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 a bad thing? Very often our requests have unintended consequences. If we aren’t … [Read more...]
Can There Be Workplace Bullying When There’s No Workplace?
There have been a number of stories in the news about workplace bullying. Most of them revolve around incidents of physical intimidation and threats. So, working from home seems like a good answer to the problem. But a recent conversation with someone brought something else to light: Can you be the victim of workplace bullying and harassment when you aren’t in the same location … [Read more...]
Delivering Bad News to Remote Workers
by Wayne Turmel Delivering bad news is, unfortunately, just part of the leader’s job. It’s going to happen. When people work remotely, and are scattered across geography and time zones, it can be difficult to manage that in a way that not only gives everyone the news they need, but the chance to respond appropriately and feel like they're part of the team. The simplest … [Read more...]
What’s a Hybrid Team and Why Should I Care?
by Wayne Turmel When we think of remote or virtual teams, we think of groups where either everyone is scattered all over the place, or they are all co-located. Most of us, though, aren’t lucky enough to be all one or the other. Most of us have a team where you have some people working in the office full-time, and others working from home or another location (either … [Read more...]
5 Keys to Overcoming Virtual Team Conflicts
By Kevin Eikenberry When we think about remote or virtual teams, we may think about flexibility, freedom and perhaps even high productivity. And when people are working out and on their own, we typically think that interpersonal issues might not matter as much or happen as often. Unfortunately, that isn’t always true. When we do experience conflicts and problems, they … [Read more...]