18 DEBATE
Louisa Scanlan, Collaborate Business Solutions Chris Smith, Pendle Engineering
It’s been a slog for anyone in a position of responsibility. The pressure has been on to deliver and we’ve all been caught on a stormy sea. That’s what it has felt like, having to navigate through these uncertain times.
We’re under pressure, but one of the things I’ve been really keen to do is look introspectively and fully appraise the quality of our business, to a level that we wouldn’t usually, because we’re busy.
I’ve been really surprised at just how much confidence there still is in the market. I’ve been spending on marketing and I’ve got a new product that I’ll be launching in the new year.
The majority of my clients have been doing the same thing. They’ve said, ‘we’ve just got to get on with it, we can’t stop because the whole world seems to be grinding to a halt, we need to back ourselves and see what happens’. I found it quite refreshing.
We’ve sent people home and told them, you need to do the work that you would normally do in the office, and we’re going to trust you to do it from home.
Most of them have done it and have done it absolutely brilliantly, because they know their job, and they know what they need to do. We just need to trust them.
Chris Smith
It is hard to focus on improvement, but now is the time because once we do see an uptick we need to be in a good position, simple as that.
One thing I’m really clear on is having peers that you can talk to in a safe way and who understand what you are up against.
That has been one of the massive benefits of this period. With things such as Zoom you can set up conversations with people that you would never get a meeting with, or would never even try to. It can be a half-hour call and it can change your entire outlook.
No-one can really predict what’s going on, because it’s a totally unprecedented situation, but just having someone say, you’re doing the basics, you’re on the right lines, keep going; sometimes that’s all you need.
Louisa Scanlan Greg Ward, Mattioli Woods
We’ve seen a massive change in our working patterns as a business, all of our staff are pretty much working from home.
For me it’s about really assessing your business and your product and checking if it’s good enough, and always having that mentality of continuous improvement, that’s something we’ve focused heavily on.
The intensity of our work has gone up exorbitantly, and for us it’s also trying to make sure that we can drive those efficiencies and make sure our people aren’t going to burn out, because it’s been really, really intense.
I’m very lucky, I’ve got a fantastic leadership team alongside me and having other people to share your concerns and your ideas is key.
Greg Ward
Also, I have a business coach, because I want to leverage off their experience, they’re somebody who also coaches other really successful, high growth businesses. Just having that forum to listen and chat to them is key. One thing I’ve learnt is that everybody is different. Everyone in my team, they’re all individuals. What I’ve been
getting from my coach is the need to get under the skin of the individual a bit more and understand their needs. That’s been a really good thing for me to reflect and focus on. Our product is our people and we’ve got to get that right.
We all need to find some time to just step back and reflect and think, and not constantly just be working. That’s been a real shift.
This is going to be a new age for leadership. It’s potentially an incredibly positive time to be a leader, but we also just need to make sure that we look after ourselves and appreciate that it is alright sometimes to take your foot off the gas.
New development programmes for 2021 from Collaborate Business Solutions
Contact Collaborate via
www.collaboratebusinesssolutions.co.uk Phone Number 01200 420881
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