Management School hosts Business Breakfast networking event
As part of the Management School’s series of Business Breakfasts, an online Business Brunch was held on Monday 27 April on the theme of Long Distance Leadership; a particularly topical subject whilst the Covid-19 lockdown period continues.
Two speakers shared their insights and experiences of managing and leading teams remotely. Dr Ian Lovegrove worked with the British Antarctic Survey as a Station Manager of a scientific station in Antarctica itself and also managed the station remotely from the UK. After describing some of the dangers and some of the monotony associated with working at the scientific station, Ian went on to share his thoughts on the challenges he faced as a leader when dealing with isolation and outlined the management principles he found were most effective in situations of remote leadership.
Professor Julia Balogun, Dean of the Management School, then spoke about her experience of leading the School remotely. Outlining some of the ways the School and the University have quickly adapted to remote working and teaching, she also focused on some of the practical aspects involved with students, faculty and professional services teams working from home. After highlighting some of the benefits that appear to be emerging and will no doubt continue after lockdown, such as good protocols for online meetings, she also explained some of the challenges that present themselves including it being more difficult to take the ‘pulse’ of the School when everyone is at home.
The talks were followed by a short Q&A session.
Speaking about the event Professor Julia Balogun said, “We appreciate that this is a very difficult and uncertain time for everyone, particularly for members of the business community who, like us, are having to adapt to rapidly-changing ways of working. It was a pleasure to be able to share some of my experiences of leading at this time and hear the thoughts of the session’s participants during the Q&A.”