Our role as leaders in the remote space shifts significantly to one of an ENABLER, COACH and LIAISON. With our team spread out across areas we cannot see, empowerment is key. Time spent on a regular basis with the team collectively, as a well as individually is paramount. When operating in the remote space it’s not so much about taking the time to catch up on work, but rather to be proactive in keeping the conversation going and building capacity of the team to do their best work.
With one-on-ones (simply an individual conversation) with each team member in the virtual space, you may want to get into the practice of scheduling these, in addition to regular team meetings and possibly peer meetings, on a regular basis. That might mean weekly or even bi-weekly. The more frequently you do them, the shorter they may be, and they may shift from an updating meeting to a strategizing meeting.
As I wrote back in 2017 in another Teams365 post:
Incorporating some of the questions I share in that post, here’s a list that you might consider exploring together:
- Tell me a little about how it’s going and what you are focusing on right now?
- How are things going with your work and tech set up?What are your key priorities right now?
- What support could you benefit from? From me? From Others?
- Are there any resources (people, information, budget) you need in order to do your best work?
- What’s motivating you right now?
- What strengths are you leaning into?
- What feedback are you getting/do you need?
- As you reflect on your own performance, how are things going?
- What's going to help you get the results you need/ we want? OR What’s helping you excel?
- What is the one change which will help you with this task?
- What feedback loop can we put into place to support all of our work?
- Any feedback for me?
Set up a time to meet for your next meeting and make sure it doesn’t suffer from meeting creep!
One-on-ones should also be considered in tandem with other supports such as overall team development and connection events. Are you getting together (virtually) for some informal social time? Perhaps you do a virtual potluck. Are you getting together virtually to learn something or discuss a new skill area? Everyone in the remote space can benefit from leadership and other skills such as listening, decision making, prioritizing, not only the team leader.
Enjoy the conversation!
Jennifer
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders | Remote Pathways Podcast
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Everything DiSC
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