3 Ways You Can Become a Better Virtual Leader
Virtual leadership is no walk in the park.
It's been a year and a half since most companies in the United States embraced remote work to curb the spread of the pandemic. It wasn’t something companies or managers prepared for, it just happened. Even the most skilled in-person communicators have found it a struggle to be as effective a leader online as they were in person. In fact, a study done by Harvard Business Review found that about 40% of managers expressed low self-confidence in their ability to lead remotely.
In our research at Bonavox, we’ve found that managers, in particular, are feeling the brunt of the change. They feel unsupported and ill-equipped. That’s why we put together this list of strategies you can use to improve your effectiveness as a leader in a virtual workplace.
1 - Know Your Communication Tools and How to Best Use Them.
Without a clear communication strategy, your remote workplace will not thrive. It’s easy to rely on Zoom meetings. After all, it’s the closest thing to a face-to-face conversation we can have digitally. But current research has shown that excessive Zoom meetings can lead to mental exhaustion and stress. It’s been coined “Zoom Fatigue.”
So when planning your communications be sure to ask yourself if Zoom is the best communication vehicle. Could you relay all of that information through an email instead? Would a quick clarifying phone call serve the same purpose?
Identify the current systems your company has in place for communication and think about using them all. You will find you have a bigger box of crayons than you thought. Why always color with the same ones?
2. Don’t Monitor Productivity - Build Relationships.
Attempting to micromanage your people from afar can lead to resentment pretty quickly. The best way to keep your workers engaged and on task is by building healthy, working relationships with them.
“look for signs of social isolation, stress, and burnout. Think about investing in virtual social activities to help build a bond among your team members.”
Human connection is not the easiest thing to create online. Casual office conversations don’t have a digital equivalent. You may find you benefit more by taking the time to learn about the members of your team -- not just as workers, but as people -- then trying to figure out if they’re working as hard as you think they should be. Moreover, look for signs of social isolation, stress, and burnout. Think about investing in virtual social activities to help build a bond among your team members.
The role of a manager is evolving. As employees focus more on their own mental health and wellbeing, a manager that can prioritize and accommodate those needs will always have an advantage over those who don’t. That leads us to our third point:
3. Emphasize a Healthy Work-Life Balance.
While there are some outliers, the general consensus seems to be that workers are more productive or just as productive working remotely than they were at the office. But while there are aspects of remote work that are attractive to your people -- flexible working hours, no commute, time to take care of their families -- it can lead to employee burnout and attrition, as well.
“Not only will encouraging your employees to consider their mental health help strengthen their bond to the company, but the mental rest will keep them fresh and focused when they come back, ready to work.”
Working remotely, employees are putting in more hours, and working weekends as the line between work and real life has blurred. Adding to the pressure is the fact that it’s much more difficult to evaluate remote workers when compared to their in-office counterparts.
Not only will encouraging your employees to consider their mental health help strengthen their bond to the company, but the mental rest will keep them fresh and focused when they come back, ready to work.
Essentially, the thread that ties all of these strategies together is empathy. Being an effective leader means meeting these new challenges head-on, and building a company culture that addresses the fact that 100% of your employees are human beings. If you’re struggling to build empathy across the remote divide, Bonavox has you covered.
After months of research and development, we’ve just released Brave New Workplace, designed to help your business reposition its culture to withstand the challenges of multimodal work. It’s about communication, inclusion, values, and empathy.
