I’m not on the front-line fighting COVID-19. I’m trying to do my bit; I’m staying home, I’ve volunteered and am offering support anywhere I can.
New challenges are facing us all at this time. As behavioural psychologist Richard Tyler wrote in his recent blog Going Within, “In a world where so many souls seek a degree of predictability and routine we have entered a fluid space.”
Like many, I’m separated from vulnerable family members (in my case that means all my family!), but I’m not badly off and feel grateful for what I do have, including the stabilising factors of wonderful friends and family who keep in touch, a great job with colleagues I know and trust, a huge pile of unread books, and a home surrounded by green space.
Doesn’t sound bad. Except, I’m taking that stability and turning it upside down – by choice (ish). Friday was my last day in my ‘great job with colleagues I know and trust’. Today is my first day in a new job which is exciting and motivating, in which I’ll be constantly learning and hopefully make a positive difference. It’s a big change though, and I’m going through it all virtually.
No reassuring leaving do with well wishes and hugs and dancing (maybe even the odd tear). No settling into a new office space, meeting your new colleagues in person or even awkwardly being called out in a team meeting as the unknown face, while you try and think of something at once interesting, funny and inspiring to say (just as well, I’m still working on that part… J).
So how does that feel? Is it scary? Is it the right choice? Will this be the future of working life? It feels strange, it’s really scary, I’m confident it’s the right choice and have no idea what the industry will look like next week let alone when all this dies down – which it will.
For over three and a half years I’ve worked at WeAreFearless, an integrated creative agency specialising in sport and entertainment, that’s just five years old. I’ve seen it blossom into an award-winning juggernaut from the seeds of an inspired idea of ‘boldness with back up’ – using values-based psychology and neuroscience to gain a deeper understanding of audiences and what makes them tick to allow braver, more original creativity.
I haven’t just had the privilege of observing this journey either, I’ve been in the thick of it. It’s been a mission more than a job, we’re a Fearless family as much as we’re colleagues and once you’re part of the Fearless family, you’re in it for life. Now though, a new adventure beckons, one I wasn’t looking for until it found me, but which feels a lot like serendipity. And so Formula E, the all-electric racing series conceived to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles and play its part in the reduction of global climate change, awaits.
My decision was made before COVID-19 took over our lives – and it really is taking over our lives. In a vlog published on Friday 27th March, Ben Munro Davies, Editor, Sunrise on Sky News told Broadcast Revolution: “Over the last 10 days we have on Sky exclusively covered COVID-19.” However, that’s the context in which my choice is playing out. Do I regret it? No. Is it disconcerting? Yes.
I thought carefully about what I wanted from the next chapter in my career and made my choice based on a mix of rationality and instinct which is unwavering. I spent most of my early career working in international motorsport, but it doesn’t feel like I’m going back to where I’ve been before. Instead it feels like moving forward armed with experience and knowledge from the past, but ready to be part of a new team on a new and inspiring mission driven by a clear purpose.
How am I handling it? I’m remembering the most important lesson I’ve learnt during my career so far – that people are everything. The world is in flux, we’re all being shaken up but by working together and supporting each other, we can make almost anything, new or old, pretty awesome.
In my first ever annual review (too long ago for me to reveal when) my then boss on the World Rally Championship told me that while the quality of my work was high, I needed to stop for a moment, get my head out of my notepad or computer and remember the people, take time to chat, build relationships and trust. To me, the idea of getting paid to chat was both wonderful and a shock because it felt like shirking my responsibilities. I was so wrong.
Starting at BP, I was reminded of this advice when on my first day, bursting with energy and determined to prove myself, I asked my new manager where I should start. He replied: for your first month, get to know everyone you’ll be working with, how they like to work, how you and they fit together and make sure you’re someone they’re looking forward to working alongside. My pause in that moment was quickly replaced by a long-term realisation that these were some of the wisest words I could have been offered. I’m not claiming to be perfect, I’m sure I ruffled a few feathers along the way, but his advice was priceless.
Turning to my new role, I somehow have to build trust, respect and camaraderie at a socially safe distance. Lucky for me, my new team are going out of their way to make me feel welcome and, working on an international racing series, have plenty of experience of effective remote working. Having thrown me an exceptional virtual leaving party, my old team at WeAreFearless have also made it clear that they aren’t going anywhere, they’ve got my (virtual) back and that when this is all over the well wishes and hugs and dancing will be ready and waiting.
I’m currently reading Dr Mark Epstein’s book Advice Not Given: A Guide to Getting Over Yourself. One insight was especially timely: “When we are busy trying to manage our lives, our focus on past and future removes us from all we really have, which is here and now.” Put that way, what do I have to fear? I’m not losing one team and a stranger to another. Here and now, I’m part of two teams and proudly so.
My conclusion? It isn’t change that’s in charge, it’s us. We need to work together, lean on one other, build genuine lasting relationships and take control of the change. We can’t do it alone, but we can together. Keep in touch. I’m at @ktraxton and on LinkedIn.
Katie Traxton is an ESA Board Director and Chief Communications Officer at Formula-E. She was previously Managing Partner at WeAreFearless, ESA’s Pan-Europe Sponsorship Agency of the Year.