The COVID-19 pandemic created unforeseen challenges for business leadership as decisions had to be made quickly with little information. A Crisis Management Team was formed to ensure employee safety and react adaptively to daily challenges. Clear roles and decisions based on expert guidance and authorities' measures were key. While remote work increased, in-person contact was still needed. Managers had to engage virtually to enhance trust and teamwork during this difficult time. Continuous assessment from various perspectives was required to implement optimal measures for business operations and employee wellbeing without disruption. The pandemic fundamentally challenged decision-making processes.

1. The COVID-19 pandemic has unexpectedly overturned the world, creating unforeseen business
and leadership challenges. Nobody was prepared or had the expertise for a crisis like this.
Together with my colleagues, we were faced with having to make fast decisions for an entire
organization with little or very volatile information to rely on.
First step was to activate a Crisis Management Team (CMT). Our primary goal was to ensure a
safe working environment for our colleagues.
Being faced with daily challenges, we needed to react, adapt and in the same time keep the
organization informed. Within CMT we clearly set roles and responsibilities. In the face of the
unknown and ambiguity and we took decisions based on our best judgment and alignment to
authorities’ measures. We had to act boldly, and we asked key experts to join in with their
insights and guidance.
While videoconferencing and remote work was available, many contacts had to be kept in
person. Trust and transparency were vital for supporting effective communication, information
sharing and follow-through on commitments.
Changing of the work paradigm increased the difficulty of decision-making and raised the
potential for conflict. Another critical challenge in the current environment was how managers
can engage virtually with stakeholders and internal team members in ways that enhance trust,
transparency, and teamwork.
All these considered, we had to continuously asses status quo from a complex matrix of
standpoints, in order to implement the optimal prevention measures, update the local guidelines,
provide answer to specific topics, having in mind the wellbeing of colleagues without disruption
of business operations, vital in our industry.

2. Looking back, this pandemic context challenged us to reshape the decision-making process,
considering complex outcomes.