Patrick Riccards

When working with virtual teams, you need to start with a “trust” mindset. It shouldn’t matter if staff is in the cube next to you or working from home in their bunny slippers. We assemble teams we must trust to understand the job, attend to deadlines and deliverables, and get the work done. With a virtual team, it is the outcome that matters, not the process. Assuming you provide all the technology needed to keep the team engaged, and you are leading in ways the team seeks, you will be successful. It’s all about regular engagement, clear expectations, and results results results.

One navigates the future by anticipating it. When it comes to public administration, the next frontier is how AI will affect policy. One doesn’t need to have the answers, but needs to be fluent in the topic and understand the basics. 25 years ago, we were asking how the internet would impact PA. 10 or 15 years ago, we wanted to understand how social media would impact. Now we are on AI. To stay relevant in your chosen field, you have to stay aware of the trends and understand its potential in your field. That is particularly true in areas like public administration and public policy. Even if tech takes on an outsized role, we need people who can apply it. Stay current on trends and their applications.

It is easy to lodge a concern and complaint. It is easier to be concerned when management doesn’t take those concerns seriously or ignores them all together. So it is equally important to continue the dialogue, particularly when you are seeing progress or effort. Change is hard, and we all can take critiques personally. Good leaders reflect on it and try to adjust their behaviors appropriately. Noting when that is happening is incredibly valuable for the leader. We all should strive to be the best we can be. Just because you are a leader doesn’t mean you are infallible. And it also doesn’t mean you don’t need positive reinforcement. Follow up means you care about the individual, not that you are just grousing.

Any feedback, whether positive or negative, is an important data point for continued development and improvement. While it can be harder to get it from a peer, you need to separate the personal (and the potential motivation) from the information itself. Is it a fair criticism? Is it something you are aware of and working on? How can you learn from the feedback? These are all questions we benefit from exploring. No matter our title, position, or day-to-day work, we can all improve. Negative feedback can be useful in prioritizing where we can grow professionally and understanding our professional strengths and weaknesses.

Don’t wallow. It is natural for one to negatively react to a layoff, feeling it is an indictment of one as a professional failure. That can lead to us nor publicly acknowledging the job loss or asking for help in our moment of need. See this as the opportunity it is. Inventory what you liked and didn’t like about your previous job. Understand the warning signs you should have seen before the layoff. Explore what you could have done differently, while realizing the answer may be nothing. Then embrace the change. Without trashing your previous employer, reach out to your network and ask for help. Acknowledge the loss while celebrating the opportunity. And move to the right thing, not the first thing.

Don’t shy away from the conflict. As challenging as office fights can be, it can be far worse of you ignore them or stifle honest discussion. Such disagreements happen for a reason. That requires that you provide a space for grievances to be aired, concerns to be raised, and all voices to be heard. While those who instigate conflict may not like the final resolution, they know when their concerns are being heard and when they are not. Openly discussed conflict indicates you’ve built an organizational culture that reflects honesty and engagement. Lean into that, as you seek to move on from this particular issue.