Management at a Distance

A year ago, the world turned upside down. Suddenly companies that prevented employees from remote working were forced into allowing for working from home. Managers and leaders lost immediate contact with their employees. The behaviours of the managers and leaders needed to change. Some made the transition, and others are grappling with their loss of control.

The research is not optimistic about virtual work:

• MIT researchers found that up to 82% of virtual teams were not effective
• Another survey found that 50% of stakeholders and about 33% of team members rated their virtual leaders as less than adequate 

Key to making this transition of remote working happen, leaders need to:

• Cultivate health and wellbeing
• Embrace new forms of technology and application
• Build human-centric behaviours

What was always a concern for employees is the:

• The relationship they have with coworkers
• If the accountability is clear
• The motivational factors
• Knowing their work has a purpose 

This session will begin with the perspective of the employee experience. Following a brief introduction to the desired behaviours from the employee's perspective, we will continue with small group discussions of how to handle various real-life situations—followed by coming back and building a list of the ideal behaviours for a leader to be successful when leading from a distance.  

By the end of the session, you will have a general behavioural profile of what a successful leader does when leading from a distance. You will have to adjust it to the culture of your organization.