Ahhhh…. The perfect setting. You wake up, wobble your way half asleep to your kitchen and grab a cup of your favorite, freshly brewed coffee. Then crawl back into bed wearing your oh so comfortable T-shirt. After a few morning text messages it’s time to get some breakfast and begin your day at work.
Everyone has at one time or another fantasized about the possibility to work from home. Just think about all the amazing benefits. No more waking up at 4am, no more long commutes, traffic jams, the ability to work in your PJs, and heck, why not skip brushing your hair altogether.
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The reality proved to be far from what we all have imagined. As of March 2020, many companies were forced to redefine the workspace from an in-office setting, to a remote at home setting. You would think that in the age we live in, most companies were highly prepared for this transition. Unfortunately, the truth is a little different. Thousands of companies were faced with the hard reality that they were not prepared whatsoever and needed to redefine.
Most lower level employees are fascinated with the idea that working from home will magically allow some of them freedom and flexibility. Parents dream of being able to be home knowing their children are close by so they can turn time and take back those minutes, days, and weeks they missed out on their child’s lives.
There are also those who find it fascinating to conceal freshly poured wine, using a very professional looking coffee mug with a tea bag string taped on the inside, during a company huddle. We all have our little secret fantasies about what the magical work from home Olympus would be like. At one point or other employees have raised questions of why this utopic of a life cannot be available to us all. We are ready and we are willing. Why the hold up?
I mean really, all companies have a plug and play transition, right? Unfortunately, it is not as easy as blocking that annoying ex from your Facebook. If it were, these companies are going incognito style. There is lot work behind setting up a remote team. Just imagine, the scale of setting up a remote company in less than one week. Equipment, internet bandwidth check, information security and privacy gaps, not to mention how well equipped are our employees at home to create a functional working space and environment are some of the items that need to quickly be checked off the list before venturing into this massive structural leap.
The one thing companies do not really deliberate is, how well prepared are their leaders and employees or how to better prepare and support them for the upcoming challenges. In today’s world, the skills or preparation required for remote leadership is inexistent. Remember, not all employees in a company are self-sufficient and require low supervision. The diversity in today’s workforce requires a high demand in a leader’s day to day.
Even those who have successfully worked remotely constantly adjust their strategy each day to keep up with the demands. Remote workers do require to possess certain skills such as organization, time management, and being able to work with little to no supervision.
We all know each individual is unique and may not have all the attributes to take on a highly accountable endeavor, however, todays circumstances give us no choice but to move quickly and do the best with what we currently have. Be mindful and brace yourself with patience and creativity to get through this in one piece.
In my experience leading diverse types of teams, composed of multiple personalities, ages, and visual impairments, I realize a leader must become and push themselves to become highly creative and resilient. Not to mention patient. Below I want to share some of my suggested best practices.
- Know your team (Strengths and Weaknesses)
It is safe to say that one of the biggest qualities of a good leader is knowing the strengths and weaknesses of their team. By doing so you will be able to assign and designate certain tasks to those who are better fit for the job. Not in all circumstances will we have a perfect setting and all the top performer. You also have to contemplate that with a change in setting and environment, roles may change, and your top performers might become weaker at certain tasks when not directly supervised.
- Let your team know you are there to support them.
When in panic some people need the proverbial slap in the face to set them on the right path. Now, do not go around slapping your folks before they set off to their new work from home venture, instead let’s take a holistic approach. Make sure they know and understand you are there to support them during these times, and that you are willing to give 150% of you during the adjustment period, but they also need to commit to giving their 150% back. Emphasize on the importance of clear and constant communication. It is not a dead-beat parent-child relationship we are trying to create. Both parties need committed to holding up their part of this agreement.
- Take the time to provide direction.
Every minute counts and time is money, but not planning and taking time to set an overall direction also can cost losses. I call this the headless chicken syndrome. Where everyone is running around aimlessly getting a whole lot of nothing done. Grown men and women tripping over each other’s work, like kids at a pinata party scrambling to get all the candy, to only realize at the end of the day, nothing was really accomplished.
Take the time to set ground rules, assign responsibilities, set expectations, review, and tweak them regularly. Most importantly evaluate the demands. Make sure your expectations are realistic. By doing so, you and your team are less prone to burn out trying to achieve something that cannot be accomplished. Unless you stoop to bribery or are working on your next certificate on how to cook financial books for beginners, we need to accept some things cannot be done.
- Create a partnership and TagTeam amongst peers.
Have your team provide support for themselves. You can also team them up according to their strengths and weaknesses. Think about it as a mentoring program. It will help your team get to know each other, have each other’s back and be more productive. Remember, remote work distances your team, so we must be creative and find ways to bring them closer.
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- Understand there will be low performers and stragglers.
In a perfect and very unrealistic world, you would have a team of superstars, all top performers and the next in line to discover the meaning of life. In our amazing yet imperfect world, well, you know that is nowhere close to be true. There are going to be some low performers and extremely low performers. At the end, it will all depend on their ability to be resilient. Can they adjust and can they push the extra mile to be where they need to be, at an acceptable level?
I have seen everything from people giving up, to grouping up as a support network to expand their knowledge and performance skills. One of my strategies to help a team, is to encourage off the clock ways in which they can address and express their needs and areas of improvement. This gives them a safe space to discuss and work on what they need to and pushes them to further invest in themselves. Remember if they are willing to do this at no pay it means they are serious about their job.
- Take time out.
If you are like me, you might find yourself compelled to sit in front of your computer for extended hours and obsessively clean out your inbox, complete all pending work and before you know it, its 2am and you are still working. I mean, you do not have to drive to and from work anymore, so it is a plus.
Well before you know it, you will be sleep deprived and one hell of a moody monster. You will be snarling at your family like a rabid dog waiting to pounce at anyone who comes near you. Oh and you know when you are at that point when you meet up or video chat with your friends and their first words are “what happened to you”, and “are you ok”. Just remember, to a certain degree, that drive is your decompression time and by not taking some time away from your screen, you are adding extra stress and creating a larger gap in the work/life balance sector. Make sure you do take a few breaks during the day and dedicate time to things you enjoy.
- Celebrate the accomplishments
Take the time to focus on the positive in a storm of negativity and fear. By celebrating the accomplishments, you encourage yourself and your team to stay positive. You will add additional fuel and motivation to keep cheering each other on when times get tough. Remember recognition preferences highly depend on an individual. There is no one size fits all spandex you can slap on your team, but a thank you and great job can go a long way.
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