Creative communications group DRPG have launched thought leadership series DRPG Bitesize Talks, a sequence of livestream broadcasts where a panel of experts talk through some of the biggest issues businesses are facing today. The talks, which focus on solutions, advice and best practice, are just 30 minutes long with the option to ask questions at the end, and have been created with the objective of sharing knowledge and insight from internal and external professionals that goes some way to helping solve some of the problems we collectively face.
This week’s bitesize talk delved into crisis leadership and the psychological effects of remote working on both teams and business culture; exploring the effects of self-isolation, enforced home-working and having to manage teams remotely.
Joining group CEO, Dale Parmenter, (virtually) on the sofa were guests:
- Lindsey Harding, executive coach and leadership psychologist giving hints and tips on working from home, as well as some insights into maintaining ‘the norm’ as the self-isolation period progresses.
- Richard Sivers, who has over 20 years’ experience in the leadership, talent, organisation development and L&D arena, talking about the importance of building and maintaining company values in times of crisis.
- Sean Riches, team performance and efficiency expert who shared his insights on how to change leadership conversations to reflect the times and get the most out of your team when working remotely.
Here are some of the key takeaways:
Lindsey Harding:
How do you best prepare leaders to cope with these times?
- Expect and forgive out of character behaviour for yourself and others
- Take control of own state first
- Provide certainty, autonomy and connection
Top tips:- Routine – timetables, adhering to working hours and disconnect rituals can help to lessen disruption and boost prodctivity
- Flexibility & forgiveness – in unprecedented times, managers must be open and flexible and make allowances
- Collective responsibility for team wellbeing can help build a support system so it’s not just reliant on the manager
Richard Sivers:
Why do organisational values matter in these times?
- Values must guide decision making on individual and collective level
- Leaders must lead by example, embodying company values to help others do the same
- Easy to be drawn into operational mode, but we need to focus on the ‘why’ message and not the ‘what’ message
Sean Riches
Top tips for overcoming the challenges of leading remote teams:
- Change the balance of leadership conversations from method heavy to purpose-led and relationship focussed
- Focus on the result and not the method and accept that people have many ways of working
- Connect all to the bigger picture and provide the right environment for each individual to perform well
Click here to see the full broadcast.
Up next week is Head of Insight and Innovation, Callum Gill, discussing our new whitepaper ‘The Value of Broadcast Communications: can virtual event solutions deliver value, engagement and return during a crisis?’ Make sure to tune in next Thursday at 3pm: https://broadcast.drpgroup.com/broadcast