LIKE MANY PEOPL E,

Laura Ness Owens had to modify her life when the COVID-19 pandemic started. She spent several weeks helping her sons, Boden, 5, and Teddy, 10, with distance learning, while juggling morning to evening video and telephone meetings with executives and colleagues from around the world for Doosan Bobcat. She also made sure her aging father had everything he needed. The scenario is an example of what she calls “just doing.”

“I want to be the best mom and daughter I can be, and I also really like what I do. I make it work. You just do,” she says.

The “just do” mantra guided Ness Owens to her position as vice president of marketing, communication and public affairs at Doosan Bobcat North America. Part of her job includes sitting on the executive task force guiding the crisis communication plan and ensuring solid communication to 4,000 internal and countless other stakeholders outside the company. “COVID-19 has created an incredibly interesting time in our business, and I get to be on the front line,” Ness Owens says. “It is quite the balance when I’m also sitting at the dining room table on the front line with my little guys.”

Compassion, connection and humor helped along the way, too.

Her latest funny stories revolve around her sons’ quarantine haircuts and advising three fourth graders via facetime on how to use a protractor. She also spoke to a group of top dealers while doing gym class with her boys. While Ness Owens has lost her hair-cutting privileges, she hasn’t let COVID-19 ruin her children’s lives. She says you figure it out day by day, week by week and use what you learn to help others.

Sharing about her life outside of work helps her build relationships at work. Early in her career, Ness Owens was so focused on getting things done that she didn’t take time to build relationships.

“I spent a fair share of my early career being closed in, thinking I was right, I knew what I was doing, I had a job to get done,” she says. “Then, I started realizing if you work to build relationships, you can get things done better and it’s a lot more enjoyable.”

At Bobcat’s North American headquarters in West Fargo, Ness Owens is known as someone people can confide in and go to for advice. She’s a leader who helps her team reach their full potential while having fun doing it, says Brianne Hill, dealer communications manager. The two women have worked together at Bobcat for about a decade.

“Laura finds a way to maximize everything she touches,” Hill says. “Laura holds our team and company to high standards, while also still being compassionate toward people and life's realities along the way.”

Kindness and compassion come up a lot with Ness Owens. She talks about how important it is to take time to be respectful in emails, to be self-aware, and to remember you don’t know what’s going on in people’s lives.

“I once was told that it wasn’t important to be liked and that I shouldn’t worry about what people thought about me; respect was all that mattered. I remember thinking those things were not mutually exclusive,” she says. “I believe that to get a seat at the table and earn respect, I have to show that I am human, I have compassion, and that I care if I’m perceived as kind or not.”

When COVID-19 began impacting the way we live and work, Ness Owens’ goal with employees was to be empathetic and keep them motivated. She shared personal stories about the challenges of juggling it all so employees could see that she understands what they’re going through.

“I communicated with them often via email, video conference and telephone, ensuring they knew my expectations were to not only work hard, but also work smart, because it was a difficult time for us all personally and professionally,” she says.

Ness Owens’ team quickly transitioned marketing campaigns to align with the global crisis. They shifted from “Next Is Now,” a forward-thinking campaign about the future of Doosan Bobcat, to “Tougher Together,” a story about coming together as an entirely new business facing unique circumstances.

“I’m immensely proud of my team in how they’ve pulled together and adjusted in this ever-changing situation,” Ness Owens says.