3 Ways to Build your Virtual Leadership
In a pre-leadership-training workshop I conducted recently, I asked participants to share what they were hoping to get out of the training. One of the participants said he was hoping to learn more about virtual leadership. I paused. I was not expecting that. I knew that this particular training was not going to cover this topic and it got me thinking. Out of the 100 principals, associates, managers, and project managers the company was running through the training, how many of them were hoping for the same thing? How many of them were wondering how to be an effective leader now that our whole organization had shifted to remote work?
Reactive Leadership vs. Proactive Leadership
Traditional models of leadership have relied heavily on MBWA — Managing by Walking Around. Relationships are built this way, mentorship is provided this way, and training needs are addressed this way — in a reactionary way. In a virtual work setting, this is no longer possible. As Kevin Eikenberry states in his LinkedIn Learning course: Leading at a Distance leadership now is MBWC — Managing by Web Cam. To be an effective remote leader, we have to be more intentional with our interactions so we can stay connected with our team members. We also use the technologies we have available to us to facilitate these connections. Create a framework for people on your team to connect with each other because it’s not something they’ll likely do on their own. In other words, we need to take a more proactive approach.
To be an effective remote leader, we have to be more intentional with our interactions.
The Challenges of Virtual Leadership
Research shows that more than 25 percent of virtual teams are not fully performing and 33 percent of teams rate their virtual leaders as less than effective. Organizations often believe that when virtual teams underperform, the cause is geographical distance. Some attribute this to less informal mentoring taking place in the lunchroom or near the water cooler, or more difficulties keeping track of what training is needed or has happened. As a result, when coming up with solutions to improve team performance, returning to the physical office space is thought of as the best option.
Founder and CEO of Virtual Distance International (VDI) and co-author of The Power of Virtual Distance (Wiley, 2020) claims that their data show that the main cause [of team performance] is virtual distance, which changes the way that people relate to each other. What is virtual distance exactly? It is defined by Dr. Karen Sobel Lojeski and Nicole Diamante as the perceived distance between two or more individuals or groups, caused by the constant and widespread use of technology-facilitated communications and work.
The greater the virtual distance, the higher the negative impact on the team in terms of innovation effectiveness, trust, work satisfaction, role and goal clarity, and project success.
According to VDI data, “the greater the virtual distance, the higher the negative impact on the team in terms of innovation effectiveness, trust, work satisfaction, role and goal clarity, and project success.” This implies that the issue is not geographical, but interpersonal. Relationship and rapport building, coaching, and communication are also challenges managers face when leading their teams virtually.
Combatting the Challenges of Virtual Leadership
Now that people have settled into their new remote work environment, managers might notice that some team members are burning out or struggling to meet deadlines. Managers themselves may even be feeling this way. Here are three things every manager can do to combat the challenges of virtual leadership and take a more proactive approach:
1. Develop your virtual leadership presence. In their article, human-centered leaders Karin Hurt and David Dye recommend being deliberate about how you spend your time with your team members. Plan out how and when you will touch base with people on your team. A helpful trick is to block time in your own work calendar. This will serve as a reminder for you to reach out to team members but not fill their calendars with more meetings. Think of this time the same way you once thought about chatting by the coffee maker or walking by their desk. Keep it spontaneous for them. To have a strong leadership presence, you have to show up and be as visible as possible. Showing interest goes a long way. Out of sight is out of mind, as the saying goes, so be present.
2. Build a foundation of coaching and feedback. Emplify is experimenting with a few techniques to promote this which include regular “One on Ones” and “Ask Us Anythings.” They have realized that since moving to remote work, staff are not going to leaders with their questions as much as they were before. In addition, they found that by hosting these types of events, they were able to create more organizational transparency and directly address not only people’s project or team concerns, but their organizational concerns as well. Other options I have heard of other companies using are virtual coffee breaks, “Project Pop-Ins”, and “Questions of the Day”. Call up a team member and say, for example, “Question of the Day: how many meetings have you been in today?” If the employee says eight, you are able to open a discussion about strategies for avoiding Zoom fatigue. Keep the conversations quick and frequent.
3. Create a trusting environment. Psychological safety is everything when building trust on virtual teams and we don’t have the luxury of time when we’re doing it. In Nancy Settle-Murphy’s article some suggestions for building rapid trust are:
· Ask team members what a “safe space” might feel like. It’s not the same for everyone. Have an open an honest conversation.
· Lead by example. If you show your own vulnerabilities, others will feel more comfortable doing the same. Ask for help, share your successes and challenges, and let them know what keeps you up at night.
· Recognize the pressure video puts on people. Choose when to encourage and use video and when not to. Be explicit about when video is important, when it’s a nice to have, and when it’s not necessary.
What I have seen work for many teams is to create a mutual reliance through clarity, accountability, and achieving “same-page” status. It’s important for team members to know what they are responsible for and how their actions impact the other members of the team. When expectations are clearly set, it is more likely that a sense of autonomy and empowerment can be created.
When combatting the challenges of virtual leadership, it’s important to remember that leadership is not bigger than the actions you do every day.
To return back to the training participant from the start of this article, I would offer him this advice: when combatting the challenges of virtual leadership, it’s important to remember that leadership is not bigger than the actions you do every day. Your everyday leadership is grounded in your values. Regardless of whether your team is in the same brick and mortar office as you or joining you on via “together mode” on Teams, your leadership principles are the same.
