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...]
Leaders: Remember You Have Superpowers
As leaders of a remote team, it is easier to get down on ourselves. We aren’t getting the participation from our team we’d like. People aren’t honest with us about how their work is going, and we think everything is fine only to have fires pop up in the least likely places. We feel powerless. It seems funny then that others think of you as a superhero (or villain, depending on … [Read more...]
Planning for Remote Work in 2021
I don’t want to alarm you, but for most organizations we have entered the dreaded Q4, the Fourth Quarter. The Year-End. Crunchtime. If you didn’t have time to create a work from home plan before COVID hit, now’s the time to plan for next year. In our work with people and their organizations around the world, we are often asked what 2021 will bring. If the last six months has … [Read more...]
How Fast Do Things Change in the Remote Workplace?
March 17. That’s the day things basically shut down here in the US and many of us entered the remote workplace full time. Certainly, it’s been longer for those of you in Europe and other countries. It feels like we’ve been doing this forever. While nobody can say for sure what the workplace, and even work itself, will look like in the coming months (let alone years) we do … [Read more...]