Chamber event explores importance of good leadership whilst navigating business challenges
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The North East Chamber of Commerce held an event which explored leadership during challenging circumstances and how businesses can prepare for situations beyond their control.
Chief constable of Northumbria Police Vanessa Jardine shared how the force navigated the recent unprecedented civil unrest in the region and the importance of clear communication strategies at the Chamber’s Business Breakfast.
Vanessa described the initial challenges experienced by the team during the unrest due to the fast-paced moving intelligence picture, stating: “The venom in the way people tackled the police was severe.
“As is the standard practice with dealing with major incidents, the gold commander managed the delivery of the policing response. I was there to support, to liaise nationally and to make sure everything was running as smoothly as it could in the background.”
She added: “Misinformation was coming through on social media all the time. We managed to counter the misinformation quite quickly using external media and our own social media channels.”
Vanessa said it cost £1.4million to put on the police operation needed during the civil unrest, adding: “I don’t think we overpoliced, we policed with caution.”
Despite the challenges, Vanessa told Chamber members that there was a huge outpouring of support from the community.
“The vast majority of the public are supporters of the police. The number of businesses, communities, voluntary organisations thanking me for the policing and for looking after the community went to levels I’ve never known.”
The Chamber event included a panel session which explored key communication strategies for organisations, health and wellbeing, and the importance of collaborative working and partnerships.
Vanessa said: “Communication is key. Try and address misinformation quickly using official sources. Don’t forget internal communications as well, internally people are seeking a lot of information too.
“I’m also a big advocate of consistent leadership. It’s really important that you are that calm, reassuring figure in a crisis. If people in your organisation see you panic, that will create a fear and uncertainty in them.”
Steve Leach, head of business development at the North East Business Resilience Centre (NEBRC), said: “It’s about being clear, concise and relatable. If your comms isn’t clear, then you aren’t going to achieve what you’re trying to achieve.
“The solutions are within you and your team and it’s important to enable those solutions to come through. Business continuity and risk plans are also key.”
Gary McLafferty, director of engagement at the Ministry of Defence North of England Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association, said: “We operate what we in the military refer to as mission command, which means we trust our military personnel at every level to take initiative. We don’t get involved as senior leaders and are able to devolve that responsibility to those at the tactical level.
“It’s important to ensure that policies and procedures and the commander’s intent are clearly understood by everyone in the chain of command. Training and preparedness are key.”
On the importance of health and wellbeing, Vanessa said: “You need a strong team of people around you who look out for each other during these high-pressure times. The wellbeing of my staff during the unrest was incredibly important to me.”
Gary added: “We have formal decompression periods following operations where soldiers can talk to specialists in mental health, as well as padres and medics. We certainly appreciate there needs to be that down time to rest and recuperate.”
Panellists agreed that working collaboratively with the community and other businesses is important when preparing for and navigating through difficult times.
Vanessa said: “Working with the community, including the business community, is critical. It’s really important that we build our relationships during peace time so that when we hit the crisis button, we’ve already built those key relationships.”
Steve explained that NEBRC is a police-led organisation which exists to support and protect businesses in the region from online crime.
He said: “Our support is from the business and education community. Police resources are stretched and ongoing support is needed. That’s why these events are important to us. Partnerships are key.”
The Chamber’s Business Breakfast was sponsored by NEBRC and took place on 10 October at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland. NEBRC is also sponsoring the Chamber’s upcoming Cyber Security and Your Business event, which takes place on 23 October at the Great North Air Ambulance Service in Stockton-on-Tees. For more information click here.
Photo caption: (l-r) Steve Leach, head of business development at the North East Business Resilience Centre (NEBRC); Jennifer Rycroft, executive director of membership at NECC; Aneela Ali, executive director of finance and corporate services at NECC; Gary McLafferty, director of engagement at the Ministry of Defence North of England Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association; Vanessa Jardine, chief constable of Northumbria Police.