Time for out-of-the-box leadership

Is the world ending? Where are we heading? How are we going to run the company? How do you plan for something that nobody planned for? Where ever I go, I am asked these questions. Most people feel dazed and fazed by a world that has stopped making sense. Businesses are struggling to come to terms with this new world disorder.

Employees are feeling anxious and helpless. As I move around in the corporate corridors, I generally find a darkness descending in boardrooms. Intensive and marathon discussions are being held on how to deal with the shock waves reverberating in geopolitics all around the world. Analysts are called in. Experts are consulted. Consultants give debriefs. Result—doomsday, dingy, half-baked predictions that add to the cluelessness.

Why this lost in the maze feeling? Probably because this scale or impact of events has not been witnessed by the generations who are present. Possibly because the actions and reactions of the players involved are beyond any sort of analysis. Whatever the reason, there is a disbelief prevailing. Most people are shaking their head and saying, “Is this actually happening?” Unfortunately, it is. Then there is the debate between “will it go on or will it end soon?” Many say it is likely to last. Others say it is not sustainable. Regardless of its length, the impact is going to take time even if it ends. That means that companies need to accept a few realities. Firstly, there are consequences that are known and then there are consequences that are not known. Secondly, what worked previously may not work now. Thirdly, the waiting-game must end and the doing-game must start. Some of the structural innovations that need to be done are:

Innovation#1: Develop an OOB room- Most companies design war rooms or crisis rooms or emergency cells for such times. I have seen that become a challenge for certain companies. The name itself adds to the stress. Many employees feel pressurized by it. In one company an employee told me “coming to the office is like entering a war zone, it just feels heavy”. Another issue may be that such rooms by definition are working on looking at the problem and may not be very innovative in providing solutions. It will be better to name it as the OOB (out of the box) room. That means that this room is not just about getting updated on the emergency but about thinking to develop new unconventional solutions too. This means the room, its purpose, its deliverables need to be clear and documented. This is a room where people are not “boxed”. Being boxed means coming up with solutions on the normal playing space. These are abnormal times. These times need a freedom to venture outside the box and develop another game arena. The meetings held in this room have to be set with some clear SOPs that generate wider thinking and diverse alternatives.

Innovation#2: Create an MWB team-While there are wars going on in the geopolitical sphere, companies need to fight their own battles to counter these conditions. Companies need to develop an MWB, i.e., Must Win Battle team. This team needs to identify the key areas that are critical to the company. These should be those areas that are the key drivers of the business. They should not be more than 3 to 4. This team should then use the OOB room to have a daily build-up on them. These challenges then need to be worked on the premise that “failure is not an option…there is another solution, we just need to create it”. That is the first standard operating guideline for the room. Just lay the purpose and the guidelines and then let the MWB team work out solutions. These out of the box ideas need to have feasibility screening to qualify them on the basis of executability. Let the MWB team engage other people. The sub-groups within departments can be the circles that also get a chance of contributing.

Innovation#3: Protect through compassion-These are times of burnout and stress. Not just for you but for your team as well. The easiest thing is to pass on your stress to the ranks below. That may give you temporary relief but will not result in getting the team to put in extraordinary effort. Recently, one of the largest software companies in the world fired 30,000 employees over an email. That is an “in the box approach”. More than the act itself, the way they have done it has made many employees feel very upset. The social media is abuzz with this sudden death approach. This is a time which will not be forgotten. Organizations, instead of jumping on the bandwagon, should reflect on the beyond-the-crisis impact. While other companies go on an HR diet, a leader may go the other way. Think about how you can develop employee support fund for emergencies. In COVID, we had such great examples of how companies despite being shut down did not fire employees. The fuel prices have really made transport costly for employees. Try creating pool groups to help people share costs and devise plans to help the ones hit by this escalation more.

Innovation#4: Lead by demonstrating- While companies go on strict rationing, you may choose another path. As a leader you should make an assessment of how you can set an example of cutting costs at your level. One of the companies I work with assessed that if they cut their costs in the C-Suite by 10% they can save a lot of jobs in the lowest level. The leader announced a 30 percent cut to his own salary and requested his colleagues for a 10 percent decrease. This sent such a good message all the way down that people volunteered to contribute to the cause. These are out-of-the-box actions that will spur out-of-the-box reactions.

The travelled road is always easy. It is safe. It is in the box. The untraveled road is risky. It is tricky. It is out of the box. These are not times of normality. These are not times of following the herd. These are times that constitute a fight between the urge to go with the flow or to lead the flow. How a leader conquers this urge within will determine how he will conquer the surge for the path to progress.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026