Best Practices for Online Leadership
Day 1 Leadership Series
Helping You Lead Your Team Through the Coronavirus
So now you have gone from an environment where you meet together many days a week to an environment where you can’t. An environment where you were face to face to an environment where you are using technology to communicate.
But you are a leader and leaders do what they need to do to make things happen. Leadership is personal development, team development and winning. The environment has little effect other than to change the game moves a little bit.
What has to change for you still to be an effective leader in an environment where people are remote. Where there is fear. Where they are not sure of what is going to happen next.
Today I want to look at some best practices for online leadership. Over the next 2 days, we will explore some additional areas of leadership in this time of the coronavirus.
Here are 10 for you to start with.
1/ Ask your people about the challenges they are facing working at home.
And listen to them.
Ask more questions.
Spend some time making sure they know you are there.
Get them to open up.
Even if you are not great at it, do it.
2/ Have a group video conference to start each day.
This is key.
Show them you are good, and your attitude is good.
That no matter how long this takes, you are here, and you will help them.
This is a time to set the example.
3/ Meet as needed 1 on 1 with your team throughout the day.
Some will need much more time than you like.
Get over it.
You need your team strong so help them.
Some need to talk, others need to listen, others just need to know you are there.
Many are used to having other team mates around, they will need some adjustment.
4/ It is not about time; it is about output.
You must define your expectations for each team member.
Also, you have to remember that many times the work can be done so much fast at home because there are fewer distractions. This is good for you because you can get more done.
But remember it is also worrisome for many team members. Have something else for them to do. It is a great time to do those things you been thinking about.
5/ It is not about hours.
The couple both working at home with children will have to team the work.
One might work 7-10
Then next on 10-1
Then 1-4
Then 4-7
That is ok
Deal with it and make it work.
Give them as much flexibility as you can.
6/ Limit meeting length.
I suggest 30 minutes or less.
And make the meeting interactive, try and get everyone you can involve.
7/ Be available
Establish when the best time is, they can reach you.
Return all calls – establish the parameters.
Establish priority of needs, just like triage in a hospital.
A/ Life or death need an answer now.
B/ Very import connect before end of the day.
C/ It can wait but would like to talk.
8/ Remember some people have no family and they might be lonely.
Take some time and talk with them.
Be a leader.
You are going to have to do some things that you are not comfortable with.
Get over it and move on.
Leadership is about taking your team to victory doing whatever you need to.
(As long as it is legal, moral and ethical.)
9/ There might be noise and distractions in the daily work process.
It might not be as easy as we all hope where everyone does what they are supposed to.
So have some patience with the people, let them get their house under control.
10/ Remember you are the leader
What you do your team will do
What your attitude is your team will follow
Emotional Intelligence tells us you are the example
Be a good one.
Even if you are not an inspirational person you can fake it until you make it.
Watch one of my video’s or one of your favorite inspirational persons.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCpainRr8eUVtHLts79fuEe7jKAZSMKwI
Make decisions as you need to.
We are working on more help you as you lead and work from home.
Tune in tomorrow for part two of this free 3-day series on leadership during the coronavirus