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WWT CEO Jim Kavanaugh's 5 Big Leadership Tips During COVID

CRN: From key executive messaging during COVID-19 to not raising health insurance, World Wide Technology CEO Jim Kavanaugh gives his best leadership advice during uncertain times in his Best of Breed Virtual Series keynote.

by Mark Haranas

The Best of Breed (BoB) Virtual Series is designed to meet the evolving needs of the IT channel's largest, fastest-growing, and most progressive solution provider organizations and the top technology vendors and distributors.
 

Continue To Invest And Don't Raise Health Insurance

One of our communications [to employees] is that we will continue to invest in all of these different things. That's investing in our employees, their safety, their well being, sick leave, unpaid time off – all the things that become very critical during a global pandemic like the one we're dealing with.

Another thing we've communicated is that we have not raised our healthcare insurance in 18 years. We've communicated that again. It's so important especially in times like this, in a crisis, that you continue to support your employees in every way possible and they see it and they feel it.

Demonstrate That You Truly Care; If You Don't, Employees See Through That

You need to listen. You need to take the time to listen to your employees. You need to get your executive team to cascade that down. So a heightened level of listening. A heightened level in expedited learning in regards to what's going on.

Then really coming up with what your messaging is. Think through very thoughtfully what that messaging is and then be very consistent with it. Then you need to act on things that you need to act on based on the learnings that you're having in a real time iterative basis.

Some of the things that we stepped in and leaned into very early was the No. 1 focus here at World Wide Technology was the safety and well-being of our employees. We made that very clear from the early days of COVID and everything that we were dealing with.

The other thing that's very important and needs to be done very sincerely and authentically is you as a leader need to demonstrate that you truly care. If you don't, your employees will see through that. That's incredibly important.

Messaging Is Key Around 'Survive And Thrive'

 

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