Questions for Strengthening the Virtual Leadership Muscle
Now is the time for reflection and introspection. Especially when it comes to leadership in virtual working conditions. We, as leaders, need to ask ourselves the tough questions while getting back to basics.
Due to our virtual working conditions here are the business areas and questions I have focused on in my own business during COVID19 & have had my clients focus on -
- Here are the questions I ask myself daily - Who can I help? How can I help? Who can help me? This kind of inquiry will anchor the organization back in its purpose; it also strengthens the bonds between team members.
- Many organizations should be revisiting their mission statements, vision statements, and core values because how your company existed, operated, behaved, and performed pre-COVID19 may not be what it evolves into now or post-COVID19.
Once you're in alignment with your purpose, the skills actions follow to fill in gaps and blind spots.
1) Active listening - what are people saying? What does it mean to them? How does their body language & behavior reveal non-verbal communication? Having the ability to interpret a person's body language lets the listener develop a more accurate understanding of the speaker's message.
2) Check context & clarify perceptions - Communication is relative. What you hear from me is a combination of your subjective perceptions of reality as well as mine. For effective communication to take place, we both need to be aware of and respect our perceptual differences.
As you are listening to your team member speak, check the accuracy of your understanding by asking -
I hear you say this and that. Is that accurate? If I'm hearing accurately, you mean this. How does what I'm saying fit for you?
Right now in our world, people need to be seen, heard, and understood more than ever. Slow down enough to understand them and connect with them.
3) Leverage empathy, compassion, and love in all business dealings - Many people are scared, confused, lost, stressed out, feeling unbalanced, and teetering on the edge of burnout. We need to create an emotional connection with people until we can be back together physically.
To nurture my relationships, I open all my conversations with the following questions -Genuine check-in: How are you doing, in general? How are you holding up? How's your family? How's your work situation? Then I shut up and let them talk. Listening serves as a release for many pent up feelings and emotions. It will also shed light on what is going on for them on a human level and allow you as their leader to support them.
4) "Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast" (From the Navy Seals and Delta Force). Modern infantry combat centers around mobility—if you can't move, you get pinned down, but if you move too fast, you get surrounded and outflanked. I learned this from my husband, who served 20 years in the U.S. Navy.
As a leader at this point in history, we need to be mindful, intentional, and disciplined enough with our decision making and workflow processes to slow down. Rushing through the company "to-do" list for the sake of productivity amid a global pandemic is a futile time-waster. Ask yourself -
- Do we have to fill that vacancy today?
- Do we have to file that FOIA today?
- Do we have to decide on that departmental reorganization today?
- How can I slow this process down?
- Is this essential right now?
5) Improv - One of the best investments I ever made was taking an Improv Class onsite at The Second City, in Chicago, IL. The two simple rules I learned to follow during the five-day course to be a successful scene partner in improv, 1) Say yes to (a.k.a. Yes, and...) anything that comes your way, and 2) when the unexpected occurs you must accept it and adapt. To move forward, we must get comfortable in the unknown and pivot.
The best leaders I've experienced during my 22+ year career, never stop asking questions. Foster that curious mind and continuously inquire into everything. The virtual leadership muscle only gets stronger through practice and repetition.
Stay Safe.
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Kelly Meerbott is a respected thought leader, author, facilitator, speaker, and leadership coach to successful leaders. Early in her corporate career, Kelly found her calling to coaching and training while working for a Fortune 500 company. Recognizing her natural aptitude for mentoring and educating others, she was given roles where she could have the most significant impact coaching her peers and supervisors. Her influence was felt across the organization, as company morale improved, politics disintegrated, and productivity soared. Revenues increased dramatically as formerly disgruntled clients, and employees were converted to corporate supporters and advocates.
In 2009, at the height of the recession, Ms. Meerbott found herself caught up in a round of 30,000 layoffs -- a defining moment in her career. As Kelly explored what was next, she hired a coach who subsequently changed her life. The support and guidance of a personal coach helped her realize her passion for helping others and desire to make it a career. More importantly, she recognized how impactful and life-changing a great coach can be. This is what inspires and motivates her to share her talents to make a difference in the world. She employs a unique coaching style that allows her to follow her intuition. Kelly quickly gets to the root of an issue and shifts the prevailing mindset and bring about positive change with her clients. Kelly is a true champion of everything that makes humans magnificent, and she works to bring out the best in all of us.
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