Florin Godean, Country Manager Adecco Romania: “With all great disruptions come opportunities to better your processes and rethink your strategies”

“Don’t waste a crisis – is the message that we kept in mind in all of our actions at Adecco during 2020 and for sure in 2021 it will be the same. With all great disruptions come opportunities to better your processes and rethink your strategies,” Florin Godean, Country Manager Adecco Romania told The Diplomat-Bucharest.

“For the last part of the year I consider the impact of the second pandemic wave to be the biggest concern. The health and wellbeing of our colleagues is the most valuable asset in my opinion. I’m sure that it’s the same for other business leaders as well. For 2021 the biggest hope would be that the vaccines arrive and are available in Romania as soon as possible in the first trimester of the year.”

What leadership skills do you find most useful in the current changing work environment? 

I think that the most useful leadership skill that will help you through these ever-changing times is change management. Recognizing, responding, and managing changes (as they roll out) and making sure that they are in line with your vision in plans is the key to coherent leadership.

Which are the empowering mindsets and building the sense of meaning & purpose, both for employers and employees, to keep each other engaged in reaching the business objectives in 2020 and in the next year?

In order to engage both employers and employees I consider positive affirmations to the most impactful. The power of language is fervently underestimated and many leaders consider it to be a transactional tool. During this year, due to the remote working and physical distancing, language has remained the sole bearer of meaning and motivation for our colleagues. This is why positive affirmations are fundamental for setting the right midframe in order to reach our business objectives.

What should be a CEO’s and leader’s power message on business resilience conveyed to peers, partners, and employees  for 2021, in order to enhance the trust and engagement?

“Don’t waste a crisis” – is the message that we kept in mind in all of our actions at Adecco during 2020 and for sure in 2021 it will be the same. With all great disruptions come opportunities to better your processes and rethink your strategies.

How can a CEO and leader of an organization capitalize on the current challenges to enhance and promote the company’s competition advantages currently?

By not expecting to have the same results as before if doing things in the same way. It’s just a matter of perspective. All the competitive advantages that were relevant before the corona-crisis must be scrutinized if they still attract and convince on the market. If so, a leader must push them forward as being the new norm. If not, they must be rephrased and new, more relevant, advantages mut be promoted.

Which are the current concerns of a CEO / leader in 2020?  Which are the hopes for 2021?

For the last part of the year I consider the impact of the second pandemic wave to be the biggest concern. The health and wellbeing of our colleagues is the most valuable asset in my opinion. I’m sure that it’s the same for other business leaders as well. For 2021 the biggest hope would be that the vaccines arrive and are available in Romania as soon as possible in the first trimester of the year.  

What kind of innovative measures and inclusive leadership initiatives have been applied within your organization this year, to better cope with the current context and bring the business forward in 2021?

Inclusive leadership isn’t that complicated. If you treat all the members of your team fairly and respectfully, and honestly value different ideas this will lead people to speak up, share and collaborate. This type of working together will push the organization forward regardless of the surrounding challenges in this year or the next.