Tag Archive for: work from home

How To Optimize Your Leadership Effectiveness When Working from Home

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work from homeOver the past few years, many companies have shifted their operations to a work-from-home model. While this has presented numerous challenges for managers and staff members alike, it has also created an opportunity to optimize leadership and team impact in unique ways. However, in order to do so, leaders must adapt to and overcome the unique obstacles of remote work.

According to recent YouGov statistics, women place more emphasis on the importance of job flexibility than their male colleagues. Not only do 57% of women say that flexible working hours are very important (compared to 44% of men), but almost three-quarters of female respondents (72%) said they want a flexible working location compared to just 57% of men.

When it comes to leadership roles, further research suggests that remote working arrangements give more women the opportunity to be in positions of responsibility. In fact, of the 129 remote companies surveyed, 29% had women in leadership positions (CEO, founder or president). Meanwhile, for traditional companies on the Fortune 500 list, this figure sits below 5%.

In this blog post, we will explore a variety of tips and best practices for optimizing leadership effectiveness while working from home. Whether you’re a seasoned remote worker or are still acclimatizing to the modern working world, this guide will provide valuable insights for cultivating productivity, engagement, and overall success.

Encourage constructive feedback/have individual check-ins

Among the many challenges of remote working is the potential feeling of disconnectedness between team members. When in-person meetings happen less frequently and those impromptu morning catch-ups go by the wayside, it’s harder to form meaningful professional relationships with your teammates.

While it’s incumbent upon each team member to make a concerted effort to form these bonds, ultimately the manager has a pivotal role in generating that team spirit and feeling of belonging.

There are a number of ways in which this can be accomplished, but organizing one-to-one check-ins can be a great starting point. Encourage your staff to come to these meetings with honest feedback about things the team or you as an individual could do differently to enhance their wellbeing in the workplace.

Not only do these regular meetings provide the opportunity for virtual contact, but they’re also a great way to ascertain the thoughts and feelings of the team. If they feel able to provide feedback and know that it’s going to be taken seriously, that can go a long way to helping them feel part of the bigger picture.

Balance the company’s needs with the people’s

One of the biggest battles for any business owner is striking a balance between pursuing long-term goals with the individual needs of their employees. Often, owners and managers can become preoccupied with setting KPIs and tracking metrics that the human element to the world of business can be an afterthought. Essentially, leaders need to consider how they can support staff to have a healthy split between their work and personal lives, whilst also ensuring the company continues to move forward.

For some, work and life has been easier to balance since working remotely, with the removal of commutes giving professionals some extra time back each day. For others, the expectation to always be ‘online’ and constant temptation to check back in after working hours makes it difficult to detach themselves from their professional responsibilities.

According to research, women are more likely to do informal work to promote DEI within their company. Female leaders are also more likely to support the ‘people’ side of the business, advocating for the wellbeing of their colleagues and offering support in managing their workloads and personal challenges. However, while this ‘extra-curricular’ support can be invaluable to employees, it can often lead to female professionals overburdening themselves and sacrificing their own wellbeing as a result.

As a manager, it’s important you lead by example, and set your own boundaries when it comes to working hours. You should make it clear when you can and can’t be contacted for work-related issues – consider setting your hours on your digital calendar or workplace communication platform. Not only will this provide clarity around when people can expect a response from you, but it will also hopefully encourage them to do the same, and keep a clear distinction between work and personal life.

Develop your communication skills

Strong communication is one of the most important aspects of effective leadership, but this can be more difficult to demonstrate when face-to-face conversations are no longer an option. When exclusively communicating to colleagues via online communication tools, there is more opportunity for words to be misinterpreted, which could mean they end up having a harmful effect on the team. At the same time, you want to make your presence felt as a leader, and avoid going days without having any contact with your colleagues.

To get the most out of these digital communication tools, it’s important to understand the role of different platforms. For example, you may not need to organize a virtual meeting to discuss a minor query about a piece of work. Not only is this disruptive to your colleagues’ schedules, but the message is likely to be diluted when communicated in this way. Think carefully about the appropriate times to use emails, instant messaging platforms, phone calls or video conferencing, to streamline your communication and have a more positive impact on the wider team.

By: Elizabeth Fletcher – She writes posts designed to help businesses and employees to come together and create a productive, healthy workplace. She believes that good communication and collaboration are key to a happy working life.

(The opinions and views of guest contributions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com).

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Women In Tech: Why Tech Is Increasingly Desperate For Women

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women in techThe lack of sufficient representation of women in tech at all levels is hailed as a “crisis” for the global economy. Yet the accelerating tech industry, while in massive need of highly skilled talent, is still fumbling to both bring women back to and keep them in an industry that they, for the large part, pioneered.

Global Acceleration of Tech Transformation

In 2019 and 2020, technology compromised 10% and 10.5% of US GDP, nothing compared to where it will go. The 2020 McKinsey Global Survey of executives reports how much COVID-19 has accelerated the global tech revolution: speeding up digital customer interactions by three years and digital products/services by seven years.

Whereas executives had envisioned shifts such as remote working capabilities and increased used of advanced technologies in business strategy to take 454 and 635 days respectively, these shifts happened in real time in just 10.5 and 25 day in 2020.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that tech and computer related occupations will grow by 13% from 2020 to 2030. Tech occupations have a median annual wage that are 117% more than median annual wage for all occupations.

The Dice Tech Job Report shows that after a dip in 2020, tech job postings were up by 30% in Q2 of 2021 versus a year ago, creating “one of the hottest market since the dot-com era.”

Shortage of Tech Talent Is Most Acute in U.S. Financial Services

Meanwhile, a shortage of tech talent is considered the top restraining factor for adopting 64% of new technologies, and Korn Ferry is forecasting that by 2030, 85 million jobs could go unfulfilled globally, resulting in a $8.5 trillion talent shorted.

The U.S. financial services sector is anticipated to be most affected by the talent shortage, resulting in a $435.69 billion shortfall forecast, a third of the global sector total, and is anticipated to be in acute deficit within the financial services sector. India is the only country projected to have a surplus of highly skilled finance and business services tech talent by 2030, with current surplus countries such as China, Russia and UK losing that footing.

“Global financial services players are already experiencing skilled-talent shortages and are set to face the greatest talent gap of any industry sector in the next decade,” states Michael Franzino, President of Global Financial Services at Korn Ferry. “Financial services leaders need to act now or they will forfeit substantial growth opportunity.”

Women’s Representation in Tech Industry

According to the Anita B report, 2021 Top Companies for Women Technologists, women’s participation in tech (among their wide sample of firms with 100+ tech employees) slid by 2.1% from March 2020 to January 2021, to just 26.7%, a backslide after five years of progress. (Tech giants such as Apple, Facebook, Netflix and Google did not participate, where women make up about 25% of tech positions.) 18% fewer women were brought into tech positions due to hiring freezes in 2020 with a rebound in January 2021, women representing 31% of new hires that month. The share of women being promoted remained steady.

Among the participating companies, women as tech CEOs jumped from 3.9% in 2020 to 10.0% in 2021. While white women were represented from entry level (13.1%) to executive leadership (15.3%) at similar levels, representation for women of color declines as the ladder goes up. And while Asian women begin almost in parity to white women at 12.6%, they only comprise 3.7% of executive seats.

In the UK, The Guardian notes that despite the decade long agenda of boosting female representation in technology, “the percentage of women employed in tech in the UK has barely moved from 15.7% in 2009 to 17% today. And women hold just 10% of leadership roles in the industry.”

Pioneered by Women, Now Unable to Attract and Retain Them

The underrepresentation of women in STEM is a persistent theme, with hurdles across seven different levels including the drastic erosion of women’s sense of belonging in the STEM field.

“Ironically, America’s tech industry started as a majority-female industry. As Mary Ann Sieghart notes in Wired, during the 1950s and ’60s, roughly 90 percent of programmers and systems analysts were women,” writes Victoria Mosby in BizTech. “By the 1990s, however, men held most of those positions.”

As recently as 1984, women comprised nearly 40% of computer science majors at U.S. universities, and women comprised 35% of tech workers. Today, fewer than 1 of 5 Chief Information Officers at the 1,000 biggest companies are women.

Accenture’s Resetting Tech Culture 2020 report shares that women leave tech roles at a 45% higher attrition rate than men, and 50% of women who take a tech role drop it by the age of 35, 2.5x more than attrition in other positions. Meanwhile, there’s a huge disconnection between HR leaders perception and the women working in tech: HR is twice as likely to perceive it’s easy for women to thrive in tech.

What needs to shift? Next week, theglasshammer focuses on how COVID-19 has impacted women in tech and why tech is crying out for what Accenture calls a “widespread cultural reset”.

By: Aimee Hansen

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OP-Ed: 3 Ways Leaders Can Advocate for Workplace Flexibility

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Lauren Winans Workplace Flexibility Over the past year, businesses in virtually every industry around the world have undergone dramatic shifts, while the remote workplace has redefined workplace flexibility. Like it or not, the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked the most rapid transformation of workplace dynamics in recent memory, not the least of which has been the shift regarding the traditional employer-employee dynamic.

Increased trends in technological automation and innovations have forced us as professional leaders to rethink most of our internal strategies. From the processes we use to hire and retain talented employees, to the ways we interact with them on the clock, and even down to the resources we provide them to excel in their performance, one thing has been made clear: the pandemic has left its impact not only on society as a whole, but also on the individual as an employee.

As employees have begun to advocate for their wants and needs within the workplace, it is our duty as leaders to provide them with the environment and tools they need to feel appreciated and valued. The best way to do this is to advocate for greater flexibility within your business and its culture. By advocating for the flexibility and greater overall wellbeing of your employees, they will feel more supported. This support, in turn, boosts the confidence of your employees, allowing them to feel more deeply valued in their own abilities, both within and outside of the workplace.

Here are three ways you, as a leader, can become an advocate for the flexibility of your workplace’s culture and its employees.

1. Embrace the New Hybrid Work Model

Some employers are reluctant to change and are resistant to new ways of working for them and their employees alike. They may think that methods which worked well for the past several decades prior to the pandemic can continue to work just as well more than a year later. Employers may have a fear of the unknown or a desire to focus on other priorities for their business. Ultimately, it all comes down to an organization’s leaders–if leaders can acknowledge that the dynamic between them and their employees has shifted, and changes are required, half the battle is already won. When that acknowledgement is avoided, true change becomes impossible.

Many employers are permanently implementing remote work and hybrid working arrangements, providing bonuses for employees who worked extra hours during the pandemic, conducting compensation studies to ensure their pay rates are competitive, and adding benefits like additional therapy visits, meditation, and mindfulness training. Some employers are also adding more paid holidays to their workplace calendar, encouraging vacation day use, or bringing in freelancers, contractors, and consultants to help with complex projects and increased workloads.

Implementing a hybrid work environment can benefit employers in many ways, not the least of which is the reduction in size of their real estate footprint, which lowers operating expenses. For instance, implementing a hybrid work model shows employees that flexibility in their workplace environment is a priority for their leaders, allowing those leaders to retain talented employees for longer periods of time. This hybrid environment allows talented employees to juggle their priorities (such as caring for children or aging parents) while remaining employed without the fear of having to choose between their personal priorities or their career.

2. Revisit (and Revamp) Your Hiring and Retention Strategy

The number one thing employers can do is to ensure workplace flexibility is to have a clearly defined talent strategy; one that includes an aspirational vision or mission that leaders and HR can use as a guidepost. That guidepost is then used to update, change, or create practices and rewards that are aligned to the aspirational vision of a company’s leadership, which should be well-known throughout the organization. It should be communicated clearly and often, praised when demonstrated, and discussed regularly in large company-wide meetings and small team meetings alike. Great, talented employees need to know what they are working for, what they are working toward, and that their efforts are recognized, appreciated, and rewarded.

The recent hiring crisis our nation is facing exemplifies this point. Our current shortage of workers is impacting the ability of HR teams to focus on enhancing their people strategy, resulting in higher turnover rates that lead to a larger amount of open positions that are hard to fill. It’s a vicious cycle that has led many organizations to bring in HR consultants who can help employers and their teams tackle greater workloads in a shorter period of time. However, many HR professionals themselves are completely burned out after everything the pandemic threw at them. Some are shifting career paths, moving on to companies that provide them with more support, or leaving the workforce entirely.

If business leaders and employers are able to successfully adapt to new ways of working, and thinking about work such as implementing a hybrid work environment, this allows them to increase the size of their talent pool–particularly for positions that are difficult to fill. Hybrid work models likewise allows for greater inclusion, making it possible for companies to employ those with disabilities that keep them from a traditional onsite office setting. By increasing the size of their talent pool, employers make it easier on themselves to recruit for positions that would otherwise be hard to fill.

3. Consciously Provide Employees Opportunities to Thrive

The events of the past year have made it clear that employees crave support from employers to help them better balance their lives. Employees want to work for strong leaders, want to contribute to something bigger than themselves, to take care of their families, and to maintain their health and wellbeing. All of these needs require flexibility on behalf of the employer, and while employers are not expected to meet all of an employee’s personal needs, making conscious choices to provide employees every opportunity to thrive is what helps retain great employees.

By focusing your company’s internal people strategy to create a more flexible workplace environment and culture, your organization can focus more on how to foster the wellbeing of its employees. Companies that are more focused on the wellbeing of their employees will find it easier to attract and retain talent, combat burnout, and increase productivity. When employees feel supported, they’re more confident in their abilities at work. It’s no wonder that employees are looking for employers who have been or are ready to embrace this dynamic.

Written by Lauren Winans, CEO – Next Level Benefits

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OP-Ed: 9 Ways Working Moms Can Successfully Work From Home with Their Children Present

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working momsWith the pandemic (hopefully) coming to an end and corporations getting back to business as usual, many U.S. workers (including working moms) aren’t quite sure they want to head back to the office in person, at least not full-time. Instead, some experts predict a Great Resignation is on the horizon, with many U.S. employees indicating they’d rather quit their jobs than go back to in-person office life as they knew it pre-COVID-19.

If you’re a working parent considering making your home your new permanent workplace, you’re bound to have some moments when your work and home life intersect. While it’s ideal to have your kids in child care or to have someone present and watching your kids while you work, sick days and school holidays will likely mean you’ll need to simultaneously juggle caring for your kids and caring for your work obligations at least some of the time this coming year. Here’s how to handle working from home with your kids present long or short term.

1.     Set Expectations. First, set expectations with your kids about the day’s activities and what you are doing and why. Ask them for what you need and explain the boundaries.

2.     Distract Wisely. Give them age-appropriate distractions; it can be helpful to only allow screen time at these moments to keep their attention longer. Have a reward system in place to reinforce good behavior.

3.     Plan Ahead. Try to set up calls on days or times your kids aren’t there or during normal nap times. Perhaps arrange for grandma or grandpa to stop by right before your call and read a favorite book to your child. Or ensure your calls are with another understanding parent if your kids are present. If you expect your kids to interrupt you, proactively let the person on the phone know in advance that it may happen, and explain the situation and how you’ll handle it.

Concentrate on your highest priority work to-dos and those that require the most intense level of attention first. Start your day before your children wake up. This valuable time will be free of interruptions and will have your full attention. If you only have time to work on a few things, make sure they’re the ones you really care about or that really need to get done.

4.     Get Active Early. Depending on your schedule, play with your kids early in the day. Kids hate waiting, especially for our attention. Instead of making them more and more frustrated as you make just 1 more conference call, give them the attention they need at the start of the day and get them moving with fresh air and exercise, if possible, early on. Take a walk outside with your kids first thing in the morning when you wake up. When you finally do need to sit down and hammer out a few tasks, they won’t be so antsy, and you’ll be able to fully concentrate.

5.     Think Outside the Box. Consider an alternative schedule, especially if you have a partner who is also working from home. Mom may take the 6:00 am to 2:00 pm shift with the kids, then “go to work” in her home office, and dad works 2:00 to 8:00 pm. Or divide up the day. Think about working in 2-hour shifts, switching off with your partner or another caregiver.

6.     Consider Your Space. Designate areas of your home for specific tasks, and create visual cues that let your kids know you’re off-limits while you’re in those spaces. Your garage, the basement, a bedroom — these can all serve as work areas. When you physically separate from your kids and take yourself out of their line of vision, you’re less distracted, and your kids are less confused about your accessibility. As the saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind.” A red stop sign or a cutout of a hand on your office door is a clear indicator even to young children that work is in session and reinforces that you’re not available at the moment.

7.     Create Structure. Set your kids up for success during important meetings by creating structure. For preschool and elementary children, set up interesting activity centers in their playroom with model clay, craft paper and markers, or books they can interact with while you’re away for a short time. For older children, make a list of 10 activities they can do when they feel bored and put it on the refrigerator as a reminder for the times you’re off-limits. Use times you’re completely off-limits to have them dedicate effort to traditional schoolwork or online learning.

8.   Feed the Beast. Plan ahead for food needs. Cut up fruits and vegetables in advance and put them into containers labeled “Meeting Snacks.” Make mini quesadillas with protein and veggies, cut them into triangles, and set them out right before your meeting starts. For older kids, set out ingredients for sandwiches or salad before you head into a session with a client or coworker so it’s easy for them to put together a snack while you’re away.

9.     Be Honest. Be transparent with your business partners about the fact your kids are in the home with you. The more honest we are about how our home and work lives intersect, the more we normalize that experience for others, and, ultimately, push employers toward considering our whole-person needs as they create policies and culture.

Above all, give yourself grace. Accept that when you’re trying to do two jobs simultaneously, you’re bound to sometimes be less than perfect at both of them. Take breaks with and without your kids. Definitely don’t add even more to your proverbial plate — the errands, the vacuuming, that toothpaste you still need to buy — it can all wait. And, remember, if you eventually find yourself longing for a little more separation between your work and home life, that’s okay, too.

Whitney Casares, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P., is the author of The Working Mom Blueprint: Winning at Parenting Without Losing Yourself. She is the Founder and CEO of Modern Mommy Doc and host of The Modern Mommy Doc Podcast.

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OP-ed: Using Technology and Remote Work as the Great Equalizer

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Silvina MoschiniSilvina Moschini explains how she leverages technology and remote work to hack the gender employment gap and empower women.

I didn’t major in computer science or engineering. My background is in communications and marketing. But, I discovered the power of technology early in my career and I realized that in it lies the opportunity to innovate, disrupt and solve problems.

I had the opportunity to work for tech giants like Compaq and was fortunate to be part of the 1990’s dot-com explosion, leading communications for one of the most successful Latin American startups of that era. Patagon was acquired by Banco Santander, a Spanish bank. The dot-com bubble eventually burst. Shortly after, I was recruited by Visa International as Vice President of Communications for Latin America, leading their FinTech division-the moment when I discovered that my life’s calling was to become an entrepreneur.

The leap to entrepreneurship

After leaving the corporate world, I took a leap of faith and founded a consulting company whose mission was to provide digital transformation for large corporations. As a self-employed entrepreneur, I had the opportunity to live anywhere I wanted, so I moved to Verona—my favorite place in Italy. I had a thriving business and was working with a team of professionals based in all corners of the world. But, I was facing a challenge: I needed more visibility and collaboration with my remote team, because as their leader, I lacked the tools to gauge progress in an effective and transparent way.

Necessity is the greatest driver of innovation, and it was clear to me that technology was the answer to my problem. So, I made it my mission to design and develop a solution that would provide transparency and visibility to help me keep my team accountable while allowing me to make decisions in real-time, and pivot as needed.

In 2012, TransparentBusiness software as a service was born and I began to pioneer the future of work, dedicating myself to transforming the way people work. What started as a solution for my company became an award-winning remote work and enablement tool that is now used by thousands of clients across the world.

From solution to ecosystem

During the initial years, I spent most of my days explaining the benefits of remote work, which often fell on deaf ears. Many business leaders were skeptical about this work model that relied on accountability and transparency instead of in-person, in-office oversight. However, I also began to see a shift, as millennials started to become an integral part of the workforce. The on-demand economy and companies such as Uber, Netflix and Airbnb who were disrupting their industries emphasized the importance of continuous innovation. And, each day the companies we spoke to become more receptive to remote work models.

But, I also knew that the future of work needed more than great software. It needed to connect the dots with the talent that was in search of remote work opportunities. And this is how our Talent as a Service offering was born, starting with Yandiki, a talent marketplace where companies could source creative talent on-demand to scale their teams globally, using TransparentBusiness technology.

The female quotient

After about three years, we made a game-changing discovery. All our data demonstrated that women were outperforming men in all the performance metrics that we were measuring through our platform. We dove deep into the data and conducted more thorough research of the women who were in the marketplace as freelancers, full-time consultants, and full-time professionals. We realized that we were attracting women with excellent professional qualifications who had been in search of remote and flexible job opportunities. They were thriving on our platform because it offered them the flexibility that they needed to balance work and life and rejoin the workforce without having to leave their loved ones.

SheWorks! was created to empower women to find better career options, and to hack the employment gender gap, because 51 percent of women with children abandon their jobs due to lack of flexibility. We officially launched the company at the Global Women Principles’ Summit at the United Nations Headquarters in 2017, reinforcing our commitment to not just be a part of the narrative, but effect change by helping them find employment and opportunities.

The pandemic effect

The global pandemic threw the world into a crisis that was unprecedented. The loss of life and the economic windfall was felt in every corner of the planet. Technology once again emerged as a lifeline, helping people stay connected to their friends and family, enabling children and young adults to continue their education, and empowering companies to continue to operate. Overnight, the world shifted from physical to virtual environments, and working from home became the norm for millions of people.

Entrepreneurs know that out of crises come opportunity, and many sectors thrived in this new normal. At TransparentBusiness, remote work was our way of doing business for almost a decade, so we were prepared and fortunate to have the skills and the tools to help clients of all sizes and from all industries navigate through this time of uncertainty.

As we look beyond the pandemic, we can say that the great work-from-home experiment of 2020 made one thing clear: Remote work is here to stay. Business leaders and employers alike realized that productivity and profitability did not decrease when employees worked remotely—in fact, sometimes it increased. And, this levels the playing field and opens many new opportunities for women.

Technology as the great equalizer

Women were disproportionately affected by the pandemic. They faced the burden of childcare, lower-paying jobs in sectors that experienced closures, and overall lost 5.4 million jobs since the pandemic hit, nearly 1 million more job losses than men. Fortunately, as we look beyond the pandemic, I am optimistic and see a silver lining.

Remote work was normalized during the pandemic, and this in the long term will benefit women. As children return to school and we transition away from crisis mode, women will be in a better position to pursue remote career opportunities that allow them to have flexibility at home. More importantly, they will be able to compete for jobs globally instead of within a four-mile radius of their home, opening a world of opportunities.

And, all of this is made possible by technology and the digital transformation that we have experienced in the last decade. Technology is the great equalizer because it enables us to learn, work and create. As we look to the future, it’s important to leverage not only remote work but remote learning. The digital acceleration brought about by the pandemic created many new job opportunities. However, for women to thrive in the digital economy they will need to develop new and highly demanded skills to compete globally.

Leaving the world better than how I found it

I grew up in a very competitive household. My brother is a professional polo player and my sister excelled at equestrian sports. As a young girl, I strived to find my place in my family. Although I wasn’t into sports, I had a competitive spirit. My dad always fueled that fire, encouraging me to be independent and to pursue my dreams. And, he taught me one of the most important lessons in life: True independence starts with financial freedom, and the ability to make your own money. This lesson instilled in me a sense of self-reliance that became a positive obsession that drove my career and entrepreneurial journey.

As a Latin American woman and a technology entrepreneur, I have faced many challenges. But, I have never given up and work daily to build the castle that I’ve always dreamed of. And, more importantly, I have made it my mission to help women do the same through SheWorks! and more recently through Unicorn Hunters, an initiative that I co-created to help women entrepreneurs access capital because women-led startups received just 2.3% of VC funding in 2020, and what’s alarming is that this wasn’t due to the pandemic. The figure peaked at 2.8% in 2019.

Helping women access economic empowerment has been my life’s work, and I plan to continue to give back in any way that I can. My journey has been challenging, but also rewarding and I want to leave the world better than how I found it.

Silvina Moschini is the Founder and CEO of SheWorks!, a cloud-based digital talent marketplace that was created as a way for professional women to find flexible global employment opportunities. Ms. Moschini has made a point to provide women who want to grow their business with the same options as men through digital transformation.

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Leading Your Team in a Pandemic: 6 Quick Tips

Leading your team in a pandemic is about navigatingLeading Your Team in a Pandemic a course that puts control and choice of how much your team wants to talk about the pandemic in their court. This a lot to take in for most people to take in and giving space to let them have their own personal thoughts or feelings and the degree to how much they want to share those feelings, should be  very much up to them.

People are psychologically in different places for different reasons including it seems due to location, political affiliation in the USA (nowhere else it turns out, just here) and where they get their news from.

Work towards helping everyone get to the “a-ha” moment of what is happening, by helping them get to a conclusion which resembles the objective reality that is happening. As a psychologist, I am sure that the one thing that matters is that they have to get there themselves. Telling them what is real, is not going to work, as much like gender and other prejudice, so many people cannot get to the experience of objectivity as they are viewing so much through their own subjective experience processing filter lens. The result? If it literally it isn’t happening to them or someone they directly know, they dismiss it as a possibility! Cognitive dissonance is real! If there was ever a time to read Immunity to Change by Kegan and Lahey the Harvard development psychologists, my friends that time is now!  Here is a cheat sheet article on theglasshammer.com on the subject.

Some people are very distracted by life stuff -very understandable, life has changed for so many of us with a lockdown. I am personally on week 4 with a possible 8 weeks ahead with a spouse on the front lines working in an NYC hospital and “sans babysitter” for a while yet. Yet, understand some people want to distracted by work as its a good way of maintaining sanity if they have the backup to escape to the computer or the necessity to keep the work going to keep the business going. No one wants to fail in their career or business due to the coronavirus, that is a fact.  Flex to what you need to be for that person in that moment, this is an evolving emotional ride for most.

Here are 6 tips to lead in a pandemic

1. Acknowledge this is not a normal time for anyone and it is not business as usual

2. Give the other person space by asking them at the start of the meeting, “How would you like to spend this time together to ensure that we honor the professional work agenda and the personal needs of everyone in light of these unusual circumstances?”

3. Be neutral in your reaction to where they are at emotionally, mentally and psychologically in this process of digesting the realities around us. No judgement around if they are in denial or if they are in distress. Instead create a safe environment to express how they feel if they want to. Do not project how you feel unto them with wordy recounts of your life events or feelings around it unless they want that.  Work out how you feel and talk to your therapist or coach and then create space for everyone else to have their feelings and thoughts too.

4. Be careful about anxiety provoking questions like ‘how are you doing with homeschooling?” as so many of us are not doing well with many things. Instead ask, “How can i best support you and clear obstacles for you?”

5. Be consistent in actions and clear in communications, as this is leadership even in normal times.

6. Be human, first. Empathy is a muscle.

We are taking a publishing break until mid May to ensure we can coach (email nicki@evolvedpeople.com for coaching 2 sessions for $599, pack of 5 sessions for $1700 on zoom, facetime or phone) and support anyone who needs it and create space for everyone to focus on life priorities and staying well. Enjoy our archives of profiles (1500) and Career Advice (5000 articles)

Stay safe, social distance, ‘Happy Easter, Passover and Happy Spring’ and see you in May with a flatter curve (we hope).

Best Wishes,

Nicki Gilmour

CEO and Publisher

www.theglasshammer.com

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Remote Leadership: 6 Ways How To Lead When You Have to Lead From Home

Remote leadershipRemote leadership is in the spotlight in this current COVID-19 reactivity environment of quarantine and social distancing, and leaders are called to remember – now, more than ever – that leadership is not just about the employees or projects you manage, but the human beings you are interconnected with.

As entire offices are now working from home, the question is how to lead and motivate through these times. How do you stay supportive and facilitative to your people through the absence of in-person interaction? With a backdrop of increased uncertainty and lack of control, how do you take it day by day as a manager?

This is Not Last Year’s Remote Office

Prior to the crisis, remote working had grown by 91% in the last ten years and 52% of workers globally were working from home once a week. It was estimated that at least 50% of the U.S. workforce would work remotely by 2020. The current context has blown the statistics apart.

Context is everything. The advantage of working remotely is normally the sense of freedom and flexibility, but for many it’s now a result of imposed restriction, that goes across every aspect of life.

Some team members will struggle deeply with isolation and routine loss. Previous remote workers will not be having the same experience as before.

Elizabeth Grace Saunders, a Time Management Coach, writes in Fast Company, “For some, the idea of working from home is a dream—no commute and no drop-in meetings—pure productivity bliss; for others, it’s terrifying… Ready or not, you’re working remotely.”

American Psychiatric Association (APA) emphasizes, “Many are teleworking full-time for the first time, isolated from co-workers, friends and family. Our daily living routines are disrupted causing added anxiety, stress and strain—physically, mentally, and financially. It is completely natural for this disruption and uncertainty to lead to anxiety and stress.”

6 Ways to Support Your Team

As a remote leader, here are recommended ways you can support your team members:

Establish Work Availability and Boundaries

“When transitioning to a remote team, leaders should prioritize the development of clear boundaries and guidelines,” writes Jason Wingard, dean and professor at the School of Professional Studies at Columbia University, in Forbes. “At its most basic, this involves assisting employees in delineating their availability: when they will be working, how they can be reached for different needs, and how they will address challenges such as childcare.”

Encouraging employees and yourself to establish work hours and be communicative about them will help productivity and avoid burnout.

“There’s a lot more flexibility, which can be exceptionally dangerous,” writes Saunders. “You can end up barely working, working all the time, or somewhere in the middle where you begin your work very late and end up needing to work into the wee hours of the night.”

“Segment out what home or personal tasks you won’t do when you are in your work hours;” she advises, “that way you don’t spend half the day tidying the house and neglecting key tasks.”

Remote leadershipEncourage a Routine and Dedicated Work Space

The APA recommends keeping a regular routine including work, family, breaks, and other activities – as well as a designated physical space for work within the home – to support mental health while working from home.

Saunders writes that sticking with your routines – such as wake up, eating, activities and exercise times – support a greater sense of normalcy and clarity.On the other hand, Saunders writes “Abandoning all your routines will lead to decision fatigue and likely a lapse of willpower. You may find yourself home all the time, yet not even showered or dressed most days.”

Denoting a dedicated work space to settle into will help you and team members focus – and reserving that space as much as possible for work.

Be Flexible and Compassionate To Differing Circumstances

Optimal availability, schedule, and routine may look different for each individual, including yourself.

“Your mindset (now) has to shift to flexibility, overcommunication, and compassion,” writes Jay Friedman, president and parter of Goodway Group writes in Business Insider. “Take everyone’s situation into consideration and adopt accordingly.”

Friedman emphasizes the importance of establishing ‘parameters for a work-life integration plan’, which allows employees to adapt their schedule around their total responsibilities, such as home-schooling, and that may look different than a 9-to-5.

“To avoid miscommunication, encourage employees to be open on their calendars by blocking out ‘family’ time;’” he writes, “encourage those without such responsibilities to carve out ‘personal time’ before and after their work day to facilitate healthy work-life harmony.”

Also, re-assess responsibility allocation in your team based on the current situation.

Prioritize Goals, Not Hours

It’s not about hours spent sitting at the desk. Focus on goals and results.

“Don’t worry as much about what is being done. Instead, concentrate on what is being accomplished,” quotes Forbes, from sales and marketing professional Donald Hatter. “If we are meeting our goals, then great. If not, we need to look into the situation further. It is all about accomplishment, not activity.”

“Especially during times like these, look at the team’s achievements and celebrate what they’ve done,” Friedman writes. “The ongoing support and celebration of wins — both large and small — will be a huge motivator.”

Clarifying goals and who supports what can help with delegation, according to authors in Harvard Business Review (HBR): “Clarifying roles among the team helps people understand when they can turn to peers instead of the leader, which prevents the leader from becoming a bottleneck.”

Check In Regularly and Document

46% of remote workers, according to HBR and cited in Forbes, reported that the best managers checked on their team members regularly and frequently.

Checking in, as well as responding quickly, are important to keep connection, while face-to-face virtual meetings retain a sense of closeness and cohesion.

As written in HBR, “The most successful managers are good listeners, communicate trust and respect, inquire about workload and progress without micromanaging, and err on the side of overcommunicating.”

According to John Eades, CEO of LearnLoft in Forbes, questions should be:“What have you done? What are you working on? Where do you need help?” It’s important to give ownership for how things get done with individuals, and trust your people.

Brian de Haaff, Co-founder and CEO of Aha!, points out that documentation is critical when running a team remotely, assuring communication is flowing, messages are accurate, and records are kept. Recording virtual meetings on Xoom, etc helps to catch team members up directly.

Haaff further recommends documenting the three Ps: “problems, progress and plans”, to use as a launching point for weekly check-ins.

When moving around the virtual office, check your bias. Homophily – such as reaching out, relating to, assigning and relying on those with whom you share similarities – is at play. One recommendation is to keep a list of team members with photos around to consult, so you can see if you’ve truly been reaching out to all.

Be Connected, Be Personal, Be Empathetic 

More than ever, remind yourself that your team members are human beings with emotions stirred up in this moment.

“People suddenly working from home are likely to feel disconnected and lonely, which lowers productivity and engagement,” according to HBR. “Under these circumstances it is tempting to become exclusively task-focused. To address these challenges, making time for personal interaction is more important than ever.”

This means keeping face-to-face connections through virtual tools, especially with those who may need extra support, showing active interest in people’s lives and well-being, being available and approachable as a leader, and acknowledging people’s concerns with compassionate flexibility.

“The best way to ensure people are engaged is to over-communicate. You can do daily check-ins and virtual hangouts like morning coffee or lunch,” advises Friedman. “If the method you’re trying isn’t working, change and adapt quickly.”

Don’t just manage your team or projects. Connect as humans that are mutually inside a challenging environment of disruption and uncertainty, and need support as we help each other through these waves.

By Aimee Hansen

Aimee Hansen is a freelance writer, frequent contributor to theglasshammer and Creator and Facilitator of Storyteller Within Retreats, Lonely Planet recommended women’s circle retreats focused on self-exploration and connecting with your inner truth and sacred expression through writing, yoga, meditation, movement and ceremonies.

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14 Best Tips for Working Virtually From Home

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Guest Contribution

In today’s challenging environment with more and more sent home to work, it’s imperative to know how to work virtually.  When you haven’t done it previously, it can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.

These tips should help.

Best Tips for Working Virtually:

  1. Have a clear plan of attack – There are so many things that need done (i.e., setting up your office, internet, etc.) and the list goes on.  Start a to-do list and prioritize.  Realize that not everything has to be done immediately. By prioritizing your list, it feels more doable. And who doesn’t like to cross off those to do’s!
  2. Get Supplies Pronto – With so many heading out to get supplies, you are going to see things sold out. You want to stock up on business suppliers such as paper, ink, etc., soon. While doing so, grab extras so you don’t run out when they are gone. Because seriously, you never want to run out of ink … EVER! Trust me on that one.  Plus, get some fun things too.  You get to decorate your new office at home, so let your personality shine though.  Just remember that you might be on Skype and doing video calls.   Make it fun, but professional. Also, keep all receipts. Many companies are paying for supplies and you want to have proof of your purchases.
  3. Your Internet is crucial – You are more than likely going to need to connect with others in your company remotely so getting your internet set up is crucial. If your company provides tech support utilize it. Just write out all your questions in advance so you utilize their time in the best way possible. Believe it or not, tech guys really don’t like the 25 calls when 2 would suffice. Don’t be that person!
  4. Test your equipment and work through those nasty bugs that can happen – Those who have worked from home for years know that things happen and how you deal with it is what can save you. So work through those in the early stages.  Also, again you want to prioritize.  Figure out what is happening in the next few days that needs your immediate attention.  Work on those first. Keep in mind, speed is important.  Your computer from a decade ago might not cut it today so if you have to, get a new one.
  5. Back up all work – Your company more than likely had back-ups already in place. But now that you are home it’s imperative that you set this up immediately. A flash drive, cloud storage such as Dropbox, and also Carbonite are good recommendations.  Just as important as backing up your system, also make sure you know how to restore it if something happens.  So figure that important step out as well. Darn, one more thing to add to your to do list.
  6. Skype, Zoom, FreeConference Pro, etc., will be your best friends – These allow you to have audio and video conferences. Look into them pronto.
  7. Set up your webcam – Invest in a good one too. More importantly though check it out and see how you look. When it’s too close all you can see is your face close up, which means every winkle will show.  Not a good look.  Also review your background.  Anything that is in view should be cleaned up. Now is not the time to see your old Diet Cokes sitting around that you haven’t thrown away. I mean who does that? (Guilty as charged!)
  8. Discuss your situation with your family and friends – Be firm on the fact that you’re working and just because you are home, you can’t talk for hours or watch their kids because you are home and they still need to be at the office. Interruptions can lead to work that is not your best, so plan accordingly.
  9. Set up a dedicated area – If you can convert a room or a part of a room to an office that is the best scenario. Find a place where the interruptions are less frequent and also away from barking dogs and other distractions. Being able to shut a door for the office is great too.
  10. Have Activities For Your Children Ahead of Time – Bored kids are no fun! You might be working hard, but they are all the sudden out of school and left with little to do.  Plan ahead and have fun things for them to do.  All those coloring books and toys they got for the holidays might just come in handy now.  Of course, plan age-appropriate activities and know that a little TV now isn’t so bad.  They are probably stressed as well with the recent news.
  11. When on important virtual calls or conferences, be sure to turn off any distractions – If you are on Skype, turn your phone off so you can’t hear voice mails. Log out of email programs such as Outlook so all your email notifications don’t appear if you have it set up that way.  You don’t want everyone at your company to see the email coming from Aunt Grace.
  12. Write down all your passwords – I’ll leave it at that. You’ll thank me later for that one!
  13. Set down clear guidelines on how you will be communicating – Decide what works best for you and your company in keeping in touch? Phone, email, virtual conferences, etc.  Plan this in the beginning and work out solutions that make sense. Also, be brief in corresponding.  If it can be done in an email, do it.  No one has time for long drawn-out meetings, even virtually. Also, no one has time to read a novel in an email. Get to the point quickly.
  14. Stay Focused – Work on one thing at a time and really proofread and watch your work. Mistakes can happen because of the stress of the situation. By slowing down and really focusing you can avoid most of them.  Also, be good to yourself.  Buy your favorite coffee or goodie to make yourself feel good.  Remember to breath and take breaks getting up and walking around.  You’ll be amazed how good that feels.

The most important thing to do is take it slowly and try and remain calm. Contact a friend or associate and chat.  Reach out and say hi.  Turn off the news. Now I’m not saying don’t listen to the news, just avoid the 24/7 news cycle as that can be overwhelming. And finally, know that this too shall pass.  We all will get through this and the other side will be spectacular.

Author Bio:

Diana Ennen, President of Virtual Word Publishing, https://virtualwordpublishing.com offers PR and Marketing services, book marketing services, virtual assisting services, and PR and Virtual Assistant Coaching. She is also co-author of Virtual Assistant the Series: Become a Highly Successful Sought After VA. She has been featured in USA Weekly, Forbes, Inc. Radio, Fox News, Women’s World, USA Today, CNN, Wall Street Journal, and many more. She also has many valuable resources such as her PR Success Webinar Series – https://virtualwordpublishing.com/coaching-and-classes/pr-success-series/

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