Anthony J. Algmin is the Founder and CEO of Algmin Data Leadership, a company helping business and technology leaders transform their future with data, and author of a new book on data leadership. We asked for his insights on how strong leaders can see their teams, their companies, and their people through this global pandemic (and other crises in the future). The following are his own words:
Managers sometimes forget that the people we lead have lives outside of the office. This is true always but is amplified when a crisis occurs. We need to remember that our job is to serve their teams, to help them be as aligned and productive as possible in the short and long terms.
Crises are exactly when we need to think about what they might be going through, and realize that the partnership we have with our employees is more than a transaction. If we’ve ever asked our people to make sacrifices, like working over a weekend without extra pay, we should be thinking first about how we can support them through the tough times. When we do right by people when they really need it, they will run through walls again for our organizations when things return to normal.
Let them know it’s okay to breathe and talk about it. In a situation like COVID-19 where everything was disrupted and people are adjusting to things like working from home, it is naturally going to be difficult and frustrating.
The best advice is to encourage people to turn off the TV and stop frequently checking the news websites. As fast as news is happening, it will not make a difference in what we can control ourselves. Right now most of us know what our day will look like, and nothing that comes out in the news is going to materially change it. If we avoid the noisy inputs, we’ll be much better able to focus and get our brains to stop spinning on things we can’t control.
And this may be the only time I would advocate for more meetings. If you don’t have at least a daily standup with your team, you should. And encourage everyone to have a video-enabled setup if at all possible. We may not be able to be in the same room, but the sense of engagement with video is much greater than audio-only calls.
We also risk spiraling if we think too much about how our companies are struggling, or if our teams cannot achieve what our organizations need to be successful. It’s like the difference in sports between practice and the big game. Normal times are when leaders game plan, strategize, and work on our fundamentals. Crises are the time to focus and leave it all on the field.
That said, do not fail to observe and note what works well and where you struggle. If you had problems with data quality or inefficient processes before the crisis, you are not fixing them now. Pull out the duct tape and find a way through it. But later, when the crisis subsides, learn from the experience and get better for next time.
Find a hobby. Anything you can do to clear your head and separate work from the other considerations in your life. We may feel like the weight of the world is on our shoulders, and without a pressure release we will not be able to sustain this level of stress and remain as productive as our teams, businesses, and families need us.
Ellen
November 30, 2007 at 10:38 am
What a great (and “duh”) idea. I’m making you A list, baby!
Mariana
November 30, 2007 at 11:07 am
Hillarious! I have the following categories in my Google Reader:
1. Blogs To Read
2. Blog Toolboxes
3. Non-Real Estate Blogs
4. Other RE Blogs
5. Athol Kay’s Blog…
Athol Kay
November 30, 2007 at 11:27 am
Mariana you are now my secret crush. 😉
Steve Belt
November 30, 2007 at 11:29 am
Hmmm, now bloggers everywhere are not only going to struggle just to get into your top 169, but no they will be trying to become an Athol Kay A lister. I’m already envisioning a new blog devoted solely to the tracking of wannabes, couldbes, and neverwerebes of Athol Kay’s A list…
Athol Kay
November 30, 2007 at 11:45 am
LOL I could just publish it I guess – let the tears and fisticuffs begin.
Mariana
November 30, 2007 at 11:49 am
How about a How To Blog:
27 Easy Steps to Get into Athol Kay’s Google Reader A-List in Just 6 Months – by Seth Godin
Teresa Boardman
November 30, 2007 at 12:44 pm
Mine are organized by topic. I had to leave your blog out on it’s own because it defies categorization.
Robert D. Ashby
December 1, 2007 at 10:25 am
I feel your pain as I am still getting through 441 posts I was unable to get to yesterday.
I am glad you posted this. I will also let thos eof you know how I am getting feeds in case they use Outlook 2007. Outlook 2007 allows users to subscribe to feeds within it, and you can select which folder to put it in, or leave each blog as its own folder (which I do).
I go through the folders I like (like the agentgenius one) and simply skim through the others, time permitting. If I don’t have time, I can bulk delete and move on or flag a post that I really want to come back to. All in all, I have found it to be the best way for me to manage those feeds (and I only have 60 feeds).
Chris Johnson
December 1, 2007 at 10:51 am
Yeah. I have too many a-listers. And I maintain too many blogs. I add everyone I see pretty much and then decide. I need a ghetto for them, too.