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Leading and growing high-performance teams while digitally distancing


Johannesburg, 17 Aug 2021
Dr Megan Vercueil, Head of Mobility, MTN Business.
Dr Megan Vercueil, Head of Mobility, MTN Business.

Dr Megan Vercueil, MTN Business’s Head of Mobility, is extremely passionate about leadership. “For many years, leadership was always associated with a job title, when in fact it’s a skillset. If anything, the pandemic has shown us how important leadership is when people are working remotely. And the digitisation of everything means that we’re seeing leadership happening across different levels.” 

Vercueil clarifies this statement: “When working remotely, individuals have to practice self-leadership. Leadership of any kind (self or others) requires certain skillsets that are very learnable. One of the most prominent skills required is the ability to communicate, which encompasses knowing both when and how to communicate. It’s easy to hide behind a screen, but it’s so important to make sure that communication is effective, clear and timeous, especially in uncertain times. It’s also key to provide people with information and be transparent.”

There isn’t a handbook on how to navigate a pandemic; people have had to rely on one another for support and advice. Businesses and individuals alike quickly realised how dependent they are on technology and connectivity – and the extent to which people have to self-manage and set boundaries because, for the time being, everyone lives at work. This is where leaders need to guide their teams, ensuring they block out time or set definitive work hours in their calendars to manage their work-life balance.

Before COVID-19, many companies were fearful of remote working as they were concerned that people wouldn’t be productive. However, multiple research papers have shown that almost all companies have reported increased productivity since their employees have been working from home.

What has also been detected is that employees can feel disconnected and isolated when they work remotely, and the business needs to manage that. Vercueil says this is where communication comes into its own. “First and foremost there’s company-wide communication, which should include regular updates, perhaps the occasional roundtable with the CEO, team meetings and regular check-ins with staff. Secondly, people in leadership positions must communicate at a team level as well as an individual level. It’s certainly more taxing to check in with individuals, but by putting on the camera and taking note of how people look, and what they are sharing with you can assist in determining whether or not they’re coping – not just with work, but with life during a pandemic.

“Every single individual has been impacted in some way by COVID-19, and it’s a blessing that technology and connectivity enable us to reach out to people and check in with them. This unusual time requires a convergence of the human spirit, emotions, functionality and technology, all working together to support people.”

She firmly believes that a new way of work is going to evolve, presupposing a hybrid model of sorts going forward. “I believe companies will be more open to employees dividing their time between home and office and geography will no longer be a limitation to the job you can do. All that will matter is that you have a skillset that’s needed for a particular job.”

People take for granted that they can access the same data and applications on their phones as they do on their laptops or tablets. What they don’t realise is the amount of technology that has to happen in the background to enable all of that. It’s impressive that service providers have managed to keep technology and connectivity up and running in the face of challenges such as load-shedding and lockdown.

This type of enabling technology and connectivity is equally available to individuals, SMEs and large business. “A lot of SMEs were under pressure to go digital prior to the pandemic, but their journey has had to be accelerated. And while not all of them have the wherewithal to develop their own application, they’ve been able to do business through social media using channels such as WhatsApp groups, Facebook’s marketplace and Instagram.”

As their channel to market has changed, client service has become critical, and once again, communication is key. Customers don’t want to log into a page, submit their details and be contacted somewhere down the line. They want a response there and then, and if they don’t get it, they’ll take their business elsewhere. So, while SMEs need to be in the digital realm, they don’t necessarily need their own app but they do need to find ways in which to reach customers where they are and timeously.

She says: “The COVID-19 pandemic has forced business owners to question why they started the business in the first place. The answer to that helps them figure out how to evolve. It all goes back to the basic foundation for any business – the company values. If the values are clear and linked to the business goals, the path ahead will reveal itself. While access to technology is an important aspect of business survival, there’s still space for the fundamentals, such as how you help the people that you work with and, in turn, your customers. Since lockdown happened, we’ve seen inspirational stories of companies going the extra mile to help customers, innovating products to align with changing requirements, and even dropping prices. The telecommunications sector stepped up and reduced data prices, introduced remote working plans and bundles while ensuring quality network and connectivity for its customers.”

The biggest lesson that’s emerged over the past few months is the value of leadership. “Regardless of what has happened, South Africans came together to help one another; it’s in the essence of our DNA. Leadership is about taking on a big responsibility. It’s not about you, it’s about the people around you and how you create trust and safety in challenging times.” 

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