March 23 event features Prabha Packiam of SickKids discussing meaningful careers in this new work environment
“People are feeling disoriented these days, like they’ve been through a storm.”
So says Prabha Packiam, associate director of learning and talent at the SickKids Foundation, in talking about leadership amid the pandemic.
As one of the speakers at the upcoming Learning & Development Summit Canada on March 23, Packiam will be discussing how to build meaningful careers for leaders in the new hybrid world.
“A lot of work we're doing is really trying to get leaders to open their minds to this new world that we're about to go into, and all the changes and implications there are for them… and how they can re-situate themselves in a world they're not familiar with yet,” she says.
With the pivot to so many people working from home, digital competency is a key skill set that’s needed.
“We've really got to create that mindset that… this is an area that they want to develop in themselves, because they know if they don't, they're going to be left behind pretty fast. So there's a lot of talk about the virtual world,” says Packiam.
It’s also about focusing on the area of empathy, as a leader, she says.
“People are dealing with more issues, mental health issues, and what's funny is, in the first few years, there was a lot of momentum, a lot of engagement, because it was new, we were all working from home… And people really went all out to work because they wanted to support the hospital [but now] they're exhausted. And the weight of what's happened in society is really having a toll on people that they haven't even really recognized. And this is when it's starting to manifest.”
This is an area where leaders should be able “to assess and triage burnout and mental health issues,” says Packiam.
It’s also about management going with the flow, being agile in their thinking, to deal with all of these challenges, she says.
“We're asking a lot of leaders today, it's daunting and overwhelming, and [it’s about] how do we build that capacity for them to be that empathetic leader who’s also very business minded, technically savvy — there's so many components.”
For more great insights from industry experts, register for the Learning & Development Summit Canada on March 23.