When we talk to managers around the world about what they feel they could improve on, the one area they all say they could improve on is “coaching.” It’s hard to do and doesn’t come naturally to many of us. So, it seems a bit like piling-on to point out that the odds are pretty […]
Recent Posts…
Loneliness and the Remote Employee
A recent survey by Cigna found that nearly half of Americans report sometimes or always feeling lonely or left out. One in four Americans (27 percent) rarely or never feel as though there are people who really understand them, while about half of the surveyed population have meaningful in person social interactions. Two in five Americans […]
Holidays and International Teams
Thanksgiving in the US is usually considered the beginning of “the Holidays.” But if you work with international teams, this raises a couple of important questions. Exactly which holidays are we talking about? And, will we actually be able to get our work done and still allow people to celebrate according to their local and […]
Working Remotely, Playing Nicely, and Getting the Job Done
To many people, working remotely has one giant perk: we are free from the interruptions caused by other people. Of course, many people say that the biggest downside is the lack of communication with other people. (Honestly, some people are NEVER satisfied.) How you interact with others—because you want to, or because you have to—may […]
Do Remote Leadership Rules Apply to Contractors?
When talking about people who choose to work remotely we often make some (reasonable) assumptions: They crave human contact, they want to be in touch with their teammates and bosses more often, they need to feel like part of the larger organization, and they miss talking to live humans. These ideas sound rational…but what if […]
Teaching People to Push Back
Do the people on your remote team do pretty much everything you ask, without asking questions? Do you get very little push back when you assign them tasks? That might sound like manager’s dream, but it can be a sign of a problem lurking under the surface. How can people doing what they’re told be […]