As company leaders and managers emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, they should take away three lessons learned and integrate those lessons into their midterm and long-term planning, according to Heather Sheehan, executive director of AWESOME, a nonprofit group that focuses on advancing women in supply chain leadership.

Those three lessons are: effective communication at all levels; the need to hire and develop good talent; and the importance of hiring people who are good problem solvers, Sheehan said Wednesday during American Shipper’s Global Trade Tech virtual summit. 

“Leaders have to be open and vulnerable in their communication to balance optimism and realism,” Sheehan said during a fireside chat entitled “Leadership and Logistics in the ‘Next Normal.’”

Sheehan also stressed the importance of hiring good problem solvers, those who can understand the root causes of a problem and come up with solutions to address them.

Hassett Logistics President Michelle Halkerston said open communication was key to getting her company’s teams to rally together and meet customers’ needs during the coronavirus pandemic. Her company provides logistics services to the domestic airfreight market. Hassett also offers 3PL services, and it has been a trucking carrier for more than 40 years.

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