The Balancing Act: Keeping them alive and thriving
By Lynda Consigo, Accounts Officer-In-Charge
Account management places us in a strategic position because we are able to see two perspectives — client and agency. As we now live in what many call the world’s greatest experiment because of the pandemic, we find ourselves treading in uncharted waters. For those of us who are working in an agency, the key to survival is to act fast, pivot, and adapt to make sure that we remain thriving.
In Accounts, we saw first hand the impact of this health crisis on our own and our clients’ businesses. We also recognize the vital part we play in providing support in both circles — as a friend, partner, and consultant. We embraced our role as cheerleaders (among others) giving pep talks to keep their spirits up and motivated. Even our internal meets have turned into more frequent virtual calls as we look for ways to make things work despite the circumstances.
While we continue to manage the chaos internally and externally, we do our best to keep things together. But what definitely made it work for our team, cliche though it may be, is our genuine love and commitment for what we do and the people we work with. As the one leading the charge, it is imperative that my team knows that I support them and that I am with them every step of the way. Here are some of the tactics that have proven to be useful:
Communicate! Take every opportunity to connect and talk with one another. Everyday is always going to be a busy day so it’s best that these conversations are scheduled. It is a conscious effort to find at least 30 minutes to an hour to pause, breathe, or even discuss concerns and challenges. If there are questions, do your best to answer them. Don’t know the answer? Be honest and get back to them. Transparency, I believe, is key.
We acknowledge that the current situation is difficult and that we might not know what the next steps are, but we also know that the way to get through this is by staying and working together.
Be open to learn. We are all students. We are in unfamiliar territory, thus, we need to keep ourselves open for learning opportunities. Because of this pandemic, the way we’ve come to know our work as an industry has been forever changed. Most, if not everything, of what we know went out the door just like that. However, this disruption should be viewed as a chance to learn. There may be missteps, but that will always be part of gaining experiences.
What’s important and crucial is that we acknowledge the change, gain insights and learnings, shift our mindset, and keep moving forward!
Act fast. Our everyday reminder: Pivot, pivot, and pivot fast! As the world paused and took a step back, we found ourselves asking what’s next? How do we move forward? Where are we going? It was hard, it is hard. But we need to keep our focus on our end goal.
What we learned: If there’s a roadblock, find another route, NOW! With shorter lead times, we quickly understood the need and everyone in the agency was onboard. The result: A unified effort to continue delivering next-level experiences. Pivot fast, we did!
The good kind of traffic. The shift in strategies needed to be implemented for existing accounts as well as pitches, meant the team’s workload needed to be managed efficiently. The response: Manage the traffic for the team and be vigilant.
In hindsight, it is all a balancing act. Everyday will always be a challenge, but it offers an opportunity to learn and make things better. What matters most is knowing who we are, our purpose, our role, and finding our ways to contribute to the success of our team, the agency, and our clients.
As the home of Experience Experts, TeamAsia goes the extra mile in this balancing act to provide what brands, businesses, and audiences deserve — Next Level Experiences in the Now Normal.
