By Timothy R. Clark | Harvard Management Update
The COVID-19 virus has disrupted and rearranged the workplace with breathtaking speed. In the span of a week, organizations across every sector have sent millions of employees home to work remotely. Without warning — and in many cases, without preparation of any kind — managers have been thrust into the position of leading virtual teams, many for the first time.
It’s challenging enough to manage yourself in quarantine without face-to-face human interaction and the structure of a typical workday. Now add to that the task of managing an entire team under those conditions, especially when you’ve never done it before. It’s daunting.
Pressurized conditions, heightened uncertainty and an overall sense of dislocation make it even more difficult. Under quarantine, every aspect of the manager’s role is magnified and complicated. You’ll need to adapt your management style to a new context.
To help managers who are new to this — or even experienced managers who need additional guidance in these trying times — here are some recommendations for supporting continued learning and the emotional well-being of employees.
RESET YOUR EXPECTATIONS
Most teams are socialized and accustomed to synchronous work and standardization. They work together, located in the same office, under the same working conditions, with similar work schedules. In a quarantined environment, managers must help their teams become accustomed to a new way of working. You’ll need to reset expectations for how work gets done, letting go of when and how tasks are accomplished and allowing team members to accomplish their responsibilities on their own terms. This means focusing on results and offering more flexibility.
CHECK IN REGULARLY
Research proves that shorter communication cycle times are more effective in building and sustaining morale and engagement. Use instant messaging to stay in regular contact. Don’t let an employee go half a day without checking in. Considering holding a team meeting every day, ideally by videoconferencing. Set the expectation that everyone be present and not distracted.
SUPPORT CONTINUED LEARNING
Learning doesn’t have to stop in this new environment, but it may be more practical to use “microlearning.” Focus on sharing short lessons on a single topic in a five to 10-minute segment. The lessons might cover a specific tool, behavior or skill. Rotate the delivery of these lessons among team members and allow them to identify their own topics for training.
ASSIGN PEER COACHES TO ADD A LAYER OF MUTUAL SUPPORT
Attending to every team member’s individual needs will quickly exhaust the capacity of most managers. To distribute that responsibility, organize team members into pairs; these pairs are each other’s peer coaches. This shared leadership model creates a second layer of mutual support. Ask the pairs to check in daily and assess overall engagement and well-being. If people are new to this role before, it can be helpful to give them some guidance.
INTERPRET TONE AND VOICE AS PROXIES FOR FACE-TO-FACE FEEDBACK
It’s harder to read the emotional cues of your workers when you are not in the same room. Being limited to communication through instant messages, voice calls and videoconferencing means that you should pay even close attention to the patterns of people’s tones. If you know your employees well, any changes in these patterns will help you recognize when a team member may need some additional support.
BE OPTIMISTIC
Optimism is contagious. Leaders who demonstrate hope and confidence in the future are better able to help their team members find meaning and purpose in their work, especially under stressful conditions. And don’t forget to use humor to lighten the mood.
UPDATE EVEN IF THERE’S NO UPDATE
Uncertainty fuels anxiety. Communicate regularly even if you don’t have new information to share; maintaining transparency through a crisis with frequent updates is the ultimate expression of good faith, empathy and genuine concern for your team.
CONTINUALLY GAUGE STRESS AND ENGAGEMENT LEVELS
Make it clear to your team members that your chief concern is their well-being. Take time to monitor their engagement by periodically asking each team member two quick questions: First, on a scale of zero to 10, rate the level of stress you currently feel. Second, using that same scale, rate your level of overall engagement. It also helps to get quantitative responses.
Humans are hypersocial creatures. And psychological safety — when your team members feel included and able to speak up — is paramount in a crisis. When you create and sustain the conditions for psychological safety, you are allowing people to continue performing and contributing, and perhaps most importantly at a time like this, you are acknowledging their humanity.
Timothy R. Clark is the founder and CEO of LeaderFactor.
Image credits: Vadym Pastukh | Dreamstime.com
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