How to lead your team out of a crisis

Buddy Martin, Chief Operating Officer

I am the Chief Operating Officer of Entech, responsible for the company’s daily operations, managing the leadership team and their accountability, and crafting policies that promote the company’s culture and vision.

I began my career with Entech in 2002 as an Office Administrator. After earning successive promotions, ultimately, I was named COO in 2011.

The new normal

This pandemic has challenged our business to move to a full remote workforce. Thankfully, with us being an IT company the transition was minimal.

As a company we are very close to our employees and work closely together on most projects, if not all. As a thought leader, I found important practices to guide my team.

Acknowledging reality

Everyone on your team is likely following the news intently. As a leader I have been able to approach my team on a weekly basis and keep them updated on how we as a company continue to handle this pandemic.

This has allowed my team to feel at ease during these difficult times. Engaging the team makes them feel a part of the solution rather than a victim of the crisis.

Creating a schedule

Throughout these times we had to change the way we meet and communicate. When outside forces are unpredictable, there is comfort in having a schedule.

Creating opportunities for employees to connect with one another is important to the team and to me as the leader. A daily morning update Teams call keeps everyone involved in business progress.

The quick check-ins also gauge the physical and emotional well-being of my team members.

Face-to-face matters

Now more than ever, having an opportunity for virtual in-person interaction is essential to keeping employees engaged.

Working remotely, I have found that having that face-to-face contact to discuss day to day activities helps us all build stronger relationships.

Knowing not to overwork yourself

Now that working remotely is a reality, it’s more important than ever to close my laptop and focus on my personal life when the day is done.

During this crisis, your staff may feel the need to overwork and not unplug. Make it very clear that this is what they need to do.

We are here for you

Being a remote workforce ourselves, we know what you need on daily basis to be successful.

With both of our offices 100 miles apart we are still able to stay connected to each other and we are prepared for whatever comes our way. We will continue to assist you in any way that we can to help you through this crisis, and keep enabling you to do what matters.

Please let me know how we can help.