Managing & Teaming in a Virtual World

Be a Work-From-Home Jedi

We are living in the midst of an evolution right now - over 60 million workers in the US are telecommuting as we speak and it is expected to top 100 million in a few years. It may hard to see when you're smack-dab in the middle of it!

Some organizations have embraced a work-from-home arrangement. While in many organizations, senior leaders aren't comfortable with allowing employees to work-from-home. As a result, some allow it under competitive and cost demands, but "it" may be significantly limited or with extraordinary hurdles; or some do not allow it at all, citing weak, contrived, or unsubstantiated "business reasons."

So what should managers and employees who want a work-from-home option but have resistant leadership do? They can: say nothing, complain, leave, or try to change the situation.I do my best to encourage efforts to CHANGE THE SITUATION.

Over the years as I have lived it, taught, coached, and consulted on managing a virtual workforce, I often find myself in an organization with resistant leadership. Besides teaching the best practices of managing a virtual workforce, I try to inspire the participants to be change agents. Yes, it's tough but nothing worthwhile is ever easy.

Managers and employees today are paving the way for those of the future. Pick up your Jedi light saber, be persuasive, and try and try again when you are told no. 

Here's a quick tip for resistant leaders:

1. Express how you want the leader to feel comfortable with the work arrangement.

2. Ask what measure would make him or her feel comfortable that work is getting done appropriately, when they would like that measure reported to them, and how long they would like the measure in place until they feel comfortable. (Note I am using the word "feel" because most of the time this is an emotional issue and not a business issue!)

3. Do what they ask!  (Watch one trap from those who are highly emotional about this -- they may find fault with the data you present... if you think that may happen, be pre-emptive and get those who the leader respects to validate the data or find a way to validate it that the leader will accept... no dissing the data!

Stop the Fluff, Please.

 
 27 Feb 2011. On behalf of all managers of a virtual workforce, I am disgusted. Last week, I "watched" yet another non-interactive webinar on managing a virtual workforce presented by a highly-credentialed management researcher. I breezed through a few blogs.  I read some articles. I even read a book on the topic. And I am still waiting for someone to stop with the fluff, get out of the clouds, and operationalize it all - provide some practical tips and techniques for busy stressed managers to use right away.

If I hear one more time that the key to a successful virtual team is trust, collaboration, or communication, I think I shall....<you fill in the blank>. In fact, frankly, I have had to subsequently "clean-up" after trainers who facilitate from a script only to be eatten alive when a group of managers start asking the tough questions.

Managers are smart people...well most are. They know they need trust, collaboration, and communication. BUT  WHAT SHOULD THEY DO? WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE IN THEIR DAY TO DAY? HOW SHOULD THEIR THINKING CHANGE? 

"Operationalization" is the word of the century... please, if you train, coach, facilitate, or consult on the topic of managing a virtual workforce, be prepared to not only say that trust is critical, but back it up with tangible actions that managers can take to build that trust within the team.

For example, predictability builds trust. Managers - please communicate how you will assign work, monitor performance, expect decisions to be made, expect conflict to be resolved, reward & recognize, and provide feedback. Why? Take monitoring performance -- Many times, virtual workers feel their managers don't trust them when they perceive they are being "monitored." But imagine if the manager had discussed how the monitoring would occur before it actually did. Then everyone knows what to expect and trust is strengthened instead of weakened. That's one way to "operationalize" trust.

Stop the fluff p-l-e-a-s-e. If you need some tangible examples, ask a leader or a manager who's been there, done that. With over 20 years of "virtual" experience as a practitioner, a manager, and a senior leader (and now a trainer and coach) - call me, I would be happy to provide you some as a favor to my former-fellow leaders and managers out there. Here's a webinar I did on 16 Feb, feel free to reuse some of the tips.

Thank you to all the great trainers and coaches on this topic - there are a few, not many. Good karma to you.

When Telecommuting's Not Working

Your monitoring your telecommuters as approriate for their job. Everything's OK with Mary but it's not working for John. What does it mean… it's not working?

When I ask managers the opposite, in other words, how do you know when it is working? And have them answer very quickly…I gain some insight into their management style. Many first say, the employee is meeting their goals. Some will say, they're happy in the telecommuting situation. Some will say, they're productive. And some will say, they're not goofing off.

Whatever "working" means to you (and please do define it before you take on telecommuters), what will you do if comes to a point that it isn't working? How will you know? When will you know? What will you do?

Looks for a trend. You determine for the job what the trend should be. A week, a month? If the trend indicates "it isn't working," take action immeduately. Ask questions. Explore what might be going on. Coach. If after a period of time, you have determined and communicated, it still isn't working, action needs to be taken. Action needs to be based on the guidelines of your company, i.e., bring them into the physical workplace, put them on a performance improvement plan, etc.

 

Is Your Employee Telecommuter-Ready?

Tony, a student from our November workshop, coined the term "telecommuter-ready" during an after class discussion. The term refers to the readiness of an employee to undertake a telecommuting work option.

Does the employee have the right stuff? Just like selecting a candidate for any job, there is some art and some science to predicting whether an employee will be able to perform up to your standards while working from home or some other offsite location. Yes, it is a prediction. And you only know after the fact if it worked.

I'm sure you know some of the obvious "readiness" characteristics: can work independently, routinely meets their goals, works well in a team, etc. But I'd like to raise some awareness about the less obvious…

Don't assume a high performer in the office will be a high performer in the home environment. Chances are good but not certain. Why? A high performer like any performer, has an ecosystem around them in which they operate. Change that ecosystem (people, physical environment, feedback, energy, equipment, etc) and their performance may change. This can be true for low performers as well, but is more true for middle performers where there is a greater amount of variation.

 

The VISIBILITY Conundrum for Telecommuters

Anytime I ask managers what decision makers really consider when deciding who to promote or differentially reward, VISIBILITY is always at the top of the list regardless of the organization. Visibility can certainly mean different things to different people. Most of the time in this case, it means the decision makers can physically see you or are keenly aware of you doing things they value – whether it be significantly contributing to a key project or above and beyond performance on a key goal, etc.

With telecommuting and other flexible work options in play in our organizations today, how do we handle the "visibility" conundrum. There are two important pieces to this puzzle: 1. How to help telecommuters get the visibility needed and deserved, and 2. How to change the VISIBILITY NORM, i.e., the expectations around physical visibility that are needed for advancement. Item 1 needs to go up. And Item 2 needs to go down in its current definition and at the same be redefined for the new world order.

Ways to garner more visbility for your telecommuter…Have them lead an important project; Have telecommuters skilled in a particular area, coach others (non-telecommuters and telecommuters); Have a telecommuter lead a virtual team meeting; Have a telecommuter conduct a training session.

Ways to change the Visibility Norm…as a management team, plan a special meeting to discuss advancement criteria inlight of the new flexible work options in play in your organization. It's important to have a frank and direct discussion of what is now and what will need to change as employee work habits change. Since new or modified criteria will involve a behavior change on the part of the managers, have everyone agree to hold each other accountable in a professional manner by calling each other on it when they sway and acknowledging each other when they adhere to the agreed approach.

The Polarization Trap

It's all in the way you think about telecommuting that will drive your management approach. Are you managing telecommuters or are you managing an organization that includes one of many flexible work options, one of which is telecommuting? If you look at your organization as telecommuters and non-telecommuters, you may inadvertently polarize the group.

Treating telecommuters and non-telecommuters differently is an easy trap to fall into. Recently, someone asked me if they should have their telecommuters report to the team what they are working on so the onsite team would know the telecommuters are working hard like everyone else.

No, no, no! If it's just the telecommuters reporting, this will polarize the team. It looks like need to justify their work and the onsite folks don't need to justify their work. Instead, have everyone provide a quick overview to share information and possible connections for efficiencies. In that way, onsite staff know what telecommuters are working on but in a way that shows equity & respect for all.

Remember that an employee's work option should not change your fundamental management principles & practices. Just alter the conduits or channels or communication methods you use. Stay grounded!

People Work Best When Co-Located

People work best as a team when they are physically co-located. That's the perfect world. When people are physically together, they can better see non-verbals, feel energy, sense attitude – essentially connect as humans do. But the world isn't perfect. And we need to accommodate and adapt as we humans have done since our beginning.

How do we accommodate and adapt? Just look at how we communicate when we're not physically together. A great example of accommodation can be seen in our use of email. Emails contain hieroglyphics such as smiley faces, sad faces, winks, etc to convey attitude and tone since our voices cannot be heard and our body language cannot be seen. Yes, we have returned to our earlier "best practice" of hieroglyphics.

When we communicate, and we are not in person, we seek to close the gap on the missing human element – whether it be seeing, hearing, or touching. Managers of telecommuters need to recognize this at a level and depth beyond their previous awareness…and act on it.

How might we act on it? When meeting with telecommuters, use webcams – see each other. Use an on-demand collaboration, online meeting, web conferencing or video conferencing application such as GoToMeeting, WebEx, LiveMeeting, etc. Set communication expectations for telecommuters and non-telecommuters. Bring telecommuters together periodically to maintain and build relationships.

There's no substitute for the real thing…but we can do our best to close the gap as creatively as we can with the available tools and technologies.

Telecommuter or Undercover Agent?

Telecommuting from your vehicle may be easier than you think soon! Nissan's NV200 Mobile Office concept was recently introduced. Looks like you might be able to also moonlight as an undercover agent with this set-up…

Managers Need to Step Up to the New World Order

From time to time, I hear a manager lamenting about the amount of time it will require to manage telecommuters. Frankly, when I hear this, I wonder how effective this manager is at managing his or her onsite organization. Why? Because at its essence, managing telecommuters should be fundamentally no different than managing anyone else….if you are performing the principles and practices of good management. If not, then you bet it will be more work; the work the manager should have been doing all along. "How much work" is all relative to your starting point.

The problem is that many managers have been a bit lax in performing the principles and practices of good management. When the organization is co-located, deficiencies in management approach can be compensated for by other means, especially informal communication means. However, as soon as people are no longer co-located, the lack of physical presence reduces the opportunity for informal communication, and thus the effects of lax management practices cause negative impact if managers don't step up and improve.

Let's think about it. Setting expectations, monitoring work, managing performance, rewarding & recognizing, building teams & work flow, motivating, learning & development… Which of these would a manager do or not do whether an employee was a telecommuter or not.

In today's world, managers need to manage a wide variety of employee work options. The day of managing only co-located personnel is over; whether it's remote employees at other locations, telecommuters, free agents, hotelers, or part-timers. Let's help our managers close the gap on their skill sets to make this new world order a win for our organizations.

Selling Telecommuting. It’s Beyond the Data.

During our seminar, managers often ask how they can sell a telecommuting program to their senior management. It's not enough to tell them that it's about driving change and being persuasive. They know that. They yearn to know how from real world experience. What's the secret sauce?

They ask, "Can you give me some data and research? My management is asking me for data." My reply...necessary but not sufficient.  Don't get me wrong, data and research is good. I have tons of it, and you need it in a proposal, but most times the decision isn't about the data. Many times, they'll look at the data from company "A" and say, "Oh, they're different from us. So that data doesn't really apply to us." Now what do you do?

The decision to engage in the flexible work option called "telecommuting" is usually not a left-brain (technical data driven) decision. It's usually a right-brain (emotional) one. Figure out what the real emotional roadblock is -- what the decision maker is feeling vs thinking. Feeling a loss of control? Feeling lack of management skill with this type of worker?

Once you understand all sides of the equation, you can put together a holistic persuasive plan of attack. Yes, the plan needs to include a proposal with data but it more importantly needs to include a number of other communication techniques and methods in order to close the sale: finding a "friendly" senior sponsor somewhere in the organization, influencing those to whom decision makers listen, socializing for feedback before you construct a proposal, and gaining some initial data and momentum with an "off the radar" trial.