COVID-19 has produced many surprising benefits in how we now work, but, in my view, one of the biggest is the greater transparency and accessibility that it has given to our senior leaders.

We have seen a lot more of them during COVID-19, typically via a weekly video meeting. We’ve entered their homes, seen some of their favourite things, even met their families, as they outlined what is happening in the organisation each week.

They’ve become more human and trusted, which means that people identify with them and are more likely to be influenced by them. This greater transparency is worth holding onto as we emerge from COVID-19.

I teach organisational behaviour at Melbourne Business School and have an interest in an area of research that suggests every organisation needs a “clear line of sight” from the very top down.

When leaders are transparent, open, clear and honest, their people understand their organisation’s mission and purpose, and their role in delivering it, more clearly. It helps people stay aligned and committed – and makes a more agile and adaptive organisation possible.

A clear line of sight matters because inconsistency among leaders is a common reason for organisations failing to meet their objectives. In the absence of a clear voice on organisational goals and values, line managers can add their own spin, which, at best, could be misaligned and, at worst, a breeding ground for deviant sub-cultures.

In the academic literature, this spin is called sense giving, sense breaking or sense making, and it often leads to misinterpreting what senior leaders are trying to do. With a clear line of sight, that problem is less likely because everyone sees and hears the same message from the source.

A clear line of sight is not just about what a senior leader says but what an organisation does. It creates consistency between the two. As a result, employees pay more attention, including to what is recognised and rewarded, and leaders can more effectively manage the constant tension between people being aligned and having some autonomy to innovate.

Technology has made possible many of the benefits from our new ways of working under COVID-19. More businesses now connect with their customers and clients online and have expanded their markets and found new ones in the process.

Technology is why IT companies are often at the forefront of innovative work practices. Now, everyone is optimising the available technology for that purpose – we just needed to be nudged into the future.

As organisations emerge from COVID-19, it’s important for leaders to reflect on what has worked and what hasn’t during the lockdown – and to stick with beneficial new work practices, while dispensing with any unnecessary old ways.

If you continue to give your employees greater flexibility and autonomy, post COVID-19, don’t get hung up on small things that you think they might be taking advantage of.

If someone is using your organisation’s computer, Zoom account and extra screen to connect with families and friends overseas, so what? If they’ve been adding value to your organisation from home, where’s the harm in distributing some of it to them? It’s a win-win situation.

A teleworker in a call centre could be working at home with a cat on their lap, but why worry if customers can’t tell, your business saves on rent and utilities and the worker is happier and less stressed?

Netflix, a tech company that’s done particularly well during COVID-19, has values around not misusing resources, but it’s also sensible, more relaxed and unbureaucratic in how it treats its people.

Organisational behaviour is about creating value and distributing it with intention. COVID-19 has redefined how we can do that, and leaders need to identify where value has been created and lost. Now is the time to recalibrate your businesses and design it for the new economy.

If there’s no going back, you might need to restructure. But why go back, when COVID-19 has shown you how to go forward?

By Carol Gill, associate professor of organisational behaviour at Melbourne Business School. This content has been produced by Melbourne Business School in commercial partnership with AFR.