Leaders…are you remotely working?
Covid-19 has dramatically changed our working lives. How and why we work may never be the same again and leaders need to adapt to the new world quickly if they are going to get the best out of their teams.
For people to be effective when working remotely they need to be equipped, capable and feel supported. Leaders need to stay connected and focus on enabling their team members to do the best they can. This requires a change in mind set, from one of presenteeism to one of outcomes. Focusing on what needs to be done, how, by whom and when helps team members move away from feeling they need to sit in front of their screen during ‘working hours’ and encourages them to work flexibly to suit their lives and the needs of the business. Caution here though, it can be easy when working from home to never leave work, when the laptop sits calling on the kitchen table. Boundaries needs to be set to ensure team members are not always on-call and working long hours just because they can. Leaders need to monitor and manage this as well as be role models of appropriate ways of working.
We can improve outcome setting by considering ‘what does good look like’ and discussing this with our colleagues and then agreeing a path to get there. While KPI’s may be involved in the measurement of success focusing on achieving only the numbers can be unhelpful and make people feel disconnected to the purpose and value of what they are trying to achieve.
Being an Emotional Intelligent Leader, who can listen well, coach and enable their people has never been more important as we make sense of the new flexible landscape, we find ourselves in. There is real opportunity for people to shine in their work, being enriched with the benefits that true flexible working can bring to all our lives. There is also a potential for people to feel isolated, demotivated and disconnected, resulting in poor outcomes and the risk of poor mental wellbeing. It is important leaders focus on developing and enhancing the skills that will drive success for all.
At Talent Focus Consulting we work with leaders to provide bespoke coaching led activities for individual leaders, management teams and organisations to support the development and enhancement of skills necessary to successfully navigate the new world.
If you would like further details on how Talent Focus Consulting might be able to support, you or your organisation please contact lukerodwell@talentfocus.co.uk