Building Culture & Success In A Virtual Working Environment
As we enter our eighth week of lockdown in the UK, it is clear that we will not be returning to business as ‘normal’ for a very long time, if at all. While we wait to hear from the government on the exit strategy to be announced this weekend, the expectation is that the reversal of lockdown will be slow and, given the importance of employee safety, many of those who can work from home will be doing so through 2020 and potentially beyond.
Working from home requires a very different modus operandi from organisations, teams and their leaders.
Very real crises mark our time. And as much as we might like it otherwise, it appears that doing what we have always done, only harder, will not solve them. – Charles Johnston
Change is required; but with changes comes opportunity – to build a culture able to adapt to and thrive in new, unchartered waters and be stronger for it.
Given the heavy lifting that has been required of leaders during the past eight weeks, this may feel like another exhausting mountain to climb. It does not have to be this way. Liberating the teams to tap into their collective intelligence and generative potential, with the support of a high energy group coaching process, stimulates creativity and generates better results by engaging people and unleashing the power of self-organisation.
Drawing from my experience as an executive leadership coach, the aim of this article is to share my perspective on key levers for success:
Very real crises mark our time. And as much as we might like it otherwise, it appears that doing what we have always done, only harder, will not solve them. – Charles Johnston
For Leaders:
1. A clearly articulated vision that employees can rally behind. Research has consistently shown how positive visioning produces change in behaviour and performance, both in the workplace and outside of it. In today’s environment, it is particularly important for employees to be able to envisage an optimistic future and to be able to take pride in the work they are doing and its impact upon the wider world.
2. Involving all employees in changemaking – Inviting everyone touched by the challenge to share possible solutions or invent new practices together. This draws upon the might of ‘collective consciousness’, empowers employees and creates sustainable, resilient teams.
3. Heightened visibility & empathy – communicating often, combining a clear embodiment of company values and with an open, honest and personal touch that helps employees understand the health of the business, experience the company culture and connect and trust they are being actively cared for.
For Teams:
1. A shared sense of purpose that propels the team forward together – why is the work important to the team and wider community? What makes the work demanding yet inviting?
2. The opportunity to channel their collective expertise and creativity – to co-create new structures, processes, practices and communication channels. To include and unleash individuals at the ‘coal face’ and the knowledge and talent that they bring to solve complex challenges and invent/ own new ways of working.
3. The space to fail forward and adjust as learnings emerge – building trust to speak up, discover positive variation, take small risks quickly and reduce time between iterations.
The Role of Technology:
Technology is what makes virtual teams possible. Below is a list of the types of tools that can facilitate communication in virtual teams, and some popular options to consider:
- Chat: Slack, Twist, Google Hangouts
- Project management: Trello, Jira, Asana
- Web and video conferencing: Google Meet, Zoom, Cisco Webex,
- Collaboration and prototyping: Invision, Marvel, Adobe XD
- Scheduling: Calendly, Doodle
- Workflow automation: Zapier, Microsoft Flow, Monday
Technology makes working from home viable; humanity makes it powerful.
About Caroline Diamond – Co-Active Executive & Leadership Coach:
An energising and results-oriented coach, Caroline blends significant business experience at Director and Board level with top-flight CTI (Coaches Training Institute) coaching and ORSC relationships system and team development acumen to deliver transformational change within an organisation. Prior to coaching, she led business and team success across Fortune 100 corporations (Procter & Gamble & PepsiCo), strategic consultancies and new ventures, including two businesses of her own, enabling her to bring insight into the strategic and management challenges facing clients today. She is passionate about harnessing the power of Liberating Structures to radically change how organisations and teams work together.