One of the phrases we use a lot around here is, “When working remotely, communication can become transactional.” Seriously, I was on our site and searched for “transactional,” and found over 20 references. And it's not just a catch phrase. This is a real phenomenon. What’s also true is that a significant number of people follow up with a reasonable question: “Huh? What does … [Read more...]
What If You Did Yelp Reviews for Your Team?
I read recently that negative reviews online carry so much weight it takes eight positive reviews on Yelp to counteract a single bad review. While this is bad news for your local diner, why is it relevant to those who lead remote teams? The reason is that people take negative feedback much more seriously than positive feedback. The problem with long-distance reviews Our … [Read more...]
Are You Asking the Right Question?
by Kevin Eikenberry The question you ask determines the answers you get. This is a profound truth that most people would recognize and agree with. It has major impact on the success of problem-solving efforts and helps us clarify our thinking. Unfortunately, this truth is being ignored by many organizations right now. Nearly every organization is facing the questions … [Read more...]
Take Your Darned Vacation Days
We learned a lot during the first year of working from home. One of the things nobody expected was that it is a lot harder to take time off than anyone previously thought. We know this because a record number of people didn’t take vacation or personal time last year, or if they did they left a lot of it unused. Now that we are a year in, many of us will continue to work from … [Read more...]
Leadership Was Already Hard
by Kevin Eikenberry Leadership has always been complex. You are trying to reach new and important outcomes and do it with human beings, who are all different and inherently amazing and messy. If you lead essential workers (in a hospital, factory, warehouse, or restaurant, for example), your team has been and will continue to be working together in the same location. But if … [Read more...]