Lockdown Lessons: Authenticity holds the sway - Aman Dhall

The year 2020 has taught us several harsh lessons. Barely had we entered a new year with renewed hopes and expectations, when the global COVID-19 pandemic jolted all of us out of our comfortable ‘Normal’ zone and flung us into an uncertain world. Terms like lockdown, social distancing, quarantine, work from home, new normal, unprecedented times and the dreaded ‘R’ word – Recession – have become a part and parcel of our daily lives.

India is just emerging out of an over two-month lockdown – a period that has changed our lives, behaviours and the way we conduct business forever. The lessons that we have learnt during the lockdown period and our experiences during the year so far, will help us navigate a world that we had never imagined. Adgully’s latest endeavour – Lockdown Lessons – is an attempt to present the key learnings that India’s business honchos have learnt and imbibed, and which can help the industry navigate the new normal better.

Aman Dhall, Head - Corporate Communication, policybazaar.com,

What are the key lockdown lessons as a professional during the lockdown period?

• Over-communicate, reiterate but be relevant
• Be empathetic, but be clear
• Authenticity holds the sway

Please tell us some of the key takeaways in terms of life lessons from the lockdown period?

• Each day gives you a possibility to live your dream
• Human lockdowns are temporary, but freedom is permanent

How did you manage and achieve work-life balance while working from home?

I have been actively into sports since early childhood. Even though I didn’t choose it as a career, I have ensured that it’s part of my active lifestyle, when I started working 15 years back.

I would say that the work from home has been a blessing in disguise. Being a publicist, the role requires you to travel more frequently to ensure a personal touch when managing external relations for the company. The lockdown has saved a lot of hours you would spend on travelling for external meetings and attending events. It has helped you focus, review and monitor things more closely at work, which you would be otherwise doing on the run all the time.

Personally, I have been able to spend a lot more time with family, especially with my little one. I can play with her during little work breaks, that’s a great pressure buster in itself. Also, I have used this time to put in extra hours to work on my fitness levels. I have done nearly 750 km during the last two and a half months through a mix of walking and running during the lockdown time.

It has been more than two months since the lockdown was enforced. How are you gearing up for back-to-office mode?

Frankly speaking, this thought has not even crossed my mind yet. I’m not trying to look beyond a day at the moment. Our work is happening smooth and smart from home. Currently, we have only a very limited workforce in office, those whose roles are critical and require them to be there.

Any lessons that you picked up in financial management from the lockdown period?

I genuinely believe that you don’t need a lot of money to live an active and healthy lifestyle. The lockdown has only reaffirmed my belief.