As a leader, odds are you keep a lot of running lists. Without them, a lot of us wouldn’t be able to prioritize tasks, remember who is working on which projects, or whether we need to pick up milk before dinner. For those of us who are chronically absent-minded, they can be life savers. But there are times, especially when working with remote employees, when checklists can … [Read more...]
Are You Playing Favorites with Remote Employees?
Many managers complain that they feel like they have to be Mom or Dad to their teams. Of all the similarities between leading remote employees and being a parent, the most obvious is that you’re not supposed to have favorites. SPOILER ALERT: you probably do. It’s not intentional, and if you’re wise you’re on guard against charges of favoritism and bias. But we display our … [Read more...]
Need Help Pondering the New Year?
You’re probably getting a lot of advice about how this time of year is good for taking stock of you and your team, where you are now and where you want to be. People who do this mean well, but just saying, “Give some thought to where you want to go,” is not all that helpful. At best you will focus on some things that matter, at worst you become a blubbering pile of insecurities … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Ruin a Virtual One-On-One
As leaders, we know that one-on-one communication with our team is critical. When we can’t just look out and survey the cubicle-farm to see how people are doing, the little time we get to spend with each employee becomes more precious. That’s why conducting these meetings is perhaps the most important skill a long-distance leader can have. In many ways they are just like … [Read more...]
The Worst Assumption You Can Make
With a remote team, you can’t just cast an eye over the office and see how things are going. We get visual (and sometimes verbal) cues that things are progressing nicely. Or not. But when you work apart from the members of your team you are running on a mix of trust and assumptions. Trust, of course, is good. Assumptions are necessary to function, but there’s one assumption in … [Read more...]