Video Explosion

Most leaders had experience with video conferencing prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, it seems that it’s everywhere. Resources such as GoToMeeting, TEAMs (Microsoft Office) and the now ubiquitous Zoom have overnight become essential communication tools.

Leaders who are managing a remote workforce should use one of these as part of frequent check ins with your teams. It gives you a little more information on how your staff is doing when you can see their faces on video rather than simply listening on a conference call.

Create Some Structure

How are you and your staff handling the “new normal” of working remotely, that is, working from home during this pandemic? This is still relatively new to many, and one of the things that helps is to create some structure.

You need to stay connected to your staff, so you want to establish a check in time as a group and/or individually at predetermined times of the day. Here are some things to consider as you get into this groove.

Closing the Perception Gap

An excellent way to close the gap between an employee’s self-perception and yours is to ask for a self-evaluation. This is something that can be integrated in your annual performance appraisal process.

I recommend that you include qualitative and quantitative questions in the self-appraisal. Think about asking 8-10 questions and ask for specific answers.

Playing Detective

There are times that leaders don’t pay enough attention about whether their people are working on assignments that are over their heads.

Understand that when asked if they need help, they’ll probably say no. They don’t want to appear to be less knowledgeable than they are in reality.

Do You Have a System to Manage Deadlines?

Most deadlines aren’t just one giant event happening on a given day. Rather, there are myriad small deadlines that lead up to that big event.

Managing multiple deadlines is challenging, and I’ve found that one system doesn’t fit every person. You need to proactively find a system that works best for you and implement it consistently.

The Spectrum of Supervision

There is a broad range on the spectrum of supervision. At one extreme is the hands-off manager, a person who makes an assignment no matter how vague.

At the other extreme is the micro-manager, someone who needs to control every aspect of an assignment.

Where do you fall on this spectrum?

Breaking Through a Blockade

Even the most upbeat, positive leaders hit obstacles. Ordinary difficulties are usually annoyances rather than true impediments. You figure out what needs to be done and you take care of it.

Every once in a while, though, you might hit a “blockade”. This can be considerably more intense than the usual obstacle, so you need to deal with it differently.

The Attention Conundrum

Attention is possibly our most important currency today. You need to pay attention to both the big and little things. Even if you are not detail oriented, when you pay attention to details it can make a difference between an average job and an outstanding one. The expression, “it’s all in the details” takes on fresh meaning in these situations. Consider these examples:

The executive who isn’t clear in his instructions but expects his assistant to know precisely what he has in mind. The assistant books his travel and then he reprimands her because it wasn’t the exact schedule that he wanted (which he, of course, never mentioned).

Are You Dragging?

It seems like people go through phases where they drag around, and their normal fervor all but disappears. Their energy is low grade and, simply put, they’ve succumbed to a malaise.

I’ve observed this more than usual recently, and if you’re seeing this with your team, it’s time to reboot to a more energized, positive state of being. If you’re doing well but your people are down, the same message applies.

When Delegating Backfires

Last week’s topic was on the importance and value of delegating. I received a comment from a client who raised the issue of what to do when the person to whom you delegated messes up.

Great question, but tricky answers.

Managers don’t want to get burned, so of course they avoid getting too close to fire. But if you’re in a management or leadership role, you are responsible for overseeing work assigned to others. Here are some thoughts on why delegating can backfire and some solutions to minimize future episodes.

Leadership is a Mindset

Category: Managing People