SMSF provider Class' Chief People Officer, Jacqui Levings, says that, now more than ever, leaders must embrace new ways of working, effectively (and efficiently) communicate, and trust their employees.
SMSF provider Class' Chief People Officer, Jacqui Levings, says that, now more than ever, leaders must embrace new ways of working, effectively (and efficiently) communicate, and trust their employees.
The organisation held a webinar last week to help address challenges of the Zoom-based work environment. You can see a recording of that webinar here.
Right now, leaders have a tough task. Leaders are being asked to step up, during a time when no one has all the answers. There is no playbook for the new working environment, which means leaders need to be really in tune with their people, their business and their market.
The way we work is changing. Garter research has shown that 74% of companies plan to permanently shift to more remote work post-COVID-19. This shift will mean that the way we lead will need to change. Leading remote teams requires different strategies than face-to-face leadership.
Leaders need to provide greater clarity, find different ways to communicate, and find new ways to connect with their people.
However, the biggest leadership change needed right now is trust. When you can't physically see your team working hard it can be tempting to micromanage. Leaders are likely to be stressed, working to deadlines, managing budgets and reverting to task-focused styles. However, remote leadership is all about trust. Research from Gallup has shown that trust is the most important leadership quality to employees. My tip for leaders is to be outcome-driven, not hours driven. Don't worry about what is being done and when. Instead, focus on what is being delivered and how. Was it on time, was it quality, did it drive value and were your clients' needs met? If you were able to answer yes to these questions, then you can focus on what is being achieved, not when.
Zoom fatigue is one of the most consistent challenges presented to me by people who are struggling with remote working.
Video chat is harder than face-to-face communication. We are more focused. We are taking in multiple faces all at once and it's a lot for our brain to process. We are also working harder to convey we are paying attention. We can see ourselves, so we feel like we are performing. We are taking in everyone's background. In a meeting we can tune out the little details about the room we are used to seeing on a regular basis. On Zoom, we are noticing everyone's backgrounds - the kids, the pets, the paintings, the bookshelf - it's a lot to take in, and it's exhaustive for our brains.
Are we going to see a shift away from meetings in the future? I believe meetings play an important role for team collaboration, information sharing and connection purposes. This won't change. What will change is the nature of how meetings are conducted.
If we believe that the future way of work will include a portion of our people working from home regularly, we will need to find a way to ensure engagement and input from everyone, at home or at work. Right now, with whole teams working remotely, it's very easy for everyone to contribute. The dynamic changes quickly when you start to have part of the team working together in the office. Leaders need to find a way to ensure the engagement, interaction and collaboration from all members of the team - whether they are remote or in the office.
There's a really easy way to quantify how we're doing as leaders - ask our people. With most teams working remotely, it's more important than ever to keep a pulse on how your employees are feeling. A simple way of doing this is through a confidential 'Pulse Check' survey run through an online survey tool like Survey Monkey. Some questions you may want to ask your people:
We are living through a defining moment of a generation. Leaders have a unique opportunity to make a real difference to their teams during this period. Gallup research shows that managers account for 70% variability in employee engagement, so it's really up to you.
There are some really simple, practical things leaders can do to make a difference to their team: