8 minute read
Rethink: How the crisis changed me...
by CMI_
Emily Hill
Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, CMI has encouraged members to share their stories, and we’ve received hundreds of messages about your experiences. In this special edition of Rethink, we find out how four managers had their lives and thinking reshaped by the pandemic and lockdown
HOLLY SAXON, FOUNDER OF RESILIENCE AND PRESENCE BUSINESS COACHING
Holly Saxon
“Before COVID-19 hit, I was head of operations at a small startup tech company. Initially, the only difference was working from home. Then, a week in, I suddenly got a call – completely out of the blue – telling me I was losing my job. I had only been there a year and had taken a risk moving from a big corporate role, which I loved, to join the small business. It was such a shock. Since then, I’ve been through a range of emotions. Looking for a job was like a full-time job without the income.
“But I have remained positive and kept myself motivated. First, I knew I was very interested in mentoring in the apprenticeships space, so I signed up to a tutoring agency. I’m now teaching maths locally.
“Next, I applied for and gained a non-executive role at REAch2 Academy Trust, which supports 60 primary academies across England. It’s a challenge, but ultimately it’s making a difference to the community and the lives of young children.
“Then I applied for and gained a role as head of programme delivery at Eastside Youth, a charity which supports young people in east London.
“Last year, I qualified as a business coach, so I have used this time to set up my own organisation, Resilience and Presence, and I hope to help others by offering support. What’s changed most for me as a result of this experience is that I feel even more passionate about helping others. Things don’t always go as we planned, so how do we bounce back from that quickly? How do we make sure that we don’t freeze or stumble on our own emotions, or allow our anxieties and fears to stop us moving forwards?
“I’m not going to lie, I still have uncomfortable memories about losing my position. It was a negative experience that I won’t forget in a hurry. But for me, what’s fundamental about the COVID situation is that it allows you to take a step back and think: ‘What really matters to me?’ At the moment, the time just whizzes by because I feel I’m making a difference.”
SIMON EVANS, HEAD OF NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGERS, SAICA NATUR, PART OF THE SAICA GROUP
Simon Evans
“When all this started, I had a team of six national account managers. Three were furloughed straight away and the rest switched to working from home.
“As they’re all account managers, pre-COVID-19 they would really only see each other when we brought them to head office for a meeting. So this has actually given us a better insight into each other. We’d schedule two Webex calls a day. Sometimes, we wouldn’t even talk about work. We’d present on our hobbies or something else of interest to us, so we’ve come to know each other a lot better.
“We have also stayed in touch with all our customers as they wound down, and we’re now working closely with them as they wind everything back up again. I think this has improved our relationships with our customers as, again, we make more contact than we normally would (albeit via phone, of course).
“Every Friday morning, the guys who were on furlough would join the call and that kept them connected. Our business is still down by about 40 per cent compared with normal demand, but one of the furloughed account managers is back now. I feel we’ve used our time well and have a better understanding of what is important.
“At Saica, we make brown paper from recovered papers and had to make sure the mill kept going by securing the recycled fibres. The company has worked tirelessly to ensure all sites are COVID-secure, to keep our staff safe and well, and our supply chains open. We put distancing measures in place, and everyone who works in production has their temperature checked on the way in to work. We’ve had zero COVID cases.
“The biggest leadership lesson for me has been to keep talking and keep lines of communication open. By doing that more than ever, we’ve used our time wisely.”
JAMES DICKATY CMgr FCMI, SENIOR COMMISSIONING MANAGER, SELLAFIELD
James Dickaty
“Nuclear risk could be perceived as being fairly similar to the virus risk, because in the event of an uncontrolled release of nuclear material you can’t see it and you can’t smell it, but it can float down and stick to surfaces, emitting radiation. This has the potential to prove fatal, because if it gets inside you, it will damage your cells and could cause significant health issues such as cancer.
“The moment people working with nuclear material join the company, we go on a radiological cleanliness course that includes training you how to wash your hands effectively and resist touching your face – two bits of good practice that also apply to COVID-19. We’ve also instituted a culture whereby if we see someone doing something that isn’t correct, we will go over and challenge them (in a polite way), explaining why we think it’s dangerous. We’re comfortable saying, ‘You haven’t got your mask on’. No one takes offence. They say, ‘Thank you for reminding me’. This is the sort of new cultural norm that health experts are trying to encourage in the way we keep each other safe around COVID.
“The nuclear industry in general has still been able to deliver during the COVID crisis. For example, new nuclear power stations continue to be built, and existing ones continue to supply power to the grid. Sellafield has played its part by continuing to receive spent nuclear fuel from EDF throughout so that it can be stored safely on our site.
“Ultimately, I think this crisis has taught me that we would all be better off if we worked from home more. In terms of the environment, we need to reduce our carbon emissions, and we could do that by reducing power consumption in offices and keeping the roads freer from traffic.
“My fear is that if we don’t build on that and instead go back to where we were, we’ll be missing a huge opportunity. We’ve been forced into this situation, but it could be the beginning of a homeworking revolution that would have a really positive impact on both people and the environment.”
RU WATKINS CMgr FCMI, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, ST ELIZABETH HOSPICE
Ru Watkins
“I have a background in business and the military. When the crisis hit, I threw caution to the wind. I knew that we had a model of palliative and end-of-life care that worked and also a call centre that deploys our nurses out into the community. If we could step that up, we could increase our capacity.
“Also, by using new technology, engaging with new partners and creating a logistics hub to get medication and equipment out into the community, we could meet the needs of the patients and their families over this emergency period.
“So that’s what we did. Within four days.
“Everybody was behind it because we had clarity of vision. Our nurses set up a virtual ward, which meant they could talk to patients before they got to them and therefore see more people and cover a bigger area. We also started to look at the data and map where the problems were. That enabled us to realign our resources when required.
“In normal times, this could have taken months or even years. The wonderful thing about now is that the whole health and social care system we work in is saying that we need to embed this model into our future working. The central mission – to look after the needs of individuals – drove the urgency and enabled us to do things in an agile and forward-thinking way. It changed the mindset. People just looked for solutions, fast.
“Leadership comes from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘loedan’, meaning ‘journey’, and management comes from the Latin word ‘manus’, which means ‘hand’. Great leaders transform people by reassuring them and seeing their potential. In a command-and-control system in the military, you learn all this because conflict is chaotic and ambiguous. You know you have to have the trust of those you’re working with. You also need to partner with people, because everyone involved needs to understand the mission and then just deliver.
“There hasn’t been time to cogitate during this crisis. You have to be clear about your vision, your mission and what the end goal is. Then people will get behind you.”
RETHINKING YOUR CAREER?
You’ll find a huge range of advice and resources about the issues covered in this section on CMI’s Leading through uncertainty hub. CMI members can also make use of our redundancy support service, including a free diagnostic session with a redundancy counsellor. Search ‘redundancy support’ on our website
And please keep sharing your experiences and insights with us at editorial@managers.org.uk. We read every single one!
