We sat down with ‘Andy’, a sparky leader with a striking story, who approached The Anonymous Leader to tell us his tips and tricks.
After a long career speeding through the public sector, Andy switched lanes. “I retired and secured a job within the private sector, using my old skills in a new security logistics role”. Now, Andy works for a global freight company.
“I’ve been there nearly 10 years now”, Andy explains with a smile. “I manage and cover a range of locations including the UK”.
Andy works “to help keep their product safe and secure”.
On a side note, “safe and secure” is sort of Andy’s motto for his leadership and work style. You’ll be seeing more of that catchphrase.
His role covers a lot of ground, from ensuring compliance with airline industries and ocean port authorities (with all their rules and regulations), to looking after the physical wellbeing of the warehouse team, operational staff and the many drivers.
But overall, as Andy is keen to explain, “the mainstay of my role is to make sure that the customer receives their freight safely and securely – they don’t want it nicked, do they?”.
The Scenario – Covid Consequences
We’ve all had our fair share of setbacks from the global pandemic; Andy is no exception, having recently faced a coronavirus calamity of his own.
He leans back before beginning his story, clearing his throat and offering a preface: “I had to step in big style”.
Last year, Andy was managing a team of 6 to 10 people, all reporting directly to him. His exclusive team were working with an elite customer to ship a brand-new product, which hadn’t even been advertised to the general public yet!
“Information and intelligence were restricted to a minimal amount of personnel”. The super-secret shipment had to stay hush-hush.
Then calamity struck. Over half the team tested positive and needed to self-isolate. They were “taken out of the equation of the pending project”. And the virus hit hard:
“They could work online, but the problem was some of them were too ill to go online”.
With the highly valuable, confidential freight still needing to be shipped around, Andy’s leadership skills were put to the test.
The Solution – Stepping In, Stepping Up
Andy had to replace those colleagues caught out by covid. But it wasn’t easy assembling a new band of secret agent-like staff.
“I had to step up and call other individuals from the teams who never received the briefing or dealt with this sort of customer”.
And before he could even address the impending shipments, Andy had to test their integrity and dish out a word of warning.
“I had to warn them about their social media”, he mentions with a stern look. No divulging allowed!
“How would you feel it if it was your own stuff?”, he’d tell the team. “You’d make sure that it was safe and secure, by not telling anyone know what you’ve got…”.
Having re-laid the groundwork, the job could re-begin.
The Strategy – Back to Basics
With the team all caught up, next came a test of their communication skills. Emails alone wouldn’t get the job done.
“As well as using their online (keyboard) skills, they had to use the old-fashioned way of talking to people”.
As the company worked globally, phone calls upon phone calls were crucial. Calling up offices across the world was the only way to quickly cope with time zones.
“I always reminded them that Ping-Pong emails are all well and good, but follow that up with a one-one call. That made sure that the communication path was open, clear and concise”.
Thanks (once again) to the Covid situation, a lot of freight wasn’t arriving by aeroplane anymore – it had to be trucked.
“I had to keep track of that as well. We had to ring other security agents, at all hours, to check on the drivers’ safety”.
“I’m a bit of a dinosaur”, Andy jokes, but the old way worked. “We got progressively quicker”.
Then, the company’s other offices began to do the same. Across the countries, the message was clear: “Let’s get on top of it”.
The Influence – Infectious Positivity
Andy’s main influence is straightforward: “Be emotionally aware”.
“I always instilled a positive attitude”, he explains, to make any obstacle seem less daunting. Even when dealing with delays or “having to do jobs over and over again”, the team could keep at it “without being worn down”.
Andy’s get up and go was surely infectious. “I made them laugh, not with jokes, but with silly humour”.
And there was another way to make everyone smile: refreshments.
“I know it’s a bit silly, but I would go make the coffees. I’m the team leader but I would go get the drinks or come back with a load of cake”.
Andy knew just what it meant to lead by example, so his team “saw a manager who was happy to get stuck in”.
He had enough passion to go round, passing out the smiles and the snacks. This positivity “rubbed off on them in the end, as they were all ready to carry on and push through”.
A Seamless Outcome – Kudos!
How did it all work out in the end, Andy?
“Seamlessly”.
The customer was more than satisfied, and that covid calamity was just a quiet hiccup.
“No one thought anything different. In fact, they thought it had been run better. I even got kudos from the CEO!”.
“The customer’s freight was delivered (I know I keep saying it but) safely and securely, and in a timely fashion. It was ready for distribution to the public at large!”.
Andy’s team worked well as individuals and found new ways of communicating, forming partnerships between departments and with the customer.
They tapped into their interpersonal skills and “had to suddenly switch on” when their 9-5 got reshuffled.
Top Leadership Tips
“Lead by example, with a little humility”
Do the stuff you maybe aren’t ‘meant’ to do. “It’s a silly little thing the coffees, but it’s something the team wasn’t used to”, which was much appreciated by all!
“Think on your feet”
To handle a challenging situation, you may need to think quickly about practical measures, like time zones and people’s safety.
“Trust your training”
Utilise all the skills you have at your disposal. Think about all those skills from previous life experience, too!