"You're our calming influence!" - what a great compliment that colleagues in an outstanding, demanding corporate newsroom paid me. At first, I was just happy to hear it; my contribution as Managing Editor (CvD) is appreciated. Then I thought about what I like about it: I think it reflects qualities that aren't immediately apparent in working with newsroom teams, carried by very different personalities with different strengths.
"Conveying calm and stability" is its own art, which is about getting better and better together, not about getting everything right all the time. The focus should always be on the people we work with. And we know people are productive and creative when, on the one hand, they see that their personality, skills and achievements are valued and, on the other hand, they can influence how they structure their work and what they spend their time doing. This is becoming increasingly important in our dynamic economy and industry.
I derive my primary goal in newsroom teams from this: to gain quality time, to minimize unnecessary friction by interlocking workflows in such a way that tasks can be solved faster. If smoother workflows and forward-thinking, clear communication succeed in freeing up at least 20% of working time for relevant creative, partly newly learned skills and innovative work, everyone will be happier and thus more productive again - simply better, even great. From day one, everyone benefits, including of course the company and the entire organization.
To achieve this, it helps Managing Editors to focus, like Liberos, on the goals and how they can best support the team. Prepare decisions so those in charge can make faster, better-informed decisions, have the team members' backs at all times. They can't be everyone's favorite, but they can only have a successful impact with the backing of chief editors and teams. Then status, intrigues, or the desire to be loved, which is often manipulative in everyday professional life, hardly play a role. Instead, integrity and problem-solving skills are experienced and goals are achieved together; for example, tasks and processes are structured together more effectively and with a view to the whole. And then you get what many pronounce but rarely achieve: a flow!
📷 Verena Eckert