Free Webinar June 23rd: Coping with COVID-19

Background to the Webinar

Early in May, two colleagues of mine, Dr. Kaliym Islam and Dr. Bennie Harris, and I were discussing what organizational life would look like as the recovery begins. We decided to conduct a survey.

We designed and sent out a 10-question survey to other colleagues and contacts in business and academia. We also had one-to-one discussions with others. The purpose was to understand the shared experiences of front-line business and academia managers during Covid-19 and uncover what they feel is needed to prepare for the “new normal.”

The results uncovered six major leadership challenges across respondents who feel the workplace will become a combination of some employees who will continue to work remotely and never come to the office; some who rotate days or times; and some who return to the office and come in every day.

The Results

As my colleagues and I analyzed the data, we approached the information from three very different but complementary perspectives:

Our Perspectives:

1. Dr. Islam approached the data from the perspective of a business leader with a history of leading teams that were forced to work remotely as a result of unforeseen crisis but who had to return to a work environment and culture that were totally different.
2. Dr. Harris filtered the information through the lens of an academic who is new to leading remote teams but also as an executive who is appointed to develop organizational strategies for his institution.
3. I approached the data from the perspective of a seasoned HR/T&D professional with experience managing organizational change and coaching managers on resolving conflict, addressing performance issues, and leading during tough times.

Register for our FREE Webinar where Dr. Islam, Dr. Harris, and I reveal the results of our leadership survey

Six Major Leadership Challenges

The major leadership challenges revealed by managers and leaders are as follows:

1. Improve remote leadership skills;
2. Revisit operational strategy;
3. Re-establish performance expectations;
4. Refocusing, re-engaging, collaborating, and coaching staff;
5. Get better at time management, and;
6. Address technology issues.

Four Interactions to Mitigate Challenges

As we analyzed the data and the emerging challenges, I concluded that many of the issues leaders and business owners are facing when their staff returns to work can be can be mitigated to a large extent by refining some of the basic interactions. What follows is part of what will be discussed during the Webinar.

1. Intentionally reconnect with your staff.
   Consider all that the staff have been through in these past few months even to the point of reaching out and making sure they are available and healthy to return to work.
2. Refocus communications and be empathetic and understanding of the situation your employees are experiencing.
   Consider how they might be restricted with children at home, commuting, etc.
3. Collaborate with your staff.
   Seek input from the staff on work processes, issues, anxiety, fears, hardships they might be having.
4. Coach your team members.
   Help them adapt to the new work environment, technology, social distancing guidelines, and new practices.

Attend The Webinar!

To learn more about the results of the survey and the other themes, attend our FREE webinar on Tuesday, June 23, 2020. We expect the webinar to last about 45 minutes.

Register below:

Register for our FREE Webinar where Dr. Islam, Dr. Harris, and I reveal the results of our leadership survey

See you at the webinar.