As employees adjust to a new normal and challenges in their professional and personal lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many look for support and guidance from their leaders. We connected with a few leaders at CareerBuilder to hear how they’ve worked to stay engaged with their teams, keep everyone motivated and how they’ve managed to still have fun while everyone is working remotely. Read on for some advice that may be helpful for encouraging and leading your team.
The question: As a leader, how are you supporting your team during this crisis?
Erica Cross (Senior Manager, Sales):
It really is all about making sure the team knows I am there for them. We have daily dial blocks and weekly team meetings. I also host a weekly happy hour so that we can review our week, celebrate our wins, and share the high and low points. More importantly, these happy hours are helping to build personal connections within the team.
Vanessa Humphrey (Area Sales Manager, Small and Medium Business):
I think it is a combination of clear communication and teamwork. I’ve set up daily check-ins with the team so that we can all stay informed and engaged. I also believe meetings should be learning experiences, so when possible, I bring in a special guest from another department or conduct Rookie TDP Demos to continue developing the newest members of the team. During turbulent times, it is important to make sure that every team member knows what to do and who to go to for help. For this reason, I’ve paired rookies with vets to help develop them while driving towards achieving company goals.
David Kollmorgen (Area Sales Manager, Staffing and Recruiting):
I think it’s one simple thing: I make sure I’m present every single day for them. Whether it is during our morning meetings or daily recaps, I want them to know that I continue to stay engaged and focused so that we meet our goals. I am always reinforcing to my team that we’re all in this together. As a leader, setting the tone starts with me and I believe that if I lead by example my team will follow.
Lauren Rasmussen (Senior Sales Manager, Small and Medium Business):
I continue to keep an open channel of communication with the team. Whether this is through video check-ins, updates on our Microsoft Teams channel, or our weekly virtual happy hours to close out the week. I also believe that some friendly competition is a good thing, so I regularly track activity by the reps and publish rankings for the team.
