Leadership in Transition

Change is a mandatory schedule for every leader. The current situation amid the COVID-19 pandemic is a real test of organizational leadership transition. No matter what business model is currently running, good management is the key to surviving the transition. The leadership transition is an important momentum that allows organizations to change direction (pivoting) while maintaining momentum and strengthening organizational capacity. Leadership in the current transition period, where almost every local footwear brand is turning its business direction to keep the wheels of its business, will have a unique and complex experience from just a new product launch strategy.

Data shows that 60% of leaders fail to manage a business in the first 18 months of first employment or recruitment (Harvard Business Review). And 46% of leaders are underperforming when working with organizations in transition (AIIR Consulting). This phenomenon shows that the current and future leadership roles will be more involved in handling and managing the company in the transitional period of change. Even among successful leaders, nearly half underperformed during their transition, leading to reduced team productivity.

So what exactly makes the performance decline during the transition period? Data from HBR in 2017 shows that organizations will need 27% more budget to innovate and increase HR capacity than the previous year. From the interviews, managers (60%) required at least 6 months of transition to get the business back to performing well, while 20% needed nine months. From this data, it can be concluded that organizations and leadership during the pandemic will focus on transition strategies.

andemic will focus on transition strategies. Organizations that have successfully escaped from the transition period use a structured plan where all of their resources are maximally supportive of the organization's efforts in the transition period. Back to the current phenomenon, where almost all footwear SMEs including local brands are struggling to go through a transition period. The real test for the footwear business is at this time when sales have shrunk significantly, and the purchasing power of customers is still waiting and seeing. This customer behavior affects the durability of the footwear business. When the pandemic is not clear when it will end, footwear SMEs need a breakthrough in business leadership during a crisis. Whether pivoting or even shifting the business depends on how the administration responds to change.

Tantangan yang dihadapi saat ini adalah lebih dari 70% organisasi melakukan strategi transisi yang sama untuk beberapa kasus. Padahal beberapa perubahan yang terjadi mempunyai agenda isu yang berbeda pula. Sehingga bisa dipastikan agenda bisnis jangka panjang sulit untuk diwujudkan. Misalnya saat melakukan pivoting saat pandemi ini dengan melakukan promosi di sosial media sekaligus peluncuran produk baru yang lebih murah banyak gagal karena belum ada integrasi yang sistematis bagaimana pelaku bisnis alas kaki melakukan transisi.

Ada beberapa pendekatan solusi yang bisa di adaptasi oleh brand local alas kaki dalam menjalani masa kepemimpinan transisi saat ini. Strategi terbaik organisasi adalah dengan  mengatur proses dukungan transisi lebih terstruktur yang memobilisasi sumber daya dan teknologi dan pendekatan inovatif untuk membantu pemimpin dengan serangkaian kegiatan transisi yang berdampak tinggi antara lain;
1.    Memahami dan beradaptasi bagaimana model bisnis organisasi tersebut menghasilkan revenue, termasuk budaya organisasi dan kemampuannya saat ini.
2.    Mengidentifikasi beberapa kekurangan dan membuat hubungan dengan beberapa vendor yang memungkinkan melakukan proses transisi yang sama. Kegiatan kolaborasi ini lebih mempunyai dampak penting bagi bisnis saat pandemi ini.
3.    Menentukan prioritas strategis dan melaksanakan inisiatif transisi. Jika saat transisi ini yang jadi kendala adalah minimnya platform penjualan online, maka prioritas nya adalah membangun platform online yang sesuai dengan karakter organisasi. Atau jika penjualan menurun, bisa melakukan pivoting produk baru yang lebih terjangkau.

Jadi ke arah mana transisi bisnis alas kaki saat ini, akan sangat tergantung dari kualitas kepemimpinan merespon perubahan dan mengelola organisasi. Selamat mencoba.