155. Two tips for leading in remote workplaces

Are you navigating the complexities of leading a remote team? 

In this episode, we explore the unique challenges and opportunities of remote leadership. Drawing from extensive experience and expert conversations, we highlight the importance of intentional leadership in fostering team performance and well-being. 

Listen to discover practical tips on creating a sense of contribution and community that will empower your team to thrive in any setting.

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teri-m-schmidt/

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Transcript

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So as a leader, where do you honestly fall? Team remote. Team everyone back in the office. Or team hybrid. I've been thinking a lot about this over the past 15 years or so as I've been in all three situations. And my conversation with Justin Jones. Pazuzu last episode. Combined with my recent engagement. Being a fully remote corporate employee. Has made me think about it even more. Regardless of where we land. One thing is certain. Intentional leadership that is customized to the situation is the linchpin for the personal and professional wellbeing and success of our teams. No matter what working arrangement they're in. It doesn't have to be difficult. But it does have to be intentional. So on today's short episode, we'll dig into this a bit. And end with two easy to implement starting points that you can use to help your team thrive regardless of their work arrangement. I'm Terry Schmidt, executive coach at strong leaders serve. Where we believe that leadership is all about courageously using your talents to make a way for others to courageously use theirs. And this is the strong leader serve podcast. So let's just start with a little bit of background. So you know where I'm coming from with regards to remote work. In 2010, I began my experience as a remote leader. I was remote about 60% of the time. While my team was all in the office together. I traveled in for meetings with senior leadership, with my peers and monthly tactical meetings with the team. And my favorite are quarterly strategic meetings where we bonded as a team, celebrated our successes, learn from our failures and check progress on our strategy to ensure alignment with our vision and mission as a team. I made some of my best friends at that job and still feel connected to the people and to the company. After that I transitioned into leading the stronger to serve nonprofit. It was all local and everything I did was in person. Then I became a business owner. Really fully remote. My executive and leadership coaching is done with clients all over the country. And our learned by doing good team building experiences are remote as well. And then, as I mentioned in my recent engagement as an employee in corporate America, I was fully remote working on a portfolio of projects with different teams. Until that engagement. I was fully onboard with team remote. Flexibility wellbeing, the benefits for parents and caretakers. Who wouldn't be. And after all, what today's technology. Isn't being remote just the same as being in the office. But in talking with friends and clients who are leaders. And listening to people who are researching and studying this. And experience and fully remote environment myself. There are a couple of things I'm convinced of. Number one. It's not the same. Working and leading in a fully remote environment is not the same as being in person. And number two. Leadership not better. Technology is the key to making remote work. So let's look at the first one. It's not the same. And there are forces at work in our current workplace trends that present risks to team performance, innovation and wellbeing. The first risk has to do with how we view our coworkers. I was listening to another podcast and they shared an interesting piece of research focused on the the types of traits that we value most in coworkers. Before the pandemic, when much work happened in person. And after when there's much more work happening remotely. They said that before the pandemic. We looked for ability, common shared interests. And that our coworkers were funny and optimistic. And now after the pandemic, it's all about accountability, efficiency, and competency. It really feels like all we care about is who's going to get the work, done the quickest and be efficient so that I can get off the zoom call as quickly as possible. Conversations are activities to promote. Connection seemed like an unnecessary block to getting my work done. The second risk has to do with how much easier it is to disengage with people or conversations that are unpleasant. Or like Justin and I discussed last week. How much easier it is to do what he calls, taking the exit on someone. When you don't have to worry about seeing someone in the hallway or in the break room. Or when you can turn your camera off in a meeting and make faces without the person, seeing them. There's less motivation to hone your skills for transforming disagreement into productive conflict. The last two trends are not wholly related to remote work., And are not necessarily bad, but they do present risks to team performance, innovation and wellbeing. First with Dr. Amy Edmondson called out years ago in her book teaming. The fact that our workplaces are more and more set up around teams that are together for a project or a short time instead of static, intact teams that stay together for the longterm. That can be great for agility and even good for personal development and wellbeing. As individuals get exposure to a variety of environments and challenges. However, when set up that way, there is a risk to both the employee's sense of belonging. And the temptation to view employees only as interchangeable resources. Also without a focus on role clarity and clear mission teams can not easily build trust and develop the psychological safety. Necessary for effective problem solving and innovation. The final trend that presents a risk is our shifting view of, and relationship with work. Again, this is neither good, nor bad. But it is a factor that can in combination with the others, present a risk to team performance, innovation and wellbeing. As I reflect on the continued rise of the gig economy. Paired with very public mass layoffs that were not handled well in the past year. I see a decrease of workers, sense of belonging within their workplaces. Again, this is fine. If people have somewhere else that they feel that they belong. But given that the majority of us spend at least 40% of our waking hours at work. That's a big, if. I will say that I am still an advocate for the benefits of remote work. I do think we have to acknowledge the risks, but I also think that there's hope. And that hope lies with you. You who, as a leader care about making your workplace more compassionate and just. You who believe that leadership is about courageously using your talents to make a way for others to courageously use theirs? You are our hope for making remote work work. You don't necessarily need to try any harder then you would leading in an in-person work environment. But you do need to try differently. And there is way less margin for lazy leadership. You can't just bump into someone and accidentally have a conversation with them that enhances their motivation and sense of connection to their team and to the work. But what you can do is be intentional. And I'm going to refer back to the research and work of past podcast guest tomorrow miles. And her three CS of meaningful work. We'll focus on twosies that I think are particularly critical to leading an in a remote work environment. Contribution and community. So for contribution. Role clarity and alignment of goals is critically important. Since there aren't as many opportunities for people to absorb cues about what they're supposed to be doing and why. I'll ask you today. Does your team know why they exist? And what value they collectively and individually bring to the organization. Knowing that alone can do wonders to create a sense of belonging. David Burkus author of leading from anywhere. Because this creating a shared identity by appealing to super ordinant goals. The shared identity that happens in an office when a team's desks are all huddled together. Can be much stronger in a remote environment. When team members are aware of and reminded frequently of shared goals. And the shared identity is even stronger. When they had a part in shaping those goals. So ask yourself. Does each member of your team know what they individually and collectively bring to the organization? If not making that happen can be as easy as reviewing it in the first five minutes of your one-on-ones. And mentioning it with every project that is taken on by the team. Second. Community. Do you know what role work plays in your team members' lives? What is their why for working? To support family members. Do you use their skills in a meaningful way? To grow and develop. To make a contribution. That's the first step to building community. And it's also very helpful for modifying your motivation techniques. To know why people are invested in doing a good job is critical. If they're just there for a paycheck, a team building activity that focuses on getting to know their team members, favorite foods or other non-work-related preferences may not land well. But instead. And exercise to better understand how people work most effectively. Or an activity establishing team norms for dealing with difficult conversations. Would likely land much better. If you're leading in a remote work environment, You're leadership, not new technology will be the key to making it a place where humans can thrive. Instead of being disengaged resources. So I challenge you today to start with these two questions focused on contribution and community. Number one. Does your team know why they exist as a team? And what value they collectively and individually bring to the organization. And number two. Do you know what role work plays in each of your team members lives? What is their why for working? And for those of you who are leading in remote environments, what is one tip you'd offer to a leader venturing into that space for the first time? What's one tip or technique that you wish you would've known when you started. Text it to us using the link at the top of the show notes. And I'll share it with listeners on the next episode. If you'd like me to give you credit for the tip, please include your name so that I can share it along with the tip. And until next time. Lead with this quote by Vince Lombardi and mind. Leaders aren't born. They are made. And they're made just like anything else. Through hard work.