Remote leadership is in the spotlight in this current COVID-19 reactivity environment of quarantine and social distancing, and leaders are called to remember – now, more than ever – that leadership is not just about the employees or projects you manage, but the human beings you are interconnected with.
As entire offices are now working from home, the question is how to lead and motivate through these times. How do you stay supportive and facilitative to your people through the absence of in-person interaction? With a backdrop of increased uncertainty and lack of control, how do you take it day by day as a manager?
This is Not Last Year’s Remote Office
Prior to the crisis, remote working had grown by 91% in the last ten years and 52% of workers globally were working from home once a week. It was estimated that at least 50% of the U.S. workforce would work remotely by 2020. The current context has blown the statistics apart.
Context is everything. The advantage of working remotely is normally the sense of freedom and flexibility, but for many it’s now a result of imposed restriction, that goes across every aspect of life.
Some team members will struggle deeply with isolation and routine loss. Previous remote workers will not be having the same experience as before.
Elizabeth Grace Saunders, a Time Management Coach, writes in Fast Company, “For some, the idea of working from home is a dream—no commute and no drop-in meetings—pure productivity bliss; for others, it’s terrifying… Ready or not, you’re working remotely.”
American Psychiatric Association (APA) emphasizes, “Many are teleworking full-time for the first time, isolated from co-workers, friends and family. Our daily living routines are disrupted causing added anxiety, stress and strain—physically, mentally, and financially. It is completely natural for this disruption and uncertainty to lead to anxiety and stress.”
6 Ways to Support Your Team
As a remote leader, here are recommended ways you can support your team members:
Establish Work Availability and Boundaries
“When transitioning to a remote team, leaders should prioritize the development of clear boundaries and guidelines,” writes Jason Wingard, dean and professor at the School of Professional Studies at Columbia University, in Forbes. “At its most basic, this involves assisting employees in delineating their availability: when they will be working, how they can be reached for different needs, and how they will address challenges such as childcare.”
Encouraging employees and yourself to establish work hours and be communicative about them will help productivity and avoid burnout.
“There’s a lot more flexibility, which can be exceptionally dangerous,” writes Saunders. “You can end up barely working, working all the time, or somewhere in the middle where you begin your work very late and end up needing to work into the wee hours of the night.”
“Segment out what home or personal tasks you won’t do when you are in your work hours;” she advises, “that way you don’t spend half the day tidying the house and neglecting key tasks.”
Encourage a Routine and Dedicated Work Space
The APA recommends keeping a regular routine including work, family, breaks, and other activities – as well as a designated physical space for work within the home – to support mental health while working from home.
Saunders writes that sticking with your routines – such as wake up, eating, activities and exercise times – support a greater sense of normalcy and clarity.On the other hand, Saunders writes “Abandoning all your routines will lead to decision fatigue and likely a lapse of willpower. You may find yourself home all the time, yet not even showered or dressed most days.”
Denoting a dedicated work space to settle into will help you and team members focus – and reserving that space as much as possible for work.
Be Flexible and Compassionate To Differing Circumstances
Optimal availability, schedule, and routine may look different for each individual, including yourself.
“Your mindset (now) has to shift to flexibility, overcommunication, and compassion,” writes Jay Friedman, president and parter of Goodway Group writes in Business Insider. “Take everyone’s situation into consideration and adopt accordingly.”
Friedman emphasizes the importance of establishing ‘parameters for a work-life integration plan’, which allows employees to adapt their schedule around their total responsibilities, such as home-schooling, and that may look different than a 9-to-5.
“To avoid miscommunication, encourage employees to be open on their calendars by blocking out ‘family’ time;’” he writes, “encourage those without such responsibilities to carve out ‘personal time’ before and after their work day to facilitate healthy work-life harmony.”
Also, re-assess responsibility allocation in your team based on the current situation.
Prioritize Goals, Not Hours
It’s not about hours spent sitting at the desk. Focus on goals and results.
“Don’t worry as much about what is being done. Instead, concentrate on what is being accomplished,” quotes Forbes, from sales and marketing professional Donald Hatter. “If we are meeting our goals, then great. If not, we need to look into the situation further. It is all about accomplishment, not activity.”
“Especially during times like these, look at the team’s achievements and celebrate what they’ve done,” Friedman writes. “The ongoing support and celebration of wins — both large and small — will be a huge motivator.”
Clarifying goals and who supports what can help with delegation, according to authors in Harvard Business Review (HBR): “Clarifying roles among the team helps people understand when they can turn to peers instead of the leader, which prevents the leader from becoming a bottleneck.”
Check In Regularly and Document
46% of remote workers, according to HBR and cited in Forbes, reported that the best managers checked on their team members regularly and frequently.
Checking in, as well as responding quickly, are important to keep connection, while face-to-face virtual meetings retain a sense of closeness and cohesion.
As written in HBR, “The most successful managers are good listeners, communicate trust and respect, inquire about workload and progress without micromanaging, and err on the side of overcommunicating.”
According to John Eades, CEO of LearnLoft in Forbes, questions should be:“What have you done? What are you working on? Where do you need help?” It’s important to give ownership for how things get done with individuals, and trust your people.
Brian de Haaff, Co-founder and CEO of Aha!, points out that documentation is critical when running a team remotely, assuring communication is flowing, messages are accurate, and records are kept. Recording virtual meetings on Xoom, etc helps to catch team members up directly.
Haaff further recommends documenting the three Ps: “problems, progress and plans”, to use as a launching point for weekly check-ins.
When moving around the virtual office, check your bias. Homophily – such as reaching out, relating to, assigning and relying on those with whom you share similarities – is at play. One recommendation is to keep a list of team members with photos around to consult, so you can see if you’ve truly been reaching out to all.
Be Connected, Be Personal, Be Empathetic
More than ever, remind yourself that your team members are human beings with emotions stirred up in this moment.
“People suddenly working from home are likely to feel disconnected and lonely, which lowers productivity and engagement,” according to HBR. “Under these circumstances it is tempting to become exclusively task-focused. To address these challenges, making time for personal interaction is more important than ever.”
This means keeping face-to-face connections through virtual tools, especially with those who may need extra support, showing active interest in people’s lives and well-being, being available and approachable as a leader, and acknowledging people’s concerns with compassionate flexibility.
“The best way to ensure people are engaged is to over-communicate. You can do daily check-ins and virtual hangouts like morning coffee or lunch,” advises Friedman. “If the method you’re trying isn’t working, change and adapt quickly.”
Don’t just manage your team or projects. Connect as humans that are mutually inside a challenging environment of disruption and uncertainty, and need support as we help each other through these waves.
By Aimee Hansen
Aimee Hansen is a freelance writer, frequent contributor to theglasshammer and Creator and Facilitator of Storyteller Within Retreats, Lonely Planet recommended women’s circle retreats focused on self-exploration and connecting with your inner truth and sacred expression through writing, yoga, meditation, movement and ceremonies.
Mover & Shaker: Devlyn Lorenzen, Business Support Associate, Wells Fargo
Movers and Shakers, PeopleShe suggests asking people what is said about you when you’re not in the room, and if the response is not how you would like to be seen, work towards changing the perception.
It was a realization she came to when she was attending a diverse leaders training program and was expressing some frustration to a senior member. The other professional asked, “How do you show up?”
“The question made me pause because I realized she was asking me to figure out the type of demeanor I had that people were reacting to,” she said “I realized I had created my own box because of my title and that was a wake-up moment for me.The title behind your name doesn’t limit what you are capable of. You control your own narrative; don’t let other people determine what you can do.”
Lorenzen calls that moment a turning point in her career, where she developed a renewed confidence and determination.
Seizing Opportunities By Raising Her Hand
The strategy of taking advantage of the opportunities that come her way has defined Lorenzen’s career. She began working as a receptionist at a bank and soon accepted another position as an administrative assistant. When that bank merged with another, she earned a position as an assistant for the national sales manager in Charlotte, NC, and was also able to assume a managerial role, supervising other administrative assistants.
When the bank eventually merged with Wells Fargo, she continued to move up and around in the company, helping to form cross-functional and cross-departmental partnerships and helping assistants find opportunities to work on projects with high visibility. She is currently involved in a marketing workstream to build a resource internet site allowing financial advisors to quickly link to other partners.
Finding Ways to Share The Importance of Diversity
Along the way, she has been highly involved with diversity and inclusion efforts. In fact, one of the professional achievements she is most proud of so far is receiving the Diversity Champion Award for her work with Wells Fargo Advisors in 2018. While the honor itself was important, she was even more excited at the chance to bring her 17-year-old daughter as her guest to the celebration. “I wanted her to see the results of my hard work and provide her the chance to see all of the women on stage being recognized. It’s so important for young women to see those opportunities in action,” Lorenzen says.
As part of her commitment to diversity and inclusion, she led a workstream for a website overhaul, to develop a site where team members can learn what’s going on and what training opportunities are available, as well as highlighting stories and messages from leaders. “We want to raise awareness and provide the resources people need, which is exciting as it is constantly evolving,” she says, adding that she’s enjoying the collaboration part of it most of all.
While Lorenzen appreciates the progress that has been made, she feels there are more opportunities for diverse leaders. “Where is my career headed if I’m not seeing people like me in leadership roles?” she wondered.
The key for her was to look at areas of the bank where she could see other women who were achieving, and put effort into seeking those women out for career advice.
That’s why she believes it’s important for new professionals to find a mentor, and if it’s a woman, even better. Surround yourself with people who will cheer you on and challenge you at the same time.
She currently has several role models—the main one is her sister who has a career in higher education and is working on earning a Ph.D. “She’s constantly forging ahead; I’ve watched her navigate her challenges by bringing her own seat to the proverbial table as well as bringing an extra one for another person. No one will automatically make space for you so that’s another reason it’s vital to have someone who can advocate and sponsor you.”
Another mentor is one of the private wealth regional presidents, who invited her to a Wealth and Investment Management Mid-Atlantic Women’s Summit and offered Lorenzen time on the stage to give a short update on her work with the Diversity Council.
Despite her nervousness, Lorenzen realized the value in accepting a stretch assignment. “You will gain confidence by overcoming your fears so I recommend finding a mentor that will push you and help you grow.”
Finding Balance Outside of Work
As an Army “brat,” Lorenzen lived all over the world, which inspired in her a love of travel. She particularly enjoys traveling with her sister and niece, as well as her daughter, who has participated in a German language immersion program since kindergarten as a way to achieve a broader worldview. Her daughter traveled to Germany for an exchange program and also spent time in the Dominican Republic for a service project. “I want her to understand that people’s lives aren’t all the same and to look outside her immediate circumstances.”
Family time is what’s most important to her: hanging out with her husband and daughter, sister and niece. In addition to watching foreign films and crime shows with her husband, she also loves to indulge her creative side by crocheting, learning to knit and solving puzzles.
“I view the current work-from-home orders as a gift to be still and slow down a bit.”
By Cathie Ericson
You’re Not Forgotten – How to Stay Relevant When Working from a Distance
Career AdviceChange is a natural part of living and business.
However, with the sudden and widespread changes catalyzed by the current global pandemic, and people required to work in isolation, it is impossible to continue business as usual without risk of quickly becoming redundant.
To stay relevant and thrive requires approach, starting with the willingness to step up to a new level of leadership – one that isn’t based on your or job title, but on your personal choice and demand to have a greater future, no matter what.
Sudden change of this degree is not necessarily comfortable, but it doesn’t have to be difficult or unpleasant. It can be a time of great growth and innovation.
Here are 4 key steps to lead from the front in unpredictable times, and from wherever you are currently working:
1. Be Present with What is Required Now
Fear in times of uncertainty can have a domino effect. With so many countries being impacted right now, perpetuating panic and doubt is counterproductive and even destructive. What was relevant in business yesterday no longer applies, so it is important to stay present and put your and your colleagues’ attention on what is possible now.
Ask questions to stay generative:
• What does my job and organization require of me, my colleagues and staff today?
• What are our clients looking for now?
• How do I position my skills, staff, projects and the organization so that we are relevant now and in the future?
Don’t assume that business will eventually “go back to normal” or function as before. It may, and it may not. Ask different questions, seek different perspectives, engage with new innovations and ideas. There are always more possibilities available than you think.
2. Engage, Engage, & Keep on Engaging
The world of telecommuting can put a wall between you and others, but it doesn’t have to. Multiple-participant videoconferencing platforms are available for connecting with ease, and the “old fashioned” way of picking up the telephone is more relevant than ever now! Look outside the box. Who can you engage with and what questions can you ask that will create more for you, your teams, projects, and wider business?
Also, recognize that messaging and email are ways of delivering information, they are not communication. Don’t misidentify or mistake them as a substitute for actual interaction.
Taken for granted patterns of relating to people and business at the office won’t work anymore, either. If there are places in your life and business where you have been sitting back, hiding, unwilling to be in front or have your voice, now really is the time to change it. Your awareness, creativity, ideas, and ability to look at new opportunities with and for your organization are going to be needed more than ever before, no matter your title.
Each day, ask, “How can I allow my difference to shine through and contribute in ways I’ve not considered before?”
3. Prioritize Your Body
The new demands of mixed work and homelife and the mental and physical stresses of adapting to them mean that finding outlets for nurturing you and your body are more paramount than ever. To better be present, engaged and empowered from a distance, you’ll require a degree of self-care that you cannot put on the backburner.
Step away from your work and life demands at regular intervals to relax and breathe for 5 minutes: Close your eyes, feel your feet on the ground, place your hands on your stomach, and breathe in. For 3 breaths, imagine pulling your breath up from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head, through your body and deep into the earth. For the next 3 breaths, pull your breath up through the earth, your body and out the top of your head.
Move every day and connect with nature. From inside your house or go outdoors and let the sun, trees, and fresh air rejuvenate you. Check in with your body every day and take action early when you perceive tension or signs of fatigue.
4. Be the Leader of Your Future
To be essential and relevant, you must stop looking externally for answers or for others to choose for you. You have to be the leader of your life every single day. Don’t wait. Create!
Each day has new requirements and new possibilities. Mentally clear the slate every morning and don’t reference the past to create your future. Ask, “What is possible today that was not yesterday?”
For better or worse, the old world no longer exists. You can choose to hide, fade and become irrelevant, or step up, take the lead, and create greater.
Your willingness to be a different voice and a leader for a greater future is what is needed now more than ever. Ask questions, be present, engage, nurture your body and your future. With these choices, you’ll create more than you currently think is possible in business and life, no matter where you are or what is occurring.
Laleh Alemzadeh-Hancock is a leadership and entrepreneurial coach, professional services consultant, personal wellness mentor, and founder and CEO of global professional services company, Belapemo. Laleh boasts 30 years’ experience in operational excellence, change management and business consulting, and has inspired and empowered millions of individuals including Fortune 500 executives, government agencies, non-profit organizations, athletes and veterans. A highly respected executive and leadership coach, Laleh has a particular interest in supporting and encouraging the leadership capabilities of women – in business, in the workplace, at home and in the wider community. She is featured alongside luminaries such as Oprah Winfrey, Melinda Gates, and Ginni Rometty in the 2019 publication, America’s Leading Ladies: Stories of courage, challenge and triumph. Follow Laleh.
Voice of Experience: Cheryl Camin Murray, Health Care Partner, Katten
People, Voices of Experience“Stick with it.” That’s the advice that Katten’s Cheryl Camin Murray has for younger associates, noting that employers can be accommodating if you ask.
“Sometimes you are at a point in your life where you need a more flexible schedule, but that doesn’t mean you have to automatically go off the partner track or to part time. You can continue to create opportunities in your career by asking for what you need; in fact, you may even be the impetus for a new policy or program that helps others.”
Finding Her Niche
That guidance has helped Murray achieve the career she envisioned: entering private practice, becoming an involved, contributing member to a firm, and eventually getting elevated to partner. Throughout her legal career she has focused on health care law, with a stint interning with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, to cement her interest, then earning a master’s degree in public health from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in addition to her law degree.
Murray started as a summer associate and worked her way up to partner at another firm before she joined Katten’s newest office in Dallas in 2018 with two talented colleagues. Together they have grown the Texas Health Care practice, which represents one of her proudest professional accomplishments to date.
In light of the recent COVID-related ramifications, she has been focused on leading in a creative way that allows her to continue to support the firm and her clients, guiding them through transactional and regulatory matters, as well as the privacy and security concerns facing the health care industry. To that end, she serves on Katten’s COVID-19 advisory group, a multidisciplinary task force addressing the wide range of issues companies are facing in response to the coronavirus outbreak. She is also part of the Dallas Bar Association’s Coronavirus Task Force designed to bring attorneys the latest news on court closures, legal and community resources and webinar presentations. For example, with the growth of telehealth services during this time, Murray often counsels health care providers on major developments that could impact the delivery and coverage of such services.
Nurturing a Culture of Mutual Support
Murray advises young professionals to seek mentors as much as possible, identifying people with a breadth of experience to guide their careers and help identify next steps and goals and the best paths to getting there. She advocates that women attorneys who are more established in their careers support younger attorneys, but also each other. For her part, she has been active in “Act III,” an external women’s lawyer group that includes women from different practices who come together to help support each other as they navigate the next stage of their careers and then bring the next generation of women along with them.
While law is a great career path, she acknowledges it can be challenging for women. “Since genetically women carry and deliver the babies, companies are realizing they need to develop robust programs to offer support, such as enhanced maternity and paternity leave,” Murray said. It’s not just the official firm policy that matters, but also how that policy is turned into practice and integrated into the firm’s culture, she said.
As an equity partner at a prior firm when she had her triplets, Murray encountered a hurdle in taking time off although her colleagues were very supportive during this time. “When you have built a business around clients—relationships you’ve developed—it’s more challenging to go off the clock for an official maternity leave,” she notes. At Katten, she has found a firm that has been highly supportive with generous policies for families and a dedication to balance.
Her firm involvement includes a role as the Texas co-chair of Katten’s Women’s Leadership Forum, which supports the advancement and retention of female attorneys by offering mentoring, skill-building opportunities, external and internal networking, and career development programs. One recent event she felt was particularly helpful to attendees centered on how to identify and overcome the psychological phenomenon of “imposter syndrome.”
Outside the firm, Murray is equally involved, as the second vice president on the board of directors of the Dallas Bar Association; chair of the board of directors of the Southwest Transplant Alliance, a nonprofit organization that serves as the bridge between organ donors and potential transplant recipients in Texas; and a board member and former chair of the Dallas Friday Group, a nonpartisan organization of business people who share an interest in public affairs and business issues. On top of those roles, Murray is the mom of four-year-old triplets.
A busy practice, coupled with a fulfilling volunteer and family life, are the keys to success for Murray.
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Career Advice, Career Tip of the Week!, NewsWe are reworking and updating our site this week so please have patience while we troubleshoot to bring back our leading career advice and news by next week at the latest.
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Nicki Gilmour
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OP-ED: The Empowerment of Women Starts With All of Us
PeopleEmpowerment can come in many forms.
According to Webster’s, the definition of empowerment is “granting of power, right or authority to perform various acts and duties or the state of having the power, right or authority to do something.”
So, empowerment can come from inside or it can be given to someone. In my experience, being empowered as a young girl helped me become stronger and more confident as a woman. I want to share my story with you to hopefully inspire you to empower others.
I was fortunate that my hard working, successful single mother never discouraged me from ‘traditional’ male subjects. She never graduated from high school and yet she was working at the White House and traveling with the Press Corps and Presidents Johnson and Nixon. She was a role model for being strong and confident and always told me that I could do whatever I want in life.
Growing up I was surrounded by women like Helen Thomas, the iconic correspondent from Associated Press, Gloria Steinem who had just started Ms. Magazine and was a leader in the women’s liberation movement. These women were powerful, visible and impactful. They were trail blazers who did not hesitate to follow their passion for change despite considerable obstacles. I practiced what I observed. As a teenager and young adult, I was told I was “rebel without a pause.” I was always eager to channel my energy into exploring new opportunities.
In college, I thought that I wanted to be a photo-journalist. Then my camera was stolen on a trip to Key West before the fall semester started, so I decided to try accounting. To my surprise, I loved it. I took the CPA exam as soon as I finished finals and a week later went to work at Arthur Andersen. Although 50% of the new hires were women, there weren’t many women in the senior ranks. It was a tough environment and even tougher as a woman. It was at Arthur Andersen that I found my first supporter in my professional career, a man named David, who was a partner. He told me that he expected brilliance from me. Through hard work, constructive feedback and opportunities I was promoted and quickly learned that with more visibility, there were new and higher barriers to overcome. David took a chance sponsoring me, a term that was not used that time. He provided me space to grow, to build my confidence and recognize my contributions to the firm. Although he was incredibly tough, I knew he had my back.
Through my experience with David and Arthur Andersen, I knew I had added responsibility to pay it forward to create opportunities and a more inclusive environment for women in the workplace. One small example occurred during a cold winter one year, back when women didn’t wear pants to work. I challenged the office Managing Partner and said “I’m going to wear pants to work tomorrow” and he replied, “fine, I’m going to wear a skirt.” That day my simple act of defiance helped drive change that was another stepping stone to improving the environment for women in our office.
I love to find great talent and the planning field has an unusually high percentage of women. I have been fortunate to help other women find opportunities that enable them to grow professionally and personally. Support can be as simple as encouragement, inviting someone to a conversation, or creating room from them to innovate. One of the members of my team was dedicated to client service, but I saw so much potential in her to lead others and share her voice more prominently. I coached her for a few years and provided her more exposure when I expanded her role from a regional to national level. She has also coached me to understand different perspectives. I have seen her flourish through the relationships she has built with others and helped her grow in confidence so she can someday step into my shoes.
Being available to talk to women in the finance field has been very rewarding. Listening to their experiences and needs has allowed me to adapt my management style. I have made sure that my teams have flexible work schedules and resources available to them so they can do their best work while still managing their personal lives. Ironically, working from home during the COVID-19 virus has shown other leaders that we can be effective with flexible work schedules and working from home.
We have a unique opportunity and responsibility to empower other women. According to a recent presentation at the Abbot Downing Women’s Summit, women have not been able to break a glass ceiling to get past 20% of women in leadership positions. Currently, 60% of undergraduate and graduate degrees are awarded to women. So, there are women entering the workforce. However, the conundrum to me, is that they still aren’t getting into the leadership positions at the same rate as men. It is amazing to me that 48 years after the first edition of Ms. Magazine and seven years after the book “Lean In” was published, women aren’t in more leadership roles. To quote Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.”
If this is going to change, both the women in the 20% and men in leadership roles need to empower the 80% of women beneath the glass ceiling. Women and men need to recognize and support the women who show the desire and talent for leadership. I am fortunate to currently report to a man who provides this support for me and other women in the company.
Empowerment can happen at work or it can happen at home. As Gloria Steinem said, “The best way for us to cultivate fearlessness in our daughters and other young women is by example. If they see their mothers and other women in their lives going forward, despite fear, they’ll know it’s possible.”
I encourage us all to invest time into the change needed. We are all in a position of influence.
Op-Ed: From the Cold War to COVID-19: What I’ve Learned from My Front Row Seat
Guest ContributionI’ve been fortunate to have had a front row seat at major inflection points in history, beginning with my time at the Reagan Defense Department during the final days of the Cold War.
I had actually transferred to the White House just a few months prior to Gorbachev’s 1987 visit. Later, I joined Intel Corporation and had a chance to work on a part of the Intel Inside® program, which changed consumer tech purchasing habits forever, leading to Intel’s dominant semiconductor market share in the 90s. My husband and I enjoyed the dot-com boom and thankfully survived the bust.
In 2004-2005, working closely with the auto industry, I hosted a hallmark Nagoya meeting between Toyota patriarch Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda and General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner. Our building was surrounded by hundreds of Japanese paparazzi as the companies battled it out for top global sales position with the Japanese automaker maintaining the edge. And in 2009, as obesity was emerging as a global health risk, I worked with 16 food and beverage company CEOs to help reduce 6.4T calories from 35% of the food sold in the United States.
As an observer, a participant and a leader during times of historic change, I learned to plan for multiple scenarios when redesigning and building high-impact, sustainable operations. Here’s what I know about managing through an inflection point:
• Always plan for disaster. Anticipate that at some stage, something will fail and determine whether or not the systems you have built will survive significant fallout from political or economic events, regulation or new competition. The question I ask daily is, “If we have the worst market crash tomorrow will we be able to sustain our core research infrastructure?”
• Hire smart people and help them move quickly by moving boulders out of their way.
• Look for opportunities to partner with other organizations to decrease costs by supplementing existing activities, creating new channels or outsourcing lower-yielding but well-loved legacy initiatives.
• Run as fast as you can. Do not slow down. You only have a short window of time in which to build and you need to move quickly.
• Preserve cash. Organizations who maintain lean operating systems and build reserves have the highest probability of riding out the worst market.
In 2018, when I joined FARE [Food Allergy Research and Education] as its CEO, rather than experience an inflection point, for the first time I may have created one for the organization. With a remit to restructure the organization and facilitate high-net-worth donor and industry investment to drive therapies and diagnostics into the marketplace to meet the needs of an underserved patient community, in 12 months we received $75M in commitments and put into place a cash conservation plan.
Now amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and even as some states and businesses prepare to open, at another inflection point. You simply never know when the inflection points will arise, yet here we are again as organizations try to pause to help others, while doing their best to stay relevant and generate revenue to support the needs of populations they serve.
Today, my staff knows that all ideas are on the table as we meet 2020 objectives in unanticipated ways. We are culling through my archives of the most innovative concepts executed by former teams during opportunity and crisis as we look for that kernel of a concept that can be reimagined and extended. Interestingly, we are finding that ideas gleaned from science fiction, spy novels and murder mysteries sometimes lead to the next new idea. We take thoughts and play them out in a 100 percent digital engagement or a combination concept like 10 and under in-person salons connected via Zoom across the country. And we find our humor and celebrate wins daily.
As Andy Grove says: “Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive.” While we are in the midst of a pandemic, and closures and work stoppages may seem disastrous, keep running and do your best to enjoy your front row seat. It will help for next time.
Lisa Gable is CEO of FARE, Food Allergy Research Education, the largest private funder of food allergy research advocating on behalf of the 32 million Americans living with potentially life-threatening food allergies. Lisa’s passion, expertise, and fearless workstyle have propelled her to achieve the titles of CEO, US Ambassador, UN Delegate, Chairman of the Board, and advisor to Presidents, Governors, and CEOs of Fortune 500 and CPG Companies worldwide.
Voice of Experience: Tami Gaythwaite, Chief Operating Officer, Centerline Digital
Voices of ExperienceAs you go through your career, it’s important not to be overly focused or worried about the impact of a single mistake or decision, says Tami Gaythwaite.
“That’s because it’s not the actual mistake or decision that’s the impactful moment; it’s what you do after,” she says, adding that the best way to deal with it is to ask yourself if the issue will be important in the next year or even five. “That type of consideration can put any one action into perspective and help you keep moving forward.”
Learning by Doing Propelled Her Career
Like many aspiring professionals, Gaythwaite started at Kelly, the temporary services provider, putting her fantastic typing skills to work at a wide variety of companies. It was an experience that gave her valuable skills, including being able to just walk into a company, assess their needs and get to work.
“I don’t think as many people do temp jobs today, but the experience is invaluable and gave me a good foundation into the type of jobs I wanted, as well as feeling comfortable with walking into the unknown,” she says.
A full-time job at R.J. Reynolds followed, where she worked as a production assistant, helping organize sports promotions with NASCAR. Due to staff changes and turnover, she began to fill in various roles such as writing scripts and learning to edit and produce videos until soon she was running the video department. When the sponsorships came to an end, she took her skills to the freelance world, where she worked as an editor, animator and producer, where she realized that true value would come from choosing an area in which to focus.
As a way to ensure longevity, Gaythwaite decided to focus on the client side and moved to business management and sales with Centerline Digital, where she has been for the past 15 years. Her work expanded to solving client issues in project management and she eventually moved into the COO role, where she oversees the overall health of the business.
“My greatest achievement has been being part of the company’s growth, including finding clients and growing into a role where I can support and work side by side with my fellow team members, overseeing their professional growth,” Gaythwaite says.
Centerline Digital’s core offerings meld storytelling with marketing data that allows the company to conduct sophisticated trend forecasting. “It’s fascinating to see how those will merge as we make sure to continue to focus on the human element and keep the end customer in mind.”
Finding Your Own Path
Gaythwaite says she often works with women who have a couple of years under their belt and worry about the common barriers that women face in the work world, which can be destructive. “Don’t fear the barriers,” she says. “Although you are bound to meet them, you need to learn to push past them, which can be accomplished by aligning yourself with other women who can help you grow.”
In addition, she believes that her peers need to band together and support one another as well, as they are all currently juggling multiple needs: parents, kids and their next career step. “Understanding that we’re all going through the same thing, and are all looking at our past success, yet unsure what the next steps will be, we need to give ourselves and others some leeway.”
She is proud that the entire executive team at her firm is women, many who, like her, have been there a long time, growing up through having families and career success. “We can help nurture the other women who join our team,” she says.
A single mom by choice, Gaythwaite says that life never turns out exactly how you expect, but it can be even more gratifying. “Understand that you will likely be facing multiple speed bumps along the way, and that it won’t be exactly what you envisioned. But keep moving forward and own your own specific path. While it will look different for each person, focus on your own life and what works for you, and that’s how you will define and find success.”
Leading Your Team in a Pandemic: 6 Quick Tips
NewsLeading your team in a pandemic is about navigating
a course that puts control and choice of how much your team wants to talk about the pandemic in their court. This a lot to take in for most people to take in and giving space to let them have their own personal thoughts or feelings and the degree to how much they want to share those feelings, should be very much up to them.
People are psychologically in different places for different reasons including it seems due to location, political affiliation in the USA (nowhere else it turns out, just here) and where they get their news from.
Work towards helping everyone get to the “a-ha” moment of what is happening, by helping them get to a conclusion which resembles the objective reality that is happening. As a psychologist, I am sure that the one thing that matters is that they have to get there themselves. Telling them what is real, is not going to work, as much like gender and other prejudice, so many people cannot get to the experience of objectivity as they are viewing so much through their own subjective experience processing filter lens. The result? If it literally it isn’t happening to them or someone they directly know, they dismiss it as a possibility! Cognitive dissonance is real! If there was ever a time to read Immunity to Change by Kegan and Lahey the Harvard development psychologists, my friends that time is now! Here is a cheat sheet article on theglasshammer.com on the subject.
Some people are very distracted by life stuff -very understandable, life has changed for so many of us with a lockdown. I am personally on week 4 with a possible 8 weeks ahead with a spouse on the front lines working in an NYC hospital and “sans babysitter” for a while yet. Yet, understand some people want to distracted by work as its a good way of maintaining sanity if they have the backup to escape to the computer or the necessity to keep the work going to keep the business going. No one wants to fail in their career or business due to the coronavirus, that is a fact. Flex to what you need to be for that person in that moment, this is an evolving emotional ride for most.
Here are 6 tips to lead in a pandemic
1. Acknowledge this is not a normal time for anyone and it is not business as usual
2. Give the other person space by asking them at the start of the meeting, “How would you like to spend this time together to ensure that we honor the professional work agenda and the personal needs of everyone in light of these unusual circumstances?”
3. Be neutral in your reaction to where they are at emotionally, mentally and psychologically in this process of digesting the realities around us. No judgement around if they are in denial or if they are in distress. Instead create a safe environment to express how they feel if they want to. Do not project how you feel unto them with wordy recounts of your life events or feelings around it unless they want that. Work out how you feel and talk to your therapist or coach and then create space for everyone else to have their feelings and thoughts too.
4. Be careful about anxiety provoking questions like ‘how are you doing with homeschooling?” as so many of us are not doing well with many things. Instead ask, “How can i best support you and clear obstacles for you?”
5. Be consistent in actions and clear in communications, as this is leadership even in normal times.
6. Be human, first. Empathy is a muscle.
We are taking a publishing break until mid May to ensure we can coach (email nicki@evolvedpeople.com for coaching 2 sessions for $599, pack of 5 sessions for $1700 on zoom, facetime or phone) and support anyone who needs it and create space for everyone to focus on life priorities and staying well. Enjoy our archives of profiles (1500) and Career Advice (5000 articles)
Stay safe, social distance, ‘Happy Easter, Passover and Happy Spring’ and see you in May with a flatter curve (we hope).
Best Wishes,
Nicki Gilmour
CEO and Publisher
www.theglasshammer.com
Remote Leadership: 6 Ways How To Lead When You Have to Lead From Home
NewsAs entire offices are now working from home, the question is how to lead and motivate through these times. How do you stay supportive and facilitative to your people through the absence of in-person interaction? With a backdrop of increased uncertainty and lack of control, how do you take it day by day as a manager?
This is Not Last Year’s Remote Office
Prior to the crisis, remote working had grown by 91% in the last ten years and 52% of workers globally were working from home once a week. It was estimated that at least 50% of the U.S. workforce would work remotely by 2020. The current context has blown the statistics apart.
Context is everything. The advantage of working remotely is normally the sense of freedom and flexibility, but for many it’s now a result of imposed restriction, that goes across every aspect of life.
Some team members will struggle deeply with isolation and routine loss. Previous remote workers will not be having the same experience as before.
Elizabeth Grace Saunders, a Time Management Coach, writes in Fast Company, “For some, the idea of working from home is a dream—no commute and no drop-in meetings—pure productivity bliss; for others, it’s terrifying… Ready or not, you’re working remotely.”
American Psychiatric Association (APA) emphasizes, “Many are teleworking full-time for the first time, isolated from co-workers, friends and family. Our daily living routines are disrupted causing added anxiety, stress and strain—physically, mentally, and financially. It is completely natural for this disruption and uncertainty to lead to anxiety and stress.”
6 Ways to Support Your Team
As a remote leader, here are recommended ways you can support your team members:
Establish Work Availability and Boundaries
“When transitioning to a remote team, leaders should prioritize the development of clear boundaries and guidelines,” writes Jason Wingard, dean and professor at the School of Professional Studies at Columbia University, in Forbes. “At its most basic, this involves assisting employees in delineating their availability: when they will be working, how they can be reached for different needs, and how they will address challenges such as childcare.”
Encouraging employees and yourself to establish work hours and be communicative about them will help productivity and avoid burnout.
“There’s a lot more flexibility, which can be exceptionally dangerous,” writes Saunders. “You can end up barely working, working all the time, or somewhere in the middle where you begin your work very late and end up needing to work into the wee hours of the night.”
“Segment out what home or personal tasks you won’t do when you are in your work hours;” she advises, “that way you don’t spend half the day tidying the house and neglecting key tasks.”
The APA recommends keeping a regular routine including work, family, breaks, and other activities – as well as a designated physical space for work within the home – to support mental health while working from home.
Saunders writes that sticking with your routines – such as wake up, eating, activities and exercise times – support a greater sense of normalcy and clarity.On the other hand, Saunders writes “Abandoning all your routines will lead to decision fatigue and likely a lapse of willpower. You may find yourself home all the time, yet not even showered or dressed most days.”
Denoting a dedicated work space to settle into will help you and team members focus – and reserving that space as much as possible for work.
Be Flexible and Compassionate To Differing Circumstances
Optimal availability, schedule, and routine may look different for each individual, including yourself.
“Your mindset (now) has to shift to flexibility, overcommunication, and compassion,” writes Jay Friedman, president and parter of Goodway Group writes in Business Insider. “Take everyone’s situation into consideration and adopt accordingly.”
Friedman emphasizes the importance of establishing ‘parameters for a work-life integration plan’, which allows employees to adapt their schedule around their total responsibilities, such as home-schooling, and that may look different than a 9-to-5.
“To avoid miscommunication, encourage employees to be open on their calendars by blocking out ‘family’ time;’” he writes, “encourage those without such responsibilities to carve out ‘personal time’ before and after their work day to facilitate healthy work-life harmony.”
Also, re-assess responsibility allocation in your team based on the current situation.
Prioritize Goals, Not Hours
It’s not about hours spent sitting at the desk. Focus on goals and results.
“Don’t worry as much about what is being done. Instead, concentrate on what is being accomplished,” quotes Forbes, from sales and marketing professional Donald Hatter. “If we are meeting our goals, then great. If not, we need to look into the situation further. It is all about accomplishment, not activity.”
“Especially during times like these, look at the team’s achievements and celebrate what they’ve done,” Friedman writes. “The ongoing support and celebration of wins — both large and small — will be a huge motivator.”
Clarifying goals and who supports what can help with delegation, according to authors in Harvard Business Review (HBR): “Clarifying roles among the team helps people understand when they can turn to peers instead of the leader, which prevents the leader from becoming a bottleneck.”
Check In Regularly and Document
46% of remote workers, according to HBR and cited in Forbes, reported that the best managers checked on their team members regularly and frequently.
Checking in, as well as responding quickly, are important to keep connection, while face-to-face virtual meetings retain a sense of closeness and cohesion.
As written in HBR, “The most successful managers are good listeners, communicate trust and respect, inquire about workload and progress without micromanaging, and err on the side of overcommunicating.”
According to John Eades, CEO of LearnLoft in Forbes, questions should be:“What have you done? What are you working on? Where do you need help?” It’s important to give ownership for how things get done with individuals, and trust your people.
Brian de Haaff, Co-founder and CEO of Aha!, points out that documentation is critical when running a team remotely, assuring communication is flowing, messages are accurate, and records are kept. Recording virtual meetings on Xoom, etc helps to catch team members up directly.
Haaff further recommends documenting the three Ps: “problems, progress and plans”, to use as a launching point for weekly check-ins.
When moving around the virtual office, check your bias. Homophily – such as reaching out, relating to, assigning and relying on those with whom you share similarities – is at play. One recommendation is to keep a list of team members with photos around to consult, so you can see if you’ve truly been reaching out to all.
Be Connected, Be Personal, Be Empathetic
More than ever, remind yourself that your team members are human beings with emotions stirred up in this moment.
“People suddenly working from home are likely to feel disconnected and lonely, which lowers productivity and engagement,” according to HBR. “Under these circumstances it is tempting to become exclusively task-focused. To address these challenges, making time for personal interaction is more important than ever.”
This means keeping face-to-face connections through virtual tools, especially with those who may need extra support, showing active interest in people’s lives and well-being, being available and approachable as a leader, and acknowledging people’s concerns with compassionate flexibility.
“The best way to ensure people are engaged is to over-communicate. You can do daily check-ins and virtual hangouts like morning coffee or lunch,” advises Friedman. “If the method you’re trying isn’t working, change and adapt quickly.”
Don’t just manage your team or projects. Connect as humans that are mutually inside a challenging environment of disruption and uncertainty, and need support as we help each other through these waves.
By Aimee Hansen
Aimee Hansen is a freelance writer, frequent contributor to theglasshammer and Creator and Facilitator of Storyteller Within Retreats, Lonely Planet recommended women’s circle retreats focused on self-exploration and connecting with your inner truth and sacred expression through writing, yoga, meditation, movement and ceremonies.
Vicki Brakl; Senior Vice President, Marketing, Training & Development; Meredith Corporation, MNI Targeted Media
Voices of Experience“If you have a good idea, speak up! Good ideas come from everywhere. What’s most important is for leaders to foster an open-minded environment where all ideas are considered.”
This is something Brakl has experienced throughout her career. She knows firsthand that people (including herself) frequently defer to those in senior positions as a sign of respect. What’s important to distinguish is that respect doesn’t indicate silence. This allows for the strongest ideas to be built upon for all to benefit.
Looking for New Challenges to Stretch her Talents
Status quo is definitely not something Brakl ever sought. In fact, she has always said yes to opportunities where she felt she could learn something new. She describes her career path as “winding”—always moving forward, based on curiosity and a desire to stretch herself along the way.
Brakl says she’s been lucky to never have had to “search for a job,” so to speak, and she attributes that to the fact that she has always done what she’s said she’s going to do; while it sounds simple, this work ethic can be in short supply.
“I want to work with smart, motivated, curious people, but also precise communicators and problem solvers who bring solutions and new ideas. I like to think that I’ve been that person to others,” Brakl says.
She found her ideal career through trial and error, including stints in the legal profession and investment banking. While the culture wasn’t for her, Brakl didn’t want to give up on business overall so she went to business school. After a full-time internship, she received a great job offer and cut her teeth on the client-side at one of the largest consumer packaged goods companies, giving her nine-years of experience. She then went to the agency side where she could work with different types of clients, from retail to pharmaceutical, and then on to a private equity group. All of these opportunities allowed her to learn and hone diverse skillsets.
Brakl’s current job came courtesy of a family friend who needed someone experienced in integrated marketing. Although she’d bought media and created strategic media plans, she’d never been on the sales side, but again, she relished the chance to try something new.
Helping Others Grow Their Careers
Throughout her career, Brakl points to several business successes—from pitching for huge budgets to unwinding companies and making clients whole. But what she’s most proud of is the personal outreach of appreciation from those whose careers she’s touched. “It could be a note that they enjoyed working with me, or that a piece of advice I gave them sent them on a new course, or that they’ve found me to be an inspiring leader. These types of acknowledgments touch me most deeply because the personal relationships are what it’s all about.”
Providing that career upskilling is now an official part of her job, as she was recently promoted and added training to her purview. “For an organization of our size, training oversight is exciting because of the ability it gives me to touch people,” she says, adding that maintaining a strong culture is particularly important given their dispersed and diverse workplace.
“I’m excited about what a formalized training process can do to make a difference in uniting a company where people sit in home offices across 43 markets.” And in her new role, she intends to focus on providing ways for all employees to expand their knowledge base beyond their day-to-day responsibilities.
Brakl sees that the work world is moving more toward valuing productivity and results versus hours and thinks that will be a benefit to all, but especially to women. “You have to find the right place where you can work on your own terms in your own way. It’s not just about balance per se, but managing your life and career over the long haul in a way that’s sustainable.”
She encourages young professionals to ask for challenges in order to bolster their career. “When you are offered an opportunity, take it and run. Don’t be afraid to ask questions because that’s where the learning happens,” she says.
And while asking questions is important, so is speaking up in general. She cautions other women not to allow others to appropriate their ideas. She’s seen it all too often: you will offer an idea only for someone else to tweak it and play it off as their own. “Say it again and don’t let them get away with it. Gracefully bring it back to you with a calm remark such as, ‘As I said,’” she suggests.
Currently, two-thirds of the workforce at her company are women, with 60% at director level, and Brakl is one of four on the executive team. While the numbers continue to grow, she knows there can always be improvement and looks forward to making a difference in her new role.
Outside of work, Brakl is busy with her 5-year-old, and not a day goes by that she doesn’t learn something new by seeing the world through her eyes. “I try to harness her viewpoint and be as non-judgmental as a child. It has really affected my perspective.”Yoga keeps her mind and body flexible; it’s just a matter of finding the time. Brakl notes that along with family, friends and keeping yourself healthy, that’s a full plate. “It all helps you be a better professional and mom,” she says.