It should not take a global pandemic to shift to remote working
Why shifting to remote teams demands new collaboration skills?
Before the coronavirus outbreak, we knew that according to a recent estimate from Gallup, 22% of Americans work from home and nearly 50% are involved with remote or virtual teamwork. In the UK, only 6.1% of UK adults work from home. Well, all of those statistics look to be irrelevant for now.
As the coronavirus outbreak is getting worse, public health experts have started asking people to practice social distancing. Remote workers make up anywhere from about 5 percent (those who typically work from home) to nearly two-thirds (who sometimes work remotely) of the workforce, depending on the measurement at the moment around the world and this increasing by the day as companies navigate the current outbreak.
When you are working with remote teams, you face consistent challenges because you still need to hold those difficult conversations like giving feedback on poor performance or restructuring or even pay ? but it also gives opportunities to improve our leadership and communication skills. Collaborating effectively when your team is remote is essential so that it impact positively on your team?s moral, engagement, productivity and innovation
Body language is what is missing from emails, *WhatsApp, digital communication opening doors to misunderstanding and creating unnecessary anxiety.
But there is good news: Productivity improves by around 13% when individuals work from home.
That’s why on this episode of Leading the Coaching Change, I’m sharing:
* How you can be aware of the ‘affinity distance’
* How to communicate ‘ultra’ clearly
* What is the best communication strategy for your organisation
My favourite quotes from this episode;
- Choose your digital volume wisely
- Clarity does not always mean brief and short communication
- As a leader, you have a responsibility to create a team space for social connection
And if you recognise that you need some support to step up on your leadership journey, visit my website or message me at npowrie@nadinepowrie.com to get the support you need.