One click away leader
How often do you talk with your teammates? Do you know what struggles they could be experiencing?
It has almost passed one year since COVID spread all over the world and since we all had to discover new ways of doing our activities. But how about meeting with the people you care or those who you work with. We have experienced such a big impact on the social field in this new normality!
Virtual presence
During this continuous working from home period, a vast number of people have been able to excel and master the “art” of virtual working and virtual presence. In this case, virtual presence means how present you are with the people you lead?
Because humans are social animals, we are involved with different groups of people. We talk to them, interact with them and, many times, we lead them. Some of these examples are your family, your group(s) of friends, business partners, employees… you name it.
How about at work with the home office modality? How is your relationship with your work team? Is this quality time comparable as when you were working together at the same place?
It is important to be present for your team and their needs… Even if it must be virtual, though.
How can I be more present with my team?
There are a couple of aspects we can analyse to understand how close or how far we are from the people in our teams, at work.
For example, how many people of your closer work team do you meet during the week and why is the reason you meet? Is it to talk about a topic in common? Do you have any thoughts you would like to share? Or maybe you just want to ask them how they are doing. Your collaborators could be experiencing different struggles in their life and they could use some help.
They sure need someone to back them up. So, as a leader, these are just some ways you can improve your contact with your team:
Be kind.
Try to put yourself in your partners shoes.
Be careful and patient as it is not always easy to read feelings virtually.
Ask your team how this interaction is going.
Search for straight forward feedback and,
As the great leaders do: listen to the people around you.
I suggest you write down with whom you will like to have S2S meetings. Plan it at the end of the week – or at the beginning of a new one. Ah yes, I came up with the idea of S2S meetings. They are like to F2F meetings (face to face), but these are Screen to screen, though.
Once you do it check how it went. You will learn so many insights about your coworkers.
Pro Tip: Make sure you do not overdo it. People have their own schedules and tasks every day. Time is the most precious resource, don’t take it on purpose.
Lacks of Communication
An expert communicator and Best Seller author, called, Nick Morgan(*), wrote a book - which I highly recommend reading - named “Can you hear me? How to connect with people in a Virtual world”. It is one of the Washington Post’s Best Sellers and, in this book, he outlines five big “lacks” with communication in the virtual world:
lack of feedback,
lack of empathy,
lack of control,
lack of emotion and,
lack of connection and commitment.
I found it a very good summary of the aspects a good leader has to take care of while working in this new normality.
Working with people and leading teams, in different moments of my life, taught me that you don’t need to be a manager, but a leader for them, instead.
You might be leading people with different levels of responsibility, so do not only focus on a few of them. Use different tools and ways to be virtually connected with all the teams you are involved with.
If the company you work for, has its own communication system, GREAT! Make sure to use it. Moreover, there are several other platforms available as well as free apps that will help you be Virtually present.
Be open and try to be in touch with the ones you could not meet lately. Nowadays, with the smartphones and apps it is pretty simple. You are literally JUST ONE CLICK AWAY!
Now I want to listen to your opinion…
Do you often feel you need to be closer to your collaborators? Regarding the work of your team, How was your experience with the home office mode?
I would like to read your comments. Write me in the box below and let’s be in touch.
Thank you.
(*) Dr. Nick Morgan is one of America’s top communication theorists and coaches. He has spoken, led conferences, and moderated panels at different venues around the world. Nick is a former fellow at the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He founded Public Words Inc, a consulting firm specializing in communications, in 1997.
Nick has been commissioned by Fortune 50 companies to write for many CEOs and presidents. He has coached people to give Congressional testimony, to appear on the Today Show, and to deliver unforgettable TED talks. He has worked widely with political and educational leaders. Nick helps people find clarity in their thinking and ideas, developing thought leaders – and coaches them to successfully deliver their ideas.
Extras
Link to Dr Nick Morgan Linkedin account https://www.linkedin.com/in/drnickmorgan/
Link to Public Words’ website https://publicwords.com/can-you-hear-me/