The Surprising Nature of Good Work: What We've Actually Learned

Our world of work is changing. Or is it?

People are people. And despite the dramatic conversations about remote, hybrid, and on-site work, the principles of what humans need to do good work, be engaged, and excel in their roles are still the same.

I worked remotely as a leader with a fully remote team for more than 12 years before it was fashionable. I contracted with freelance specialists and business partners across the US and internationally to execute strategies. We ran a business and worked with consultants from various locations, in some cases, only meeting up once or twice a year to align goals and plans.

We were doing just fine.

My team was producing results.

But it certainly wasn’t happening by accident.

What I’ve learned leading and coaching 1000s of people between my corporate career and my private practice is that whether you’re working on-site, remote or hybrid, it takes intention to cultivate relationships and an environment where people are thriving in their roles.

It does take more deliberate action when people are remote and hybrid because you don’t have the accidental meetings and interactions that contribute to a positive team culture. The good news is that it’s not as hard as you might think to replicate what works on-site in a remote or hybrid team dynamic.

Here are some ways you can do it:

Be Deliberate About Cultivating a Relationship Culture ::

Culture can be one of those fortuitous things that is experienced when people are together on-site because living out company culture is energy. It’s more challenging (but not impossible, based on the laws of physics) to feel energy from a distance. Since people won’t be regularly running into each other, you’ll need to orchestrate specific times to get people together for regular check-ins, collaboration, and fun (please don’t forget the fun). Audio-only conference calls (remember those) work just as well as Zoom. Don’t forget agenda-less meetings, impromptu virtual gatherings and celebrations also help solidify positive relationships and a sense of belonging and purpose.

When you’re defining and carrying out your team’s relationship culture, the message matters more than the method.

Your Accountability Means Their Accountability ::

Set an example as their manager by being transparent, responsive, and dependable. You may not be able to walk over to their cube to get or share information, but you can still leverage some in-the-moment communication opportunities with text, Slack, or email. But be aware of micromanaging tendencies with these communication forms. It’s easy to become a gumball machine and drop out anything that pops into your head and ends up overwhelming your people. Stay accountable to your commitments, and be open to answering questions and offering feedback, always within boundaries.

If you wouldn’t get out of your office chair to walk over and say it personally, then save it for a scheduled meeting.

Leverage Strengths, Trust, and Autonomy ::

Isn’t it interesting that Gallup has been measuring workforce disengagement and productivity stats for years, and they’ve been pretty much the same regardless of the on-site, remote, and hybrid debate?

Here’s a quote from their most recent Global Workforce report:

"Employees who are not engaged or who are actively disengaged cost the world $8.8 trillion in lost productivity. That's equal to 9% of global GDP."

If you’ve got a productivity and engagement problem, it likely has nothing to do with the location of your team members. It’s time to own up to it.

Ask yourself some questions:

- Have I hired the right people for the right job?

- What about my team members' strengths could I better leverage?

- What can I be doing differently to offer trust and autonomy to my team?

I’m going to assume you hired right. You’re smart. You hired smart people who can get the job done. Just because you can’t walk through a building and see people working diligently at their computers doesn’t mean they aren’t.

It reminds me of college professors who say at the beginning of a term that everyone has an “A” to start. What happens after that and the grade you have by the end is up to you. Don’t assume someone isn’t doing their work. Give them the benefit of trusting they’ll show up. Let their work product, output, and results speak for themselves about what next steps you need to take, if any.

Thoughts to Ponder ::

Letting go and letting the people you lead can be hard, no matter where you are all located. But when you are deliberate about building authentic relationships, being accountable to each other, and trusting that you’ve done your job as their manager by acknowledging their skills and experience, leveraging their strengths, and then giving them the autonomy to do what you hired them to do, you will have people who are happier and more engaged.

What will you do to make it happen?

Always for you,

Elissa

#PeopleManagement #Leadership #Careers #StrategicElissa

I help middle managers develop everyday leadership and people management skills. You can go from feeling defeated and giving up to being a confident and resilient leader, capable of guiding your team through any challenge.

Get the 1:1 help you need to be a middle manager who creates amazing results through a team that cares about doing a great job.

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