I said something earlier this year that I think proved to ring very true – it might be the only thing I was for sure right about! In a moment of the obvious, I said, “I would venture to guess that 2020 is going to be a memorable year…and it’s only March.” The first meeting I held when the pandemic started was a memorable one. There was a feeling in the room, and one that I’m sure you experienced, that this was the beginning of a journey that was going to have both short- and long-term impacts. We all instinctively knew that our days were going to be full of ups and downs, sadness and happiness, anxiety and elation. As a leader in this environment, there’s a sense of urgency to really focus in and lead. Adversity is interesting in its ability to create a sense of resolve in your spirit. As citizens, we have deep memories of great leaders that came before us; leaders who weren’t defined by circumstances and challenge but by courage and success. Some of our greatest moments come from adversity and that is right in front of us. As we face these challenges, we must adjust to changes; some of which will be long term. One of the big changes I see lasting is the need to lead in a remote work environment, regardless of the industry you are in. Simply put, remote work environments are no longer reserved for Silicon Valley.

The industry I work in is a very traditional work environment. I don’t lead in a big tech industry and we certainly don’t have many exercise balls as chairs in our offices. Typically, it’s a M-F group with set schedules and set offices. Adapting to a new reality had to be done and done quickly. The challenge statement was not a single statement, but rather a collection of challenges address. How do we keep people safe? How to maintain customer service? How to manage remotely? How to lead remotely? Are we prepared from a technology standpoint? What do we do with team members that are unable to telework? How do we best communicate?

We were fortunate to have been prepared from a technical and tangible standpoint to handle it but there was certainly no rule book for this. On top of dealing with pandemic and taking care of folks, we were a traditional company in a suddenly very non-traditional environment. In my estimation, we were not alone. There were many “traditional” types of companies that, seemingly overnight, had to revamp how to lead in this environment, and re-think how they look at remote or flexible work schedules. My first tip to remote leadership is that if we want success in recruiting and retention, we need to embrace the reality.

Prior to COVID, industries started seeing the shift in the work force and the move to a remote environment had already begun. At this point, to think that remote and flexible work expectations will not be a long term and entrenched outcome would be a fallacy. With incredible timing, www.flexjobs.com posted an article on Feb 13, 2020 called “Remote Work Statistics: Shifting Norms and Expectations,” where they list interesting statistics about remote work. For example, according to that article, from 2016 – 17, remote work grew 8%. But over the last five years, the article suggests it grew 44%, and 91% over the last 10 years. And there’s more. In a recent Buffer report called, “The 2020 State of Remote Work,” 98% (!) of 3500 respondents said they’d like to remote work at some point in their career. The report was also published in February 2020 and the data gathered in November 2019… prior to the pandemic in earnest. The numbers of that report are enlightening. 97% would recommend remote work to others, 57% spend time working remotely, 70% are happy with the amount of time they work remotely, and another 19% would like to work remotely more often. Harvard and Stanford both studied production, overall cost savings, and efficiency and found a positive correlation between remote work and productivity and efficiency; both strong value drivers. The point of this is to suggest that as a leader, we need to be willing and prepared to lead in this new environment. The pandemic only doubled down on the movement towards a remote work environment and it seems like it is here to stay. [Before you go canceling your leases, proceed with caution and avoid a knee jerk reaction as a leader. If the pendulum was M-F/8-5 on one side and full time remote (googlish) on the other, I suspect we’ll land in the flexible middle.]

As with making decisions, there are a variety of ways to approach leadership in various circumstances. Had I written this a year ago, I suspect my tips or suggestions may have been different than they are today. A lot has changed in a year. We’ve been hit hard. We’ve been introspective. We’ve adjusted our perspective and priorities. And I’m certain all those have impacted my recommendations, tips, and suggestions that follow.

Relentlessly Communicate:

I’ll spend the most time here because communication is that important. Leadership is hard. Communication is hard. Both take relentless commitment – every…single…day. When you don’t feel like communicating, do it anyway. When you don’t feel like leading; do it. Remember last post, it’s not about you, it’s about the people that need you to communicate and need you to lead. This isn’t a should do concept, it is a must do; it’s part of a leave no doubt mindset. As the shutdowns began, we all realized how quickly things were changing and I knew that communication was more critical than ever. Heck, we even had to understand even informal communication changed – the coffee pot and break room channels were gone and now we use professional chats or threads. Knowing this, my personal philosophy was this: If I thought I “might” need to communicate something, I just flat did it and did it in a variety of ways. This being the unique situation it was, I preferred to take the risk of regretting saying or doing something rather than regret saying or doing nothing.

So, at the risk of being vulnerable, I increased my commitment to communication with the objective of meeting people where they were.  The intent was to communicate to people what they needed to hear and encourage them along the way. We shared important information that addressed the questions we knew they had. Communication was at a professional level when needed and a very personal level when necessary. We communicated our thanks and appreciation. And to do so, a variety of tools and methods were used. Examples include newsletters, videos, email blasts, virtual townhalls, MS Teams or Zoom calls, newsflashes, and a major increase in social media presence. Use whatever you have to communicate as effectively as you can.

One last note about communication. I used to think no one wanted to hear from corporate leadership. That’s false. Don’t listen to that misguided information. If you refuse to do it because you think people don’t care, that is a cop-out. People want to hear from their leaders. They want to know that there is someone out there who cares for their wellbeing, who’s willing to back and listen to them, and will be unafraid to meet them where they are in full transparency. If someone is in your ear telling you that no one cares, it is at least plausible that the someone in your ear is insecure about your leadership. Move past them. Be bold and step out courageously.

Key Point: Be vocal. Be present. Be courageous. Be vulnerable. Communicate.

Keep the main thing the main thing – focus on outcomes:

Simply put: Focus on the outcome and final delivery and NOT where people are physically sitting. Committing to the idea that “as long as the work is done and objectives hit,” where they sit doesn’t matter is hard for those of us that came from a more traditional environment. For a traditionalist manager, this challenge is real. We’ve been caught in a long-standing mindset that unless you are in the office, in your seat, and physically seen, then you aren’t producing or aren’t working. Certainly, there are cases of that happening in any environment, but as we transition to a remote work environment, if that is your expectation as a leader, you’re frankly going to be irritated daily. In fact, if we don’t have a framework to manage to objectives, our minds will make a conclusion for us that may not be accurate. A lot of managers are going to struggle with this long term so if that’s you, you’re not likely alone in this challenge.  

These challenges and mindset changes are not insurmountable. There’s certainly a need to adapt and learn philosophically. There are also practical steps we can take as well and a critical one is establishing clarity with expectations. In management, clarity can be a very powerful tool for both the manager and the subordinate. Clarifying the desired outcomes is good for everyone and setting milestones and metrics that keep us on track to hit those outcomes are very helpful. These are set waypoints to a necessary destination. And it creates a framework to maintain communication between the team to discuss the progress. The team knows they are on track, the leadership knows they are productive, and the constant communication keeps minds from wandering.

Key point: Keep the main thing the main thing and focus on the outcomes. Use monitoring tools and manage by objectives. This is especially important as we shift to a more flexible work environment. Work together to define the expectations and outcomes and focus there.

Create a Balanced Framework:

This is a lesson many of us learned early on while shifting our work to home offices. Think of this way: Traditionally, most workers have definition to their work schedule. They know when to start and they have a defined and set stopping point, for instance, when they leave their office and when they physically go home. As a leader, that might not be as true, but for most people this is the reality. Working from the house is different. There is no true set time. No one sees you physically arrive to work or turn the light on. There’s no coffee brewing in the break room or quick morning chat. There’s no breaking point to return home. Many found themselves working more hours at home, being available and connected well into the evenings far beyond what they normally do. This phenomenon is interesting, but I would implore you as a leader to encourage framework and boundaries. We can do that by setting guidelines and expectations as to when people should generally be available and critically important, when we should expect that they are not. It’s important to respect people and their time.

As a side note, my personal technique is to physically shut off my monitor and walk out of my home office. Yes, I’m always available on text and phone. But I had to physically shut my home office down to mimic my leaving the office and driving home. It was my threshold point.

Key Point: Don’t expect that flexible schedules mean your team should be available 24/7. Help them create a healthy work environment even at home.

Be Visible:

There’s hardly been a time where it was more important to be visible. We are in crisis. Leaders are needed. At some point, however, the crisis will subside, and remote/flexible work will remain. I encourage you to maintain the visibility as a leader and build off the momentum gained in crisis.

Honestly, I think it’s possible to be as, or more, visible as a leader in a remote environment as it is in a traditional environment. By applying the tools I mentioned, and fully committing to communication, you can be more visible than ever. My experience in leadership is that people want and need to see you aren’t a hidden figure in the most challenging environments. It certainly takes a level of focus to do it. There are days that you just don’t want to be that visible…get over it. You chose leadership or leadership chose you, either way, own it and power through. Yes, you will have breaks and boundaries as you should and that is healthy. To your people though, we must commit to being visible, especially in the hardest of time and even in remote environments.

Key Point: There is power in presence. There is necessity in presence. Be present. Be visible.

I hope you find these keys helpful. While of course there were certainly some misses along the way, I found that focusing on these keys generated positive results. In fact, it was great to get positive feedback from the team in such a challenging time. One note said: “Thank you for prioritizing our safety. We appreciate how the company has handled this pandemic and allowed flexibility. I feel more connected here than ever before.”

I think a lot of us are learning that our greatest moments of leadership can come from the most challenging times. We learn what we are capable of and we learn how to deploy gifts of strength we never even knew we had. As we press into a new reality, I’m confident your best days as a leader will come in an environment you might have never expected! We have the capability and capacity to adapt to any situation and any change. I hope these tips are helpful to you as you navigate your leadership journey.