EYES FORWARD: DIRECTORS SHARE HOW THEY ARE IMPLEMENTING THE LESSONS LEARNED LAST YEAR.

• Author: Hall, April

It's easy to look back on 2020 and see the disruption that seemed to present a new challenge every week. Now is the time to develop new strategies. " What have we learned from the last year that's worth keeping in 2021? What, if anything, will go back to the "normal" we knew this time last year?

Many directors polled in a recent survey said they believe the events of 2020 have made them better able to perform their duties, says Dottie Schindlinger, executive director of the Diligent Institute.

"I think there was a big lesson about what works," she says. "Inside the boardroom, directors were finding tools they never used before. There was more 'real-time' insight."

She adds, "They are more fired up about the director role than ever before."

The workforce and technology

As states went into lockdown, office workers scrambled to pack up what they needed to continue business from home, for what many thought would be only a few weeks. Companies had to act fast to address hardware, software and cybersecurity needs.

Remote cybersecurity became a substantial issue once employees were working from home and using their personal Wi-Fi networks.

"We were dealing with people who are working remotely with home systems that are not as secure as the office's," says Kimberly Casiano, a director of Ford Motor Co. and Mutual of America. "And hackers have become aggressive in this virtual environment."

Schindlinger says concerns around cybersecurity were a reason that directors networked with each other like never before, connecting chief technology officers in different companies or industries in the spirit of "we're all in this together."

It's hard to say how long enforced full-time telecommuting will last, but some companies and employees have found productivity has been maintained or even improved and have extended telecommuting indefinitely.

Casiano says full-time telecommuting was vital while people quarantined, but she worries that permanent remote work could weaken collaboration among employees who don't get to know each other.

"I think there is going to be a much different dynamic between people who have worked, perhaps for years, side by side," she says. "Innovation comes from teamwork and collaboration. I'm not sure that will work with new faces as much as with people who have a history together."

However, she hopes management will continue to use technology as a tool to enhance relationships.

"Because people have a wider acceptance of a virtual...