As my teams went from 100% office to 100% remote over Covid, I saw the sense of communal purpose wane. For me, this led to learning and understanding the importance of putting the 'why' at the forefront of our communications to help teams stay motivated and connected to their purpose.

I loved working my home as prior to Covid I was commuting up to 3-4 hours per day, 3-4 days per week. I also saved a lot of money, sanity and time not having to travel.

Two company values we had at the time were 'we all lead' and 'we all care' and these became more amplified during Covid.

- Michelle

A lot is achieved in police by running into people in lifts and corridors and bailing them up on something, much harder to get 'ear time' with really busy people.

I learnt to manage the welfare of my staff differently, keep my workforce going and trust that productivity would remain, and staff would access police systems sensitively and appropriately.

Police learnt to become a more agile workforce, with some groups having continued with a hybrid model of working.

Zoom was embraced and some form of virtual meeting has remained. Whilst initially I liked them as you didn't have to relocate for every meeting, i think in some way it has been over utlised and now I have a lot of Teams meetings where a phone call or email may have sufficed.

I didn't enjoy lockdown, I felt less productive and less able to disconnect from work (hard in a 24/7 world), as I lived alone, I felt very isolated and disconnected. There was a measure of guilt as most of my direct reports had to work in the office and at scenes (much work was required to make them feel safe)

Working in health, work was centered at the hospital and working at home was not an option. Due to my work environment my family moved to a neighboring island (prior to border closure) to prevent them from getting covid. Leadership was paramount emphasizing the importance of communication, transparency and collaboration with other sectors including private and Non Government Organizations (NGO).

Working from home initially felt convenient and more productive with less commute time. Over time, this felt draining and mentally tiring without the human interactions and socialization aspects. A mix of hybrid working where employees could determine when they wanted to WFH and go into the office would see the best of both worlds.

I was able to improve my work-life balance and learn to be more productive with the limited amount of time I had at times, whilst looking after younger kids.

A lot more communication was seen from leadership during the pandemic. Employee wellbeing was prioritised with a lot of social online teams calls to check in on everyone.

My thoughts about working from home haven't changed much. I was a big believer before the pandemic in getting people onboard with the goal and how we're going to achieve it and then trusting them to get it done. Once we've set up appropriate comms channels and everyone has figured out what they're doing, how they're doing it and when they need to do it by I don't mind if they're doing it from a beach in Bali.

My family certainly became more accepting of other people working from home.

Being in the UK during the covid lockdowns and eat out to help out initiatives was interesting. Seeing the leader of the UK, Boris Johnson act in much the same way as Richard from the video we watched last week was an insight into poor leadership. The honourable Mr Johnson decided to have a huge garden party with all of his friends at number 10 downing street while the police where out breaking up small social gatherings on the streets. Very strange times. Leadership would have looked like the opposite of this

Being an essential worker needing to be on site, I did not experience working from home during COVID. 

However, a lot of in person education sessions or group meetings were moved online, which offer more flexibility, such as not having to present in person on off-work days, but able to ZOOM in.

COVID changed my perception of work and the work environment. The health workforce was put under significant stress and though I enjoy my job, I wouldn’t be able to work full time for another 30 years. It allowed me to expland my view of my career opportunities, likely leading to the MBA.

Leadership in COVID involved:-

1. Emphasis on Teamwork, Community and Collaboration – Highlighted by our PM Jacinda Ardern and Dr. Ashley Bloomfield’s daily updates.

2. Calmness in the face of Adversity

3. Flexibility and Adaptability to Change

Leadership during COVID-19 required empathy, clear communication, and decisiveness in navigating uncharted territories. There was a lot of focus on how leaders could trust their teams to do their work from remote. I do feel that I am more efficient from home and get more done. However, being in the office with coworkers has its advantages, as you can pick up on micro expressions that working from home makes nearly impossible to achieve.

I loved WFH, even with it's challenges of having all family members climbing over each other. I still love WFH, but not permanently full time. I like a hybrid working approach.

Any shifts that took place due to COVID-19 have shifted back . . . but overall, strategically, we have greater business continuity plans in place and can adapt to lockdowns and adverse events better.

Leadership was calm, and forgiving. It was compassionate and understanding. It was "do the best you can, given the circumstances". We were all in the same boat, so could better empathise.

Before the pandemic, my interaction with digital tools was relatively limited to basic tasks. However, as remote work and virtual interactions became the norm, I found myself navigating a steep learning curve. The first significant shift was embracing video conferencing platforms. Whether it was Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet, these tools became essential for staying connected with colleagues, attending virtual meetings, and even participating in social events.

Lessons for Leaders:

• Reliance on Digital world and internet

• Become more secure by enhancing cybersecurity

• E-Commerce platforms became a must for businesses to operate.

But, with the onset of the COVID-19 lockdown, the rest of my family was all of a sudden at home with me during my workday.  As a result, we had all had to quickly adapt; me to the presence of others in the home during working hours; my children to doing all of their learning online; and my partner to having a full house and meeting the needs of everyone present all day long, every day.  While not always easy, over time my family learned to not just live together, but to work and learn together as well.  This included finding a new level of respect for each other and allowing each other to carve out our own space and time.

I’ve mostly worked from home since that time, and I continue to enjoy it. Although, I do miss in-person work and try to find any opportunity that I can for direct human contact.  I am still of the opinion that there are many types of tasks that have better outcomes when performed with others together in a physical space.

I embraced working from home, having already experienced remote work and appreciating its flexibility. It also suited my unique personal situation where I was looking after a terminal parent and young child.

I think leaders who provided support and transparency were the most effective. Providing this allowed for people to be able to adapt, plan and respond more effectively, and with more ease than those without.

2.       I loved working from home for personal reasons – my wife was pregnant and so it was perfect. But then, I was in work and not faced with the anxiety of not losing my job – I can’t begin how to imagine how that must have been for people. I missed the office. I believe the best ideas are created when people come together. I work from home now four days a week, and while I have interaction via video, when I’m in town on Fridays I work in a shared office space and I make sure I’m meeting people and having that interaction.

3.       Career-wise, the work I did during COVID brought me into contact with a lot of leaders of large organisations trying to chart a course through the uncertainty and I really came to really respect most of them for the job they had and did – set my sights on wanting to work for a large corporate at some point (no rush though).

4.       I think the best leaders during COVID were those who were able to calm people, reduce anxiety while at the same time themselves planning ahead to what their business and industry would look like post-pandemic. Those who were able to acknowledge the mental impact of the uncertainty and anxiety it created. Also those who were able to acknowledge that, whether you agreed with the health/economic response or not, the world was going through something unprecedented and there will be mistakes made (eg non-linear/ambiguous) – and that the best thing is to be constructive.

Many Principals resorted to communicating in our clusters outside of MOE comms just to make sense of what was being asked, how to operationalise the demands and what resources would be needed.

In small communities the local school is often viewed as a place of refuge in difficult times but this was not an option.

Above all, empathy and understanding was most needed as I supported whānau and community.

Reflecting on the lessons learnt by not only the company I work for, but for pretty much the entire retail industry, the pandemic solidified the importance of directing efforts towards creating a pleasant online shopping experience. The website sales had been on upwards trend, but the pandemic imposed a major shift in buyer's behaviours and the e-commerce grew exponentially.

https://unctad.org/news/how-covid-19-triggered-digital-and-e-commerce-turning-point