IGTA Journal - Winter 2020/2021

As a global community, we have learned many things over the past year – some of them to do with medical science (not surprisingly), some of them technology (also fairly logically) and others around how we interact and work best with each other. It’s an interesting anomaly: technology is advancing (my title references a Terminator film: Rise of the Machines ), yet there is also a far greater awareness of mental health and wellness. Mindfulness as a concept is gaining traction. Mental health issues are becoming less taboo and solutions and preventatives are proliferating. Resilience is no longer solely a measure of how secure our systems are, but frequently refers to how we within my own team at the Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) is that this prolonged period of working remotely has enabled us to get to know each other on a more personal level (think of those dog or child interruptions to video calls). There is a greater sense of camaraderie in these challenging times, too. The common cause of COVID-19 is bringing teams closer together. Wouldn’t it be great if we can maintain that as we progress into the next normal? We could go into the next phase of our working lives with both a greater sense of each other and a fuller awareness of mental health issues. Given the cultural shifts we have seen to date, how far can we expect to see changes like these embedded in our working lives, and what other evolution might we see? Certainly, flexible working is here to stay in some form or other, and performance measures are gradually becoming orientated towards results rather than time – a huge step in the right direction. Too often managers have relied on evidence of hours put in rather outputs. I think the pandemic has brought about a shift in how we look at leaders. Insights into how di erent nations, corporates and individuals have tackled the crisis have made us think about communicative, visionary, inspirational leadership and its impact. A previously undervalued style of leadership, one that puts people, transparency and empathy at the fore, is now being recognised for its full worth. Looking specifically at the treasurer’s role, better monitoring and management of key numbers, metrics and cash is the way forward. Doing this well has long been a focus consciously build our own pool of internal resources to help us cope with the challenges that are thrown at us. Mental health was once a forgotten corner of the diversity and inclusion conversation. Now it is something we think about and read about every day. Speaking to treasurers, they tell me that this is a focus for their companies and also themselves personally. They tell me they watch their teams closely for signs that individuals might be struggling. And if they do pick up warning notes, they act appropriately. So, how have working norms changed recently? Are we seeing a more practicable and humane approach to work? One thing I note within treasury teams and see for treasurers. But now it is front and centre in terms of the focus of the CEO and board. But the numbers alone are not su cient. It will be crucial for treasurers to continue to develop themselves in non- technical areas such as strategic influencing – and we know from our Business of Treasury research a lack of these can often be the blocker to a successful career in treasury. There’s a lot of discussion, of course, around how we deal with virtual communications as humans, and we talk about the limitations of Zoom and Teams calls, and how our brains are struggling with what they observe via camera rather than directly. Jitske Kramer, the corporate anthropologist, also talks about our culture as o ce ‘tribes’, and we know we miss our water-cooler moments. There are so many more impacts on corporate culture that come out of the past year, many of which are not yet known. Su ce to say, the human side is clearly taking a prominent role in how things are developing, and perhaps technology now has the task of stepping up and re-humanising the way we work. Caroline Stockmann is chief executive of the ACT COMMENT treasurers.org/thetreasurer Issue 1 2021 11 There’s a lot of discussion, of course, around how we deal with virtual communications as humans HOW HAS THE PANDEMIC INFLUENCED THE WAY WE WORK WITH EACH OTHER? THE RISE OF THE HUMAN IKON IMAGES IGTA eJournal | Winter 2020/21 | 37