiet and truly listened?
LEADERSHIP INSIGHT 2: THE CONFLICT ADVOIDANCE TRAP
Folkman's research identified a critical pattern: many leaders hope interpersonal issues will resolve themselves. Meanwhile, their teams are navigating unaddressed tension that quietly erodes morale and performance.
Here's what often unfolds: Strong-willed employees get their way. Favorites receive special treatment (remember, perception is reality). Everyone else watches and quietly resents it. They become part of the "quit and stayed" group until a new opportunity emerges. Then they're gone.
The opportunity here is significant: Your team needs a highly functional work environment more than they need you to avoid uncomfortable conversations. Your job isn't to be liked—it's to create a climate where differences are appreciated and conflicts are resolved productively. You set the tone.
This requires three things:
Awareness - Notice when conflict is brewing
Urgency - Address it quickly, before resentment takes root
Development - Teach your team to handle conflicts themselves
You can't referee every disagreement, nor should you. But you can establish a culture where people give each other honest, helpful feedback instead of letting resentment fester. Conflict resolution is a learned behavior, and the best teams master it.
Reflection Question: What unresolved conflict on your team could be addressed this week? If you can't answer this, try asking your team: "What tensions exist that we're not talking about?"
WHAT GREAT LEADERS DO: THREE BEHAVIORS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Behavior #1: Develop Your People Rapidly and Consistently
Most leaders say development is a priority. Great leaders actually invest in it. When Jack Welch was CEO of GE, he dedicated 25% of his time to developing people.
Meaningful development dramatically increases engagement because people love learning things that help them excel. Here's the key: development only works when people own their growth. You facilitate; they drive. Help them create stretch goals and give them challenges that matter.
Quick Win: Schedule a substantive conversation about someone's development this week—one that isn't tied to a performance review.
Behavior #2: Walk Your Talk (No Exceptions)
Your team watches everything you do. If you shade the truth, they learn truth is flexible. If you make excuses for missing deadlines, they conclude deadlines are negotiable. If you play favorites, they believe performance doesn't really matter.
Leaders with high integrity don't just talk about values—they hold everyone (including themselves) accountable to them. No exceptions. This is especially critical when helping team members take the high road after they've experienced something unfair.
Quick Win: Ask yourself: Would I be comfortable if my team treated others the way I treat people?
Behavior #3: Make Feedback Non-Negotiable
Ken Blanchard said it best: "Feedback is the breakfast of champions." Yet most organizations have cultures that actively avoid it.
Change this starting today. End every meeting with 30 seconds per person: one thing they appreciated and one thing that could improve. Conduct after-action reviews after every project. Make feedback so routine it becomes unremarkable.
Most importantly, ask for feedback about yourself. Not the vague version ("What can I do better?") but the specific version: "I value your insights. How well do I provide feedback to you? What would make my feedback more helpful?" When you ask for feedback gracefully and act on it, you create a high level of trust.
Quick Win: At your next team meeting, ask for specific feedback on one aspect of your leadership.
THE BOTTOM LINE
High-performance teams don't happen by accident. They're built by leaders who balance results with genuine concern for people, who resolve conflicts rather than avoid them, and who create cultures of rapid development, integrity, and honest feedback.
The pandemic showed us which leaders had already built this foundation. The question now is: What kind of leader will you choose to become? Some more questions for journaling:
How would your team rate your ability to balance results with concern for their needs? Do you truly know what they're experiencing personally and professionally?
How effectively do you facilitate conflict resolution? Are you creating a team that can handle disagreements productively, or are tensions quietly destroying morale?
Would your team enthusiastically recommend your organization as a great place to work? Are they thriving, or are they quietly planning their exit?
GO DEEPER
What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith - How successful people become even more successful
The Leadership Gap by Lolly Daskal - What gets between you and your greatness
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni - A leadership fable