It’s not all about Covid: leadership lessons that shouldn’t be forgotten
Media Leaders
Stability matters in these tumultuous times, and it’s up to leaders to help keep their people afloat, writes UM London’s CEO.
Our first proper day back in the (new) office in late November offered a reassuring glimpse of normality, something that’s been missing for so long. However, the jury is still out on what exactly this will look like as we reconfigure our working lives to the new landscape.
LP Hartley said it best: “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there” – yet BC (Before Covid) feels more like a world away. The past two years have been tough, but we now find ourselves at what is – hopefully – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create something new.
This isn’t to say we need to rip it up and start again, but there is a balance to be found on what worked previously and what new practices should be maintained.
Lesson one: Take the long view
There is a lot to be said for working from home, but I still believe we produce our best work when we’re bouncing ideas off each other in the same room. Equally, we cannot expect young talents to reach their potential without in-person training and mentoring – and what they learn just from simply being around more experienced colleagues.
Great managers, career prospects and good training were the three considerations candidates rated most highly in evaluating potential employers according to the IPA’s most recent Graduate Talent and Adland research, which UM helped to carry out.
It’s hard to do this unless we spend at least some of our week together.
However, there’s a bigger picture to consider in the wake of the so-called ‘Great Resignation’; it’s clear there’s still much to be done to convince younger people that ours’ is a progressive industry. According to the same IPA survey, a fifth of graduates perceive our industry to be unethical, and that’s a problem if we’re to stay relevant.
We need to remind people of everything that’s worthwhile about this industry – the creativity, the camaraderie, the culture and the opportunity to help drive positive societal change. Success is predicated on building trust with new talent and particularly when it comes to building closer links with under-represented communities.
As such, now should be the moment to define new and ambitious ways of working that are clearly grounded in inclusivity and the highest ethical standards.
Lesson two: Cross the hybrid hurdle
One thing’s for certain, the genie is out of the bottle on hybrid working. It shouldn’t really have taken a global pandemic to make it the industry norm. At UM, we’ve been flexible by default since long before the pandemic. We know it’s the best way (in many cases, the only way) for people with caring responsibilities to fulfil their potential at work – not to mention the general wellbeing benefits.
The sticking point is, of course, exactly what proportion of that time is going to be spent in the office? Personally speaking, I thrive on the buzz of a busy office and couldn’t wait to get back in, but that’s not to say I didn’t experience moments of trepidation.
We’ve all got used to working in our own spaces. In fact, many of us are more productive. The question for me is, with so much screen time, where’s the joy? After so much time away, the prospect of spending time in the office again and reconnecting with colleagues feels like a blessed relief.
I completely understand that not everyone sees it that way of course. Being confronted by a busy office can be a shock to the system, even for the biggest extroverts.
It’s only natural that many are still nervous, though. We’ve spent the past two years forming new habits to work successfully from home. To be told we’re suddenly going back to business as usual is unfair and unkind, particularly for those who’ve used WFH to recalibrate their working structures around their childcare needs and/or relocated.
I’m no psychologist, but I’m certain that all the pressures and isolation of the pandemic must have left their mark, and perhaps even trauma, on many of us. When leading, we have to remember that we are leading vulnerable people.
What’s key is listening to everyone’s personal needs and finding a balance that works on a case-by-case basis.
Lesson three: Offer reasons to be cheerful
We talk a lot about value exchange in this business and we ought to be able to apply this principle to ourselves. We need to give people a good reason to come back to the office.
Many, especially those who’ve escaped to the country, face not insignificant commutes, and that’s not cheap. You can appreciate why people might be unwilling to come into the office just because we say so.
Instead, we need to be mindful of our colleagues’ time and make best use of it when they do come in. That may mean reorganising calendars to make the most of face-to-face time by building schedules around client meetings, mentoring and training, and community building.
We’ve worked hard to make the new office a destination in itself, as it needed to be somewhere staff would want to spend time. Consequently, we’ve invested in the social and wellbeing facilities as well as the professional areas.
However, this thinking is underpinned by one core consideration – choice. It’s key to offer equality of access; even if someone can’t physically make it to the office for a meeting or event, this shouldn’t preclude them from taking part.
To that end, the single biggest investment in the new office is technology to enable parity of experience, whether someone’s on-site or working remotely.
Lesson four: Prevent presenteeism
People have demonstrated they’re responsible and motivated enough to work flexibly with no adverse impact on outputs.
However, one of the greatest risks in working from home remains burnout. Without the daily ritual of the commute to delineate their working and domestic lives, people find it hard to switch off.
We need to fulfil our end of the bargain and take steps to encourage people to look after their mental health. That means making them feel empowered to take breaks and stop at the end of their contracted hours.
As such, a final lesson to take from our recent experiences is the importance of boundaries. We can’t be on call all the time and we shouldn’t expect people to answer emails or take calls out of hours. Ironically, a key consideration should be to challenge cultures of presenteeism – whether that’s physical or virtual – and reassure people it’s okay not to be working all the time.
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So, ultimately what’s the key lesson we take in these uncertain times?
Everyone is feeling a little at sea as we scrabble to readjust to what the post-Covid workplace can and should be. In the simplest terms the agency leader’s role is to have the stability of an anchor, and the buoying presence of a tide.
Stability matters in these tumultuous times, and it’s up to leaders to help keep their people afloat.
Rachel Forde is the CEO of UM London
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