What used to be done in months is now being done in weeks and what used to be done in weeks is done in days. Some of the rigour around decision making has, quite rightly, had to be set aside in favour of expediency.  

Balancing relative risks on a daily basis is now commonplace for most leaders. Being aware of what new risks are being created is one thing, how they are managed out over time, when organisations are in a reactive state, is another. Most risk doesn’t just go away and many get worse over time.   

The implications of the pandemic will be far reaching and at some point everyone will need to answer to scrutiny about the decisions that were made in the heat of the crisis, when hindsight will be a wonderful thing.  

Good organisations will have in place programme management disciplines to help manage this, but as a leader is this really giving you the comfort and confidence you need? 

Really good programme management should be able to clearly articulate risk and impact, and to develop workable solutions with operational teams. 

Equally importantly, the information that they provide should allow leaders to make good decisions and understand their consequences. They should ensure that everyone is clear about their roles and responsibilities, that activities are planned, there is adequate resource to carry them out. 

All this must be done with a high degree of sensitivity to the shifting organisational and political pressures that leaders are currently facing, while also being able to document these appropriately. Doing this requires a high degree of skill and experience of working in crisis situations.