When I think of how my team fared during the pandemic, the word that comes to my mind is “innovation.” As a CEO and a shaper of corporate culture, this makes me incredibly excited. It’s been a challenging time, but also a remarkable season for growth.
The pandemic tested us physically, logistically, and emotionally. The unexpected and immediate shift to a fully remote company left us with a lot to master from our respective pods. There’s a different urgency around skill development when you’re learning in a crisis. After refining our communication and work-product delivery best practices for more than a year, my conclusion is that this experience turbocharged our skills and streamlined our operations.
Washington Post columnist Fareed Zakaria writes: “Crises always lead people to find new ways to do things, adopt new technologies and cast away old practices. In the United States, the ability of large parts of the economy to function and excel in the digital realm — when the physical economy was broadly shut down — has surprised even techno-optimists.”
During the 14 months we have been in the pandemic, my team has become a leaner, more focused unit. In essence: this experience made us better at our jobs. It forced us to evolve. We did not choose to learn this way, but we’ve garnered valuable rewards because we’ve successfully navigated the crisis.
Bridget Papanicholas is CEO & Managing Director of TRANSEARCH USA. As head of the project delivery team, Bridget leads a team of senior recruiters and researchers as she oversees all the TRANSEARCH Chicago searches. She partners directly with executives to provide terrific insight on candidates and outstanding service during the interview and on-boarding process. Her passion for process and consistency has been instrumental in streamlining and improving search processes and project timelines.
