Covid-19 has forced many office-based teams to work from home for the first time, and many employees love it – despite the challenges of a once-in-a-century pandemic! According to a recent YouGov survey, 68% of British employees never worked from home before the pandemic, but 91% of those people now say they would like to do so at least some of the time even after the pandemic ends.
On the other hand, many managers are struggling with leading a “virtual team”. In July, the Harvard Business Review published research that said about 40% of leaders and managers aren’t confident in their ability to manage workers remotely. And a similar number didn’t have confidence in their team members, either.
The biggest shift leaders need to make isn’t a technology change, but a mindset change. If you’re leading a working-from-home team for the first time, here are four important mindset changes you need to make.
1. Everything is different.
If your only experience of live music is going to a music festival, and you go to a classical concert expecting a similar experience because “it’s also live music”, you’re in for a surprise! In the same way, don’t assume the office dynamic is the same as the working-from-home dynamic “except we’re all working from home, of course”. These are two entirely different workplaces.
Even if you’re an experienced manager – perhaps especially if you’re an experienced manager – don’t assume you “know” how to make it work. Expect the unexpected, and expect to have to learn new rules, set new norms, and work with different expectations.
2. Think different, not better or worse.
I spoke recently with a senior UK leader working for a large global organisation, and she was talking about how difficult it was to pick up emotional cues with her team members in online meetings.
I pointed out she shouldn’t expect an online meeting to serve every purpose as an in-person meeting. She got it, and replied, “Oh, yes, I understand what you mean! I have Celiac disease, so I can’t eat gluten. But I don’t like gluten-free pasta, so when I go to an Italian restaurant, I look for other options.”
That’s exactly right. It’s human nature to anchor to something familiar when we first move to something new, but don’t make this mistake because it’s easy to fault a poor substitute. If you say, “A Zoom meeting will never be as good!”, you can find plenty of reasons to justify that, and grumble about it forever.
But instead of trying to make do with a gluten-free meeting, a much better approach is to ask what problem you’re solving and then find a better solution to that problem.
~Business Game Changer Special Promotion~
3. Everybody is different.
You sometimes hear people say now, “We’re all in the same boat”, but that’s not true. We’re all in the same storm, but each in our own boat navigating our way through the storm.
You might think you know everybody’s personal situation, but you probably don’t. Even people who look similar on the surface might have very different circumstances. One might have the benefit of a large house, fast Internet access, a quiet working environment, and space to exercise. Another team member might look superficially similar – for example, similar age, seniority, and role at work – might not have any of those luxuries.
People also experience different circumstances outside work. It’s difficult to concentrate on work if you’re worried about elderly parents, a partner who lost their job, a mortgage, school fees, or an escalating domestic violence situation.
Add to that the stress and anxiety of Covid-19 itself: risk of infection, physical distancing, social isolation, an increasing death toll, travel restrictions, unemployment stress, a recession, and the constant media reports.
4. Focus on Results
When you work together in an office, you observe – and judge – people on their behaviour. You see when they arrive (especially if it’s late), when they leave (especially if it’s early), what they do in the office, and whether they’re “busy”. As a leader, you might be subconsciously influenced by these patterns, even if you claim to only measure their results.
With your team working from home, you no longer have these cues. Instead of measuring their behaviour (the inputs into their work), you must rely on their results (the outputs). Instead of monitoring their processes, activity and time spent, you measure the results they achieve, the quality of their work, and their contribution towards achieving your goals.
Facing the Leadership Challenge
Many leaders and managers don’t have much experience leading teams who aren’t all in the same office. Just as an airline pilot needs different leadership skills than a ship’s captain, you need different skills to build a thriving culture in this new environment.
Are you ready to step up to the challenge?
By Gihan Perera
Gihan Perera is a business futurist, speaker, and author who works with business leaders to help them lead and succeed in an uncertain but exciting future. He is the author of “The Future of Leadership” and “Disruption By Design”. For more about how Gihan can work with your leaders and teams, visit GihanPerera.com.
