Leadership Lessons from Tesco's Response to Covid-19 Crisis

This study explores the leadership lessons that can be learned from Tesco's response to the Covid-19 crisis. It discusses the complexities faced by Tesco, their responses to the crisis, and the valuable lessons that can be applied to leadership. The study emphasizes the importance of a committed workforce, customer-centricity, and making decisions based on the situation.

Authentic Leadership

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Complexity of Tesco........................................................................................................................3
Responses of Tesco..........................................................................................................................5
Leadership lessons that can be learnt from study............................................................................7
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Leadership can be defined as act and process of leading, influencing and guiding thoughts
and actions of followers and in business organisation leadership is about guiding and influencing
thoughts and actions of employees. As this involves influencing thoughts and actions of others
leaders require to possess several skills and knowledge and this skills and knowledge get tested
in difficult times. Covid-19 is an example of such situation in which leadership got tested. This
study is aimed to answer ‘what are the leadership lessons that we learn from current Covid-19
crisis?’ Tesco will be contextualised for this study and also an organisation that effectively
responded to Covid-19 crisis. Tesco is a British multinational organisation that was founded in
1919 and is headquartered at Welwyn Garden city, England. Tesco operates 6800 locations in
around 10 countries. Presently John Allan is chairperson of Tesco and Ken Murph is CEO and
Ken Murphy CEO-designate. Covid-19 created several complexities for Tesco and this study
aims at discussing lessons that can be learned from Tesco leadership.
Complexity of Tesco
Covid-19 situation created significant complexity for Tesco and this complexity was a
result of crisis that was caused because of global pandemic. Some of the factors that created
complexity or affected regular organisational practices during the time of crisis include-
Managing demand fluctuations- This is one of the most important issues creating complexity
in organisational performance. This means that during Covid-19 crisis demand was highly
fluctuating and in such situation it became very difficult to manage demand. This means that in
some of the areas demand was increasing whereas in some of areas demand was decreasing. In
addition to this demand of food items and groceries was increasing and for other products it was
decreasing. This created significant complexity for Tesco during Covid-19 crisis.
Protecting People- This is one of the factors which is very unusual that during Covidd-19 crisis
it became prime responsibility of Tesco to protect people those who are at stores for shopping.
This means that fear of spreading disease was everywhere and it became very important for
organisation to ensure that they are taking all the necessary steps to prevent spread of disease. In

addition to stores for open for a limited period of time in a day people gathering was also high
and it became very difficult to ensure adequate distance between people and their safety.
Challenges of supply- crisis of covid-19 also affected supply for retailers and Tesco also get
affected by this. Because of lockdownand disruption caused by pandemic supply was
significantly affected and this supply was more challenging for food items in retail store. Panic
buying of consumers resulted in stock outs and in this long term supply was a bigger challenge
then short term supply. It became very difficult to maintain a flow of supply when it involved it
more geographical areas and subsectors. This is because during some of the areas were
completely closed and maintaining a supply chain in such situation was a big challenge.
Staying connected when customers are not shopping- covid-19 crisis brought new challenges
for Tesco but it does not reduced or eliminated challenges that organisation are facing on regular
basis. This is a challenge that is concerned with connecting with customers. It is easy for
organisations to stay connected with customers when they are regularly shopping but in a
situation when customers are not shopping it became very difficult for Tesco to remain
connected with its customers. This is very important to ensure that customers remain loyal once
the crisis is over and crisis does not have long term impact on Tesco.
Enhancing quality of digital performance- Digital mediums became important than ever
during covid-19 crisis. The reason is that even those people who like to go out and shop in stores
were unable to do so and they could only be served digitally by Tesco. This increased digital
engagement of customers of Tesco and required company to ensure high quality of digital
performance. This means that more customers were prioritizing online shopping and in this
situation having effective data strategy was also important for Tesco.
Closing of physical stores- This is another issue caused by covid-19 crisis and cause of crisis
several physical stores have been closed and Tesco has also faced this issue. This is because in
many of the places stores were closed because of Government orders and in some of the areas
stores were closed as a measure to avoid unnecessary social contact.
Dealing with reduced to moral of employees during covid-19- Covid-19 crisis was highly
stressful situation and during this situation it became very important to ensure high morale of the
employees of Tesco. This is a great challenge for leaders to maintain high morale of employees

during a crisis because crisis situation like covid-19 bring stress and anxiety for everyone and
also affect employees. This is because employees were working in a situation that was very risky
and fear of disease was always there and in such situation it became stressful for employees.
Remote working- Remote working is concerned with employees working on different places
rather than working together in one office. During covid-19 crisis finance team of Tesco was
working remotely and this was also an issue because when workers are working remotely it
creates complications in communication and coordination in organisation.
Operational changes- Another issue the disco faced during covid-19 crisis was that big level of
operational changes were required to implement frequently and in less time. This was a big
challenge for organisation and leadership to prepare everything according to requirement of
situation. This included changes in working hours, changes in normal retail practices of Tesco
and support and role of store workers was also changed.
Discussion suggests that Tesco was greatly affected by covid-19 crisis and there were
several issues that contributed and increasing complexity of Tesco. Issues suggested that mainly
situations required effective decision-making and action-taking abilities and this was only
possible by having strong leadership for organisation.
Responses of Tesco
In order to deal with complexities and critical situation and reduce its impact on
organisation specifically in long term it is very important to respond it adequately. Tesco was
one of the organisations that took right actions to deal with covid-19 situation. Responses of
Tesco are as follows-
Preparedness of Tesco- It is very important that organisations are prepared in advance in order
to deal with future challenges but situation of covid-19 was something that could have been
predicted in advanced. In such situation Tesco was prepared and did not required to change or
pivot anything. During covid-19 Tesco accelerated actions that it was planning to do before
covid-19 started and this helped Tesco in effectively dealing with covid-19 crisis.
In order to deal with covid-19 situation and help in steer strategy of organisation some of the
priorities of Tesco are as follows-

Safety for all- During covid-19 safety was one of the most important priorities and in its
approach to respond to crisis Tesco ensured that it keeps safety at first priority. Safety for all
approach included safety for customers as well as safety for employees in Tesco. In order to
ensure safety for all Tesco worked on maintaining adequate distance between customers. In
addition to this adequate practices were taken to ensure safety inside stories of Tesco by
regularly disinfecting. In addition to this other measures for safety from covid-19 was also
considered so that employees working within Tesco as well as those who are coming to shop at
Tesco are safe. Having strong focus on safety create confidence in customers that they can safely
go and shop at Tesco without significant fear of speeding disease while they go out on shopping.
This way Tesco maintained safety as well as trust of customers on Tesco. In order to ensure
safety Tesco had a system that monitored flow of customers in this store and in this Vin number
of customers exceeds the maximum allowed then red light will show. When it becomes safe for
customers to enter store it will show green light. Along with this in order to highlight safety
measures in stores of Tesco, company also filmed an advertisement.
Food for all- In covid-19 crisis food became one of the top requirements for everyone and this is
why Tesco focused on providing food to everyone in its respond to covid-19 crisis. Food also
became a product that people were panic buying and this is why it became difficult for Tesco as
well to ensure adequate stock for food products but it focused on its approach of food for all.
Panic buying refers to purchase being made by customers more than they require because due to
covid-19 it became difficult for them to shop again frequently. This way Tesco responded to
crisis of covid-19 and ensured it can cope up with challenges created by crisis. Food for all was
an very important element to ensure that customers have trust in Tesco and its services that they
will get required food products at Tesco. This is because at many places food items were out of
stock and became a reason for stress for public in general. Ensuring food for all Tesco also
introduced some new practices in which they provided a service in which one customer could
buy for other customers who were in Quarantine or not able to go out and buy required products.
In its respond to covid-19 crisis by food for all the insured having good stock levels and also
increased customers to shop as they normally would shop so that everyone can get products as
per their requirement. In order to support vulnerable customers they asked customers to shop
safely in store rather than online so that online slots for vulnerable customers can remain free. In

this respond Tesco give priority access to its stores to help NHS emergency service and care
workers so that they can shop whenever they have time.
Support colleagues- This was another important approach adopted by Tesco in order to deal
with crisis of covid-19. Employees play most important role in performance and successful
achievement of organisational objectives and this is why it is very important that during difficult
times they are also gives required support. Tesco ensured that in times of difficulty its employees
and colleagues do not get neglected and their interest is also is safe from the side of Tesco. This
involved supporting employees and knowing what they think about Tesco. In order to know their
views and opinion Tesco worked on its feedback system and where it used to collect feedbacks
on weekly basis it started taking feedback on daily basis. This helped Tesco in developing a
central perspective for dealing with crisis situation. In order to support collector of Tesco be
created 16000 new permanent rose and also hide 50,000 temporary when there was high demand
from customers. In order to support colleagues Tesco also ensure that colleagues who become
infected from covid-19 and needed self isolation word paid from first day of absence. For
supporting colleagues of Tesco they created to mental wellbeing tools and to around 30,000
employees these tools were availed free for a year.
Supporting community- This is another form in which Tesco responded to covid-19 crisis and
extended its support to communities. In order to help communities they have provided £13
million package of community support and in addition to this also provided £15 million of food
to FareShare and the Trussell Trust in addition to their usual 3 million pound monthly meal
donation. They are also retail partner for SalutetheNHS.org charity that provided 1 million meal
to Frontline NHS workers.
This means that Tesco took several responses and ensure its priorities to respond to covid-19
crisis in best possible manner. Tesco ensure that it is able to provide seamless experience to its
customers during the purchase in time of covid-19. However it required the Tesco to take some
measures that was different but preparedness of Tesco helped in dealing with the challenge
effectively.

Leadership lessons that can be learnt from study
Study about Tesco and its responses to covid-19 crisis recommend that there are several
leadership lessons that can be learnt from Tesco’s leadership.
Having committed workforce through effective leadership- Leadership of an organisation
plays a crucial role in commitment of workforce. Work force in Tesco is highly committed and
its commitment was visible through its performance during covid-19 crisis. Tesco asked his
office employees to help in retail operations and they readily supported Tesco and performed in
its retail operations. This is one of the very important lessons that can be learnt from Tesco that
how to create a committed and engaged workforce. In order to build and create a committed
workforce leaders and Tesco provides best possible support to employees so that they can
perform effectively. Due to covid-19 crisis Tesco required to make changes in operational
activities and several other changes were made on place. For successful implementation of
change frequently and in less time it is very important that employees and members of
organisation are cooperative. This cooperative work force can only be created through effective
and supportive leadership.
Customer centered- Regardless of the situation it is very important that organisations are
customer centred and they consider changing requirement of customers. This is something that
leaders can only understand that what requirements of customer on a particular time are. Leaders
in Tesco considered that safety and food are two most important consideration for everyone and
this is why they focus on safety for everyone and food for everyone. It was thinking of leadership
that in a crisis time nothing but food is most important requirement and they worked on
maintaining adequate stock of food products. During the time of crisis Tesco did not only
focused on those customers who are buying from it and also considered those who will be buying
from it. This means that leaders considered complexity of situation and rather than solely
focusing on it sales focused on the requirement of customers and asked customers not to do panic
buying.
Making decisions based on situation- This is also one of the important leadership lessons that
can be learnt from leadership of Tesco. During covid-19 crisis Tesco changed several rules and
operational activities and during the time Tesco provided priority to medical and frontline
workers considering their situation during pandemic. This means that when there were big lines

outside Tesco stores company created a rule that Frontline and medical workers can buy on
priority basis and will be allowed to go first and make purchase. It is very important that leaders
consider situations and communities rather than solely focusing on its sales and profit. Tesco
also considered situation of vulnerable customers and created rules to help and support
vulnerable customer. This means that during covid-19 crisis special time slot was availed to
vulnerable customers in which they could buy easily.
Supporting Community- This is a very important leadership lessons that can be learnt from
Tesco leadership. Tesco actively supported community and participated in different programs for
Welfare of community and different social groups. Their participation for community well-being
was visible in different forms that include providing monetary support and providing other types
of support as per capability of organisation. As Tesco is operating in Retail Industry and could
provide meal they helped community in that way.
Theory of leadership application for the study
Crisis leadership is something that is more than just leading in organisation during a crisis. In
situation of crisis leader is the first person that employees in an organisation look at to find a
solution for the problem that has been developed. in such situation only Limited people can take
right decision and resolve problems or lead organisation during such time. Crisis situation is
something that leaders require additional skills and knowledge rather than just having leadership
qualities and knowledge. Tesco was also working during a crisis and leadership in Tesco handle
the situation very effectively. Some of the skills that crisis leadership require are as follows-
Strategic mindset and orientation to detail to understand problem- This is one of the very
important give that crisis leadership require that leaders are able to understand problem
effectively by focusing on details of the problem and having a strategic mindset. Leaders in
Tesco also used strategic mindset and focused on details of that they could effectively understand
problem and find right solution for crisis situation.
Collaboration and decisiveness- collaboration and decision is another important skill that is
required for crisis leadership. It is very important for leaders that they are able to make fast and
effective decisions in less time. In Tesco also leaders ensured collaboration of employees and

took fast decision in order to provide effective services and ensure that crisis situation do not
negatively affect Tesco and its performance.
Building trust by remaining calm- This is an important skills that crisis leaders required to
have. Crisis leadership is something that is required to be carried out in a situation creating
significant chaos and this is why remaining calm for a leader becomes very important to create
trust among others.
CONCLUSION
On the basis of above discussion it can be concluded that leadership of Tesco during
covid-19 crisis was very effective. Leaders during complexities in ensured that they are still able
to provide services to their customers without compromising on its quality. Study outlines
different issues that created complexity for Tesco during covid-19 crisis and what are the actions
that Tesco took to deal with the crisis situation. On the basis of that some of the leadership
lessons were discussed in study that can be learnt from leadership of Tesco during covid-19
crisis. These lessons include their approach of operating and this approach not only maintained
their operations during crisis but is also likely to create a long term positive impact on
performance and factors of Tesco. Their actions helped in building goodwill for organization.

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