{"id":14355,"date":"2021-08-26T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-26T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/?p=14355"},"modified":"2021-08-26T13:45:35","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T17:45:35","slug":"the-remote-leader-a-new-type-of-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/en\/the-remote-leader-a-new-type-of-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"The Remote Leader: A New Type of Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Adapting the traditional workplace to the virtual one requires a new type of leadership and a new type of leader: The Remote Leader.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Covid-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented change to people working in all types of industries. Business leaders have had to adapt to drastically different working arrangements, with millions of people working remotely from home. As a remote leader, you don\u2019t want to simply keep things operating the same as they were before, but rather to continue to grow a successful business while ensuring employees are satisfied. This raises an important question: How do old leadership practices translate into this new reality of remote leadership? You need to consider how to answer this question and become a remote leader and provide a new type of leadership that inspires employees to perform at their best .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So how do you do that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In their book <em>The Long-Distance Leader, Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership<\/em>, authors and leadership consultants Kevin Eikenberry and Wayne Turmel explain that strong leadership calls for four key factors:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Vision<\/li><li>Influence<\/li><li>Direction<\/li><li>Development<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re going to take a look at each of those attributes \u2013 and how they can be adapted for remote work and put into practice by all types of leaders, from supervisors to CEOs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-vision\">Vision<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Above all, as <a href=\"\/blog\/en\/7-qualities-of-a-good-leader\/\">a good leader<\/a>, you need to have and (crucially!) communicate a clear vision for your company or your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This isn\u2019t simply about crafting a \u201cvision statement\u201d that gets placed in your company\u2019s knowledge base and never looked at again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, it\u2019s about having a clear, compelling vision that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Let everyone know what you\u2019re working toward as a company.<\/li><li>Inspires and encourages your employees.<\/li><li>Fits seamlessly with your company values.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>When you\u2019re leading a remote team, the quality of your vision is what helps keep everyone on track. Instead of your employees feeling like separate cogs in a big virtual machine (potentially <a href=\"\/blog\/en\/5-causes-of-employee-burnout\/\">leading to burnout<\/a>), they\u2019re pulling together to play an important role in moving the company toward its goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a remote leader, you might have a vision not just for the company itself, but also for how remote work might look \u2013 for yourself and for other remote workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For instance, journalist Anne Helen Petersen draws a vivid vision of how remote work can look in <a href=\"https:\/\/annehelen.substack.com\/p\/the-future-of-remote-work-is-the\">The Future of Remote Work is the Opposite of Lonely<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTime, during the day, to go to the grocery store, to mail a package, to go play with a friend\u2019s kid for an hour, to take a nap, to read a book for research in the sun, to take a work call while walking the dog. Maybe I have a lot of concentrated work on a Thursday, and then do an interview on a Friday and go skiing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s important that the remote leader of a workplace puts thought and care into how best to adapt the virtual workplace to meet changing employee needs. Their vision will help keep the company on track and satisfy employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-influence\">Influence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As a remote leader without the typical face-to-face interaction of the traditional workplace, it may feel like your power rests in your authority. After all, you have the ability to assign work, to give orders, to set goals for your remote workers, and perhaps even to hire and <a href=\"\/blog\/en\/how-to-give-bad-news-at-work\/\">fire people<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But generally, you don\u2019t need to lean solely on your authority to get things done. Instead, you can take a softer approach and rely on the influence you have over your staff \u2013 and even over people who don\u2019t report directly to you.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your influence is based, to a large extent, on how people view you at work. Leading by example can be more effective than using your authority. Do you keep your promises? Do you \u201cpractice what you preach\u201d in your virtual leadership? Then people will look to you as an example of how to thrive at your company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you lead by example, your remote leadership influence can even extend beyond your company. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of Paytm (India\u2019s leading digital payments platform) <a href=\"https:\/\/thetechportal.com\/2020\/03\/20\/paytm-founder-ceo-vijay-sharma-gives-up-his-salary-for-next-two-months-as-businesses-continue-to-be-affected-due-to-covid-19\/\">was inspired<\/a> by the actions of Marriott International president and CEO Arne Sorenson, who gave up his salary for the whole of 2020. He tweeted:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cInspired by Arne, I will not take my salary this month &amp; next. I commit that money to any needs of @Paytm office-help-staff in these testing times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-direction\">Direction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagine that instead of leading a remote team at work, you\u2019re leading a group of walkers on a hike. You\u2019re the one with the map and you\u2019re at the front of the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s say you come to a crossroads. The path you <em>should<\/em> follow looks boring \u2013 and muddy. The other path has nice views and is dry underfoot. If you turn and walk in the wrong direction, then your walking group will follow you. You might have a nice walk together \u2026 but you\u2019ll end up at a destination you never intended to reach.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Direction is just as important in the workplace when you\u2019re a long-distance remote leader. If you lead your team in the wrong direction, they might be perfectly happy along the way. But you won\u2019t be moving toward your goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What if there are several different routes to your destination \u2013 all of which will get you there equally well? In that case, choosing the right direction with your virtual leadership means <a href=\"\/blog\/en\/the-dos-and-donts-of-building-trust-in-a-remote-work-team\/\">being willing to listen<\/a> to the rest of your team. Which route would <em>they<\/em> prefer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can see the power of this type of remote management in action in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/scientistmike35\/status\/1425099482526519299\">this tweet<\/a>, where an employee advises leaders to follow the examples of their remote CEO:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBe like our CEO, who sent out a survey and asked us what we wanted, which resulted in some of us being permanently remote.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fact that the remote leader of their team was willing to listen directly to employee feedback and change the direction of the workplace to best suit their needs demonstrates the positive impact of effective remote leadership.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-development\">Development<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you\u2019re new to leadership or you\u2019ve been a team leader or CEO for years, you want to be <a href=\"\/blog\/en\/encourage-learning-in-the-workplace\/\">continually learning<\/a>, improving and developing your skills as a remote leader.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Look out for areas where you could be doing better in your virtual leadership. These might be highlighted by conducting a 360-degree review, or they might be things that you know are weaknesses. For instance, maybe you\u2019ve made a couple of bad hires in the past based on their cover letters and you want to avoid doing so in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are loads of books and courses that can help you, or you could even consider hiring a coach or consultant to help you improve and develop your virtual leadership skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Development is also crucial, of course, when it comes to your staff. When you\u2019re a long-distance leader, it can be tricky to have casual conversations that might crop up at work \u2013 so you may feel out of touch with what your employees\u2019 goals and hopes are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a virtual leader, you should take the time to find out what <a href=\"https:\/\/resumegenius.com\/blog\/resume-help\/skills-for-resume\">skills they\u2019d like to develop for their resume<\/a> or what <a href=\"\/blog\/en\/7-signs-an-employee-is-ready-for-a-promotion\/\">promotion<\/a> they\u2019re targeting, and <a href=\"\/blog\/en\/how-to-set-goals-for-your-remote-team\/\">set work goals for them<\/a> that tie in with these personal goals. You could also look for areas where they might be finding things difficult, and approach them with ways these could be adjusted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For instance, A survey from <a href=\"https:\/\/lp.buffer.com\/state-of-remote-work-2020\">Buffer found that 18% of staff<\/a> (that\u2019s almost 1 in 5) say that their biggest struggle with remote work is \u201cnot being able to unplug.\u201d This is an area where you could offer coaching and also lead by example in your remote management: make sure team members know they\u2019re only expected to be available during core working hours and consider introducing them to use time management techniques such as <a href=\"\/blog\/en\/the-ultimate-guide-to-time-blocking-to-boost-your-productivity\/\">time blocking<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Developing your remote leadership skills takes time \u2013 so don\u2019t be put off if you feel like you don\u2019t yet have the rapport with your remote team that you\u2019d like. Focus on the four attributes above and look for one small way each week to integrate each of those into the way in which you lead. This will help you become the remote leader that your virtual workplace needs and provide the new type of leadership that will benefit employees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With working from home often becoming permanent, the remote leader of a team and business needs to provide a new type of leadership.","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":14358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[484,343],"tags":[4870],"class_list":["post-14355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rh","category-gestion-de-personnel","tag-leadership"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14355"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14355\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14360,"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14355\/revisions\/14360"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jobillico.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}