1) The document discusses challenges facing post-pandemic leadership in a world experiencing cognitive overload, polarization, and loss of resilience from the pandemic. 2) It notes how algorithms, biases, and misinformation can spread on social media and lead to more polarized "bubbles". The pandemic further increased divisions and reduced resilience. 3) Moving forward, the author argues for transition management rather than just change management, focusing on building psychological and social resilience through connection, optimism, and shifting culture and mindsets rather than just functions.

1. A post pandemic leadership
model in a fractured world
Some thoughts
and questions

2. about
University of
Leeds
A large University within the UK higher education context
More than 39800 students, 9300 staff members
A world top 100 Russell group university
A values driven university

3. about
University of Leeds
Libraries
Five library sites (four on campus, one off campus)
Brotherton Research Centre
Two public access galleries
c. 310 staff members
Knowledge for All – our vision for 2030

4. about
Masud
A computer scientist by education
Libraries in the DNA
Digital, diversity, and leadership
University Librarian & Keeper of the Brotherton Collection
Director of Learning Spaces (till end 2024)
Chair of Research Libraries UK (RLUK) (till March 2025)

5. Leadership story
is a human story.
But most humans in today’s world have:
• cognitive overload issues
• biases that leads to ignorance

6. Cognitive
load theory
Intrinsic cognitive load
Extraneous cognitive load
Germane cognitive load

7. Cognitive
limitations
Attention Filter
Cognitive Inflexibility
Polarisation
120 bits per second
Two people speaking with you

8. Algorithms?
YouTube Regrets
A crowdsourced investigation into YouTube's
recommendation algorithm
July 2021 - Mozilla Foundation
YouTube, the Great Radicalizer
March 2018 – Zeynep Tufeki – New York Times
Liberals to ‘Moscow Mitch’,
conservatives to QAnon
Facebook researchers saw how its algorithms
led to misinformation
October 2021 – Musadiq Bidar – CBS News

9. Cognitive
vulnerabilities
The Gapminder Foundation
Lies spread faster than the truth
And humans are to blame for it.
March 2018 - Saroush Vosoughi, Deb Roy, Sinan Aral - Science

10. Facts or inherent biases?
The Gap Instinct
The Negativity Instinct
The Straight Line Instinct
The Fear Instinct
The Size Instinct
The Generalisation Instinct
The Destiny Instinct
The Single Perspective Instinct
The Blame Instinct
The Urgency Instinct

11. What happens next?
Connectivity and increased access, without counter-
balancing mechanisms, lead to polarisation.
We see an ever-shrinking fraction of an ever-expanding
amount of available information.
Our instinct is to gravitate towards the familiar –
opinions and sources that support our already-held
beliefs.
Coordinated Science Lab at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
https://csl.illinois.edu/news/illinois-led-study-suggests-opinion-polarization-caused-data-overload
Start living in our own bubble

12. And then the pandemic happened.
It triggered several instincts.
In particular:
• A single purpose & perspective
• A real fear
• An unimagined urgency
• A sense of blame
Pandemic (1/2)

13. Lockdowns
Herd mentality
Divisions and further polarisation
Systematic reduction in resilience
Pandemic (2/2)

14. Resilience
Resilience is our ability to recover
quickly from difficulties or tough
situations. Resilience is not a single
thing, it is a set of qualities that
people can learn, but it is not the
same thing as being invincible or
bullet proof.
Dr. David Westly

15. The biopsychosocial model
Biological Psychological Social
how well can we calm
ourselves down in times of
distress? How well can we
control our emotional
response?
how we think about
situations we are in? Are we
optimistic about situations in
times of difficulty?
how much social support is available
to us? How are we connected with
our communities, friends, families,
through the organisations that we
work for and places we live in.

16. Current
reality
What I am seeing is:
• A tired, frustrated workforce
• Near burnout for many
• Significant acceleration for others
> ! / ?
Cognitive overload Biases & Pandemic Lost resilience Outcome?

17. Post-pandemic
transition
Most organisations do change management,
and HEIs even do that badly.
Many of us underestimate the importance of
transition management during change
management.

18. Transitions
Change is external
Transition is internal
The neutral zone
The new beginning
Endings

19. Fatigue/Frustration conundrum
Fatigue - no psychological safety, little social interaction, less resilience,
more upward delegation
Frustration – red tape coming back, speed of progress slowing down, big
projects and programs, often with the cart in front of the horse
The Great Resignation Era

20. The
leadership
challenge

21. Transition
at scale

22. Purposeful
journey
Psychological and learned optimism
Coordination over consolidation
Pace, parallel over sequential
Urgency and energy bursts

23. Shifts over
transformations
Functional shift
Cultural shift
Mindset shift

24. Systems over individuals
The pandemic was a system change for us.
A post-pandemic recovery, along with industry 4.0 transformations, also
require a system change.
Organisations that can use this system change to create fairer, positive
environments are the ones that will develop resilience and better outcomes.

25. Theory to
practice
Knowledge for All
Forward Plan 2025
Cultural shift groups
Slow but progressive

26. Leading people in a crazy world requires a wide range of skills and
emotional capabilities than ever. A leader’s skillset has to be meta, macro,
and micro; soft and hard; strategic and creative; directional and
executional.
Kevin Roberts, 64 shots, leadership in a crazy world

27. Thank
you