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 good you do a better job coaching the people you share a workplace with than you do with the ones who … [Read more...]
Are Credentials Still Important?
by Chuck Chapman, Content Strategy Coordinator Bill Gates majored in pre-law at Harvard and spent much of his time taking math classes and noodling around in the school's computer lab. He left school after two years. With no credentials, he founded Microsoft, and you know the rest of the story. While you might not achieve Bill Gates levels of accomplishment, success in … [Read more...]
Why “Why” Is the Most Important Question for Long-Distance Leaders
As long-distance leaders (or, heck, any kind of leader) we should ask a lot of questions. For many of us, the inability to see activity and output with our own eyes means we need to get that information in other ways. Leaders often talk about the “5 Ws “ of asking questions in order to make sure we’re getting what we need. But one of those words gets a lot less use than the … [Read more...]
Long-Distance Leaders: How Much Do You Trust Your Team?
by Chuck Chapman, Content Strategy Coordinator It's sad, but it's true. Some leaders view their employees more like children than professionals. In their minds, if they aren't watching every second, work won't get done. And don't even think about allowing people to work off-site or remotely. How in the world will any work get completed without the expert "supervision" … [Read more...]
Relationships Still Matter on Remote Teams
by Chuck Chapman, Content Strategy Coordinator Think of all the people who have "remote" roles in our lives. It doesn't matter if they're celebrities who deliver us entertainment through our screens, people we've "met" via social media, or customer service reps we only talk to over the phone. These are people we've never locked eyes with or spoken to face to face. It's very … [Read more...]