LEADING REMOTELY

In case you missed it, click on the replay and the slides from our live presentation on tips and strategies to foster connection when leading remotely.

This 40-min video will teach you:

• How to look beneath the surface to understand your employees' real needs 
• Practical tips to implement immediately
• Technical tips in leading your own engaging, virtual meeting

Best Practices for Connecting Virtually

Make yourself available

• Use video! (also forces you to shower and get dressed!)
• Offer many forums to connect… they may not show up but give them opportunities to connect
• Continue your 1:1 calls and check in more regularly
• Schedule team huddles/team meetings to connect as a group
• Offer video-based all hands and rotate leaders to run the meeting
• Offer “open mic” where you don’t have an agenda but just take comments and questions from your staff

 
Focus on the people/ culture

• Offer virtual happy hours
• Match the picture with the person… favorite show, hobby, pet, etc.
• Host a pot luck lunch- share recipes
• Play online games – e.g. games through House Party like Pictionary
• Lunch and learns to allow staff to teach others ways to be efficient with technology or teach work-related content to peers
•  Involve your team in creating opportunities to connect
• For 1:1s - > Don’t skip the small talk… If your employee shares challenges, listen and pause. Acknowledge what they’re going through vs. jumping in to problem solve right away. Ask questions such as:
  • How are you doing?
  • What’s changed for you this week?
  • What are you still struggling with?
  •  How can I support you?
  • What is working well?

Carve out time for yourself

• Set aside time for you- exercise, yoga, meditation, sleep… get yourself in order first.
• Set up a long(er)-term solution for your workspace. If you are working on your bed or couch.. you will be feeling the pain soon. Take care of your body!

 
Focus on business needs/challenges

• Resist the urge to “protect” your team- they can handle it
• Talk about shifting priorities
  • What is no longer a priority?
  • What can we put on hold?
  • What is something that if we removed it, no one would notice.
  • What are our "need to haves" and "nice to haves?"

 
Create consistency in norms/protocol

• What technology should we all use?
• How do we want to manage our IM status?
• Do we have an updated list of phone numbers? Or, did everyone forward their calls?
• How often do we agree to get back to each other?
• How do we reach each other for emergencies?
• What are email protocol?
• When should we pick up the phone to call each other?

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Look for ways to customize and be flexible. Co-Create!

• This is not the time to be BRILLIANT! You may not know the answer, we’re all figuring this out together.
• Everyone’s different (some people love social distancing)
• Be flexible with hours working
• Focus on the deliverables not the time spent working