Working in a team that is not physically together all the time does come with challenges, but they are not insurmountable. It requires that you are more “present” in the interactions that you do have because as ironic as it sounds, it is more annoying when someone is distracted on the phone or video call, as it is not as easy to get a sense of what is distracting the other party.
The time that you spend with your team needs to be more structured and focused but that will actually free up more time in your day. To have engaged employees they need to feel connected to their team, the vision, the company, and their work. Being present, having a clear agenda for meetings, encouraging sharing with all on the call and allowing everyone to build relationships enables connection. This can still be created remotely it just requires a little innovation. When we remove the “water cooler chats” from our workday, different techniques need to be explored to generate social connection in the team. When the team feels connected this enables a supportive environment to thrive, happiness in the workplace to rise and productivity within the team to soar. Not only are happier employees nicer to have around and easier to lead, they are also more productive.
We also need to be aware of video fatigue, determine which interactions will be enhanced by video and if it will not enhance the experience simply make it a call or an email. The virtual coffee chat is invaluable to replace a water cooler chat, a more casual environment encourages social interaction and for these, be sure to steer the conversation away from “day to day work” but focus on areas of frustration, positives attributes to the way of working and ideas on how the team can better engage.
A month ago, I had the great pleasure to attend a virtual conference that was truly brilliant in the level of engagement that was elicited in the format. I will admit I was skeptical about how the conference was going to be received by the attendees, but I am converted. I consider myself an expert in leading geographically dispersed teams, but that conference has lifted me to a new level. It reinforced to me the importance of being fully present and I learned that being in the same room was irrelevant. I am so excited by what I have learned that I am going to hold a free webinar next week on how to “Relate Remotely” sharing some tips we can all benefit from as we refuse to settle for the new normal but instead set a course to rise to remarkable. To register for my webinar and learn more about Relating Remotely please click here
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