Crises push leaders to re-examine roles, relationship with stakeholders- WE Communications study

KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 -- WE Communications (WE), a leading global communications firm, has released results from a new Brands in Motion study, ‘Rethinking the Purpose and Meaning of Leadership’.

The research reveals a dramatic shift in executive leadership behaviour, prompted by the global pandemic and ongoing moments of social upheaval, according to a statement.

Citing a year of profound disruption, 86 per cent of brand leaders surveyed say they have become more introspective, while 71 per cent say articulating personal core values and elevating their voice is more important than it was a year ago. “Our research shows that our collective pandemic experience, along with other recent social upheaval, forever changed how business leaders create impact and communicate with stakeholders. Navigating in this transformed world requires a new level of introspection and vulnerability,” said WE Communications Global Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Melissa Waggener Zorkin.

More than half say they have deepened their awareness of personal fears, limitations, defences and impulses, and are working to identify gaps between their intentions and actions.

This introspection has driven executives to identify new ways to lead their businesses in how they show up and impact the world around them.

New behaviours include tuning in and acting on employee concerns and aspirations, as well as engaging a wider than ever community of stakeholders with 89 per cent saying that engaging with issues that affect their employees is a moral obligation.

The research surveyed more than 300 C-suite executives, senior-level managers and key decision-makers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore.

-- BERNAMA