Communication Is Key for Successful Leadership in a Virtual World

It’s hard to believe that we’ve been in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic for nearly a full year and a half. Just as we began feeling some wind in our sails with vaccines becoming available to everyone at such a rapid pace, the delta variant has presented new fears and challenges. 

Many of us went fully remote during 2020 and haven’t looked back. Some companies are operating in a hybrid setup, but the common thread is that work as we know it has changed. Work from home (WFH) setups are here to stay.

Much of the content I’ve seen surrounding the IT industry and the WFH movement is focused on cybersecurity. We’ve published a great deal of that type of content ourselves for the InfoSystems blog! But today, I wanted to talk about something else: effective leadership in virtual environments. 

Leading from Afar

I’ve actually been a remote worker for the past 10 years of my career. It’s something I’ve gotten used to, and I felt lucky that it wasn’t one more thing I had to adjust to at the onset of the pandemic. But many of my teammates, business partners, vendors, and friends were new to the full-time remote work environment. 

If you’re still in a remote setting or spending a portion of your workweek in your home office, I wanted to share the guiding principles I’ve followed for many years that help me and the people I work with remain productive, efficient, and in tune with one another’s needs. The common theme? They’re all related to intentional communication.

Rule #1: Be clear.

When you’re working from home, you have fewer opportunities to just chat. This can be a good thing for productivity, but it can also lead to challenges. Have you ever had a team member develop something that was completely wrong — but when you reviewed your instructions, you could see how they went down that path? This becomes even more likely in a WFH setting. Team members may not want to disturb you with questions — or they may think they understand just because instructions weren’t detailed enough.

One way I like to combat the potential breakdown in communication is to send emails or instructions for new projects when topics are top-of-mind. It’s okay to note that something isn’t an urgent priority or even that it’s a goal for a future quarter. But it’s always better to share pertinent information when it’s fresh.

Rule #2: Schedule regular check-ins (and turn on your camera!).

When you don’t have a chance to see people face-to-face, you can miss out on so much — after all, people are far more than the sum of the work they produce. Take time to chat about life and connect with people about more than just tasks at hand. Having time on the calendar just to talk is also a great way to pause, slow down, and think. You may be surprised at the ideas born in this type of setting.

Perhaps most importantly, time spent in low-pressure conversation works to build trust. Whether that’s with a team member, a business partner, or a vendor, trusting relationships always yield greater results.

Rule #3: Keep tabs on to-dos.

This is important for yourself, for your team, and for the success of your organization. In my opinion, a good leader shouldn’t dole out the entire share of a workload to his or her team — but a good leader should know how and when to delegate. When you aren’t seeing your team in person, it’s tougher to keep tabs on how they’re doing and how busy they are. While scheduling check-ins should help, it’s a good idea to have some system where you can keep track of who’s doing what. Having too little or too much to do is a common contributor to team member burnout, and it’s incumbent upon leadership to help prevent either scenario from happening.

Rule #4: Focus on community.

When you’re sitting at a desk by yourself all day, you may begin to feel a lack of community. The great news is that there are multiple ways to stay plugged in, even in the pandemic environment (this group for one!). You just have to be intentional. I regularly participate in virtual panel discussions, contribute content to industry outlets, and engage on LinkedIn and through groups like the IBM Community. These types of interactions keep me motivated, help me continue building relationships, and ultimately, enable us to support one another from afar.

While I’m thinking about it, I’d love to have you as a part of my community. Connect with me on LinkedIn, and don’t hesitate to let me know how I can better support you as we navigate this world of virtual leadership together.