Part of the A-Team: tactics for teamwork in stressful times

There are numerous frameworks, disciplines and methodologies out there which purport to help managers and remote workers to be productive, innovative and energised despite the lack of real-world face to face contact.

But the speed of the lockdown and the uncertainty it has generated has left many business continuity plans in tatters, with managers and staff uncertain about the best route to follow, says Jeremy Cooper, senior director - IT operations at biomedical firm Charles River Laboratories.

"You see a lot of very polished content, and that can make you feel you're not very good because this has all happened very suddenly and you've followed the model and it hasn't worked. You feel you should have been better prepared for it."

Jeremy and others will be discussing ways to cope with the stresses and strains crisis-induced decision making on a managerial and personal level during Computing's Deskflix virtual event: Empowering the Remote Working Revolution on Thursday. It's an issue that's close to his heart. Jeremy recently set up a group called IT Hive Mind to provide IT professionals with the tools, mindset and community to succeed in both business and life with physical and mental wellbeing intact.

"People need to realise they're not in this alone" he says.

Tom Geraghty, head of technology at consultancy MoreNiche, is an expert in building effective tech teams. For him, it's very important that people recognise the signs of stress. "Psychological safety is fundamental when building a good high-performing team," he says.

For his firm, the technical aspects have not been too much of a problem, but the lockdown brought severe challenges around "communication, delivery, planning and coordination. We realised instantly that this is something we had to get right."

Tom and Jeremy are joined by Andjela Djukanovic, technology risk assistant manager at KPMG. Andjela told Computing she originally took the role because of its people-focused nature. "I knew I wanted to be in a company that works with clients, that face-to-face interaction with different people," she said.

Customer-facing jobs are among the hardest to replicate in the virtual space, but there are ways around the physical constraints, and with travel out of the picture for now, she's been looking into the ways that technology can bridge the communications gap as well as breaking down traditional silos.

This discussion, Part of the A-Team, will go out live at 1.30pm Thursday 21 May. It promises to be a lively debate on a very timely topic. You can register for the event below to put your questions to our experts. But since we won't have time to get through them all, if you have any burning questions for our panelists please email them to me (john[dot]leonard[@]incisivemedia[dot]com) and I'll do my best to ensure they're included. 

Panel debate Part of the A-Team, 1.30 Thursday 21 May.

Register free for Deskflix today.

Panelists

Jeremy Cooper, Senior Director - IT Operations, Charles River Laboratories

Andjela Djukanovic, Technology Risk Assistant Manager, KPMG

Tom Geraghty, Head of Technology, MoreNiche

Moderator: John Leonard, Research Director, Computing and Delta

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• Topics
• Management
• Jeremy Cooper
• Charles River Laboratories
• Tom Geraghty
• KPMG
• Andjela Djukanovic
• deskflix
• Coronavirus