What I Learned About Leadership in 2020

When we remember 2020, we will obviously remember the pandemic and the many challenges our families and communities faced. But for business leaders, 2020 was also a year that tested our leadership day in and day out, and was a year that reminded us of what makes good leadership.

I began the year leading PwC’s New York Metro office, responsible for the health and well-being of the almost 11,000 PwC colleagues based there through the height of the pandemic. Then, in July, I took on a new role leading our Tax practice through a year of historic tax policy changes brought by the CARES Act.

In my inaugural year on PwC’s U.S. Leadership team, here’s what I learned:

1. Communicate what you know—and more importantly, what you don’t

This year, as the world struggled to respond to the pandemic and other very real social challenges, our approach to communicating was stress-tested in real-time. Leaders asked questions like “Am I communicating enough or too much?” and “Are the right messages reaching the right audiences?” “How do I support my people through these challenging times and let them know that they are going to be okay?”

There was no playbook for Covid. No guide. My instincts steered me to provide accurate, up-to-date information to the people I led in New York—but my instincts were not enough. I had to listen to our team and I had to ask for advice. With input from my HR, communications, and operations teams, I talked with our people and I reached out to our clients. My leadership team and I held webcasts, emailed critical updates, answered questions—no question was out of bounds. I was honest with my people when I didn’t have all the answers. That level of transparency—even without all the answers—helped build comfort and trust in a time of chaos.

2. Leadership is a two-way street paved with trust

It seems straightforward, but it’s hard to achieve: Leaders must trust their teams and teams must trust their leaders in return. This kind of trust is earned through many small acts of honesty and courage over time. Over the years, I’ve had many tough and candid conversations with my teams that build the kind of trust needed to get us through difficult times and achieve great things.

One of these honest conversations took place when I was approached to take on the role of Tax Leader. I didn’t see this role in my future, but leaders in the firm quickly reminded me that careers are not always linear. Sometimes they take sharp turns or unexpected twists and that is ok. In fact, I often encourage my mentees to “get comfortable being uncomfortable” and to be “intellectually curious.” So I took the leap of faith amid a crazy year and trusted my leaders at the firm. I now know that fresh perspectives and new challenges can lead to many great possibilities.

3. Culture is even more critical in a virtual environment

In trying times like these, culture is more important than ever. But how do we nurture culture while keeping our people distanced? It’s the one question that keeps me up at night. I’ve learned it’s the simple, empathetic gestures that mean the most, like a quick email or text on a job well done or virtual check-ins even just to ask “How are you?” And the upside of working virtually from home is that many of us were exposed to the authentic experiences our colleagues live out every day, which helped us be more empathetic and supportive of each other.

4. We need to keep investing in Diversity & Inclusion

One of my key focus areas as a leader is investing in and advancing diverse professionals in their careers. Needless to say, diversity and inclusion is an issue at the top of my personal agenda, and the unjust killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, against the backdrop of a pandemic that disproportionately affected diverse communities, underscored the fact that corporate America cannot take the pedal off the gas in our efforts to drive change. PwC has been advancing these efforts inside our own firm for some time, and had experienced this loss ourselves after the killing of Botham Jean.

After the shootings in the spring, and informed by what we learned by losing Bo, PwC made six bold commitments to stand up against racism. In August, we took another significant step in our diversity and inclusion journey and released our first ever D&I Transparency Report. These were important actions in continuing to build a culture of belonging inside and outside our firm, invest in the next generation of leaders, and advance how our firm contributes to the economic development of individuals and communities. I’m incredibly proud to see so many other corporate leaders—including those who are a part of CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion—who are continuing to prioritize this critical area of business, despite the many challenges this year created. The bottom line is that it is not enough for us as leaders to stand up against racism. We need to tackle it as we would any business issue, and not just this year and next, but for every year to come after that.

Carrying 2020 With Us

I know I am not alone when I say that I would like to leave 2020 behind — but as we look ahead to the new year, I am proud to take with me the leadership lessons I have learned through this tough time. Perhaps the biggest lesson of all is that learning has no end game, no “mountaintop” — learning, especially at the leadership level where our decisions affect so many, is a lifelong pursuit. And, most importantly, when the going gets tough, the learning gets good.

This column doesn’t necessarily reflect the opinion of The Bureau of National Affairs Inc. or its owners.

Author Information

Kathryn Kaminsky is Vice Chair - Tax Leader at PwC.