By Fiona Logan
People everywhere have been touched by the unprecedented toll the coronavirus pandemic has taken across the world.
Fundamentally this is a public health crisis but the impacts on economies and livelihoods around the world have been equally devastating.
In troubled times, people will look for purpose, community, human-centred leadership and care. Insights purpose is to create a world where people truly understand themselves and others and are inspired to make a positive difference in everything they do. Across our global community, we are blessed with truly great colleagues working together to support each other, and our business. As a leader, I’ve tried to respond to recent challenges with humanity, compassion and care.
In the very early days of the pandemic, one of the first things my team did was delegate key responsibilities for engagement and communication to operational management, which really unleashed a spirit of innovation and feeling of us all being in this together. The pace of our ability to respond to new and emerging customer needs and survive in the harshest of financial climates is testimony to the leadership and resilience our people have demonstrated.
Individual emotional and mental health was my team’s top priority and we did everything we could to help our people bring balance to their lives in the ‘new normal’. We also observed where other companies in the wider learning and development community demonstrated great leadership and brought that thinking into Insights.
In addition, we immediately increased the frequency of our regular ‘all hands’ community calls to give our colleagues an opportunity to more regularly connect and to talk among themselves. This really is a time for ‘all hands’ where leadership, ideas and suggestions to support the business are put forward from all parts of the business, and this ensures that even though we are physically distant – we aren’t socially distant.
During these calls, we make time to focus on the good things – like the great support colleagues are showing each other, the fantastic response to meeting our customers’ needs, and the wonderful stories of teams coming together virtually in different and creative ways each and every day. It has also been a regular opportunity for our community of colleagues to ask questions of me and my team to stay engaged, informed and supported.
These calls, the leadership at all levels, our stories, creativity and support for each other throughout the pandemic, has reaffirmed my belief in the importance of community, connection, care, and human-centred leadership. And that the care we take for each other and our customers is more important now than ever.
About the author
Fiona joined Insights as VP Europe in 2015 and was appointed Chief Operating Officer a short time later. She took on the role of Chief Executive in 2018.
Previously, Fiona worked as CEO of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park following an international corporate career with IBM and Unilever. Fiona has attended Henley, Harvard and Macquarie Business Schools and is a previous winner of the UK Public Servant of the Year from the Women in Public Life awards.
She is responsible for ensuring Insights achieves its vision for the future and delivers on its purpose, ‘To create a world where people truly understand themselves, and others, and are inspired to make a positive difference in everything they do.’
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