Welcome to "Life of a Remote Leader"
This blog is intended as a guide to your leadership and professional development in the virtual workforce.Our goal is to help you develop your foundation as a leader with a remote team, become proprietor within your industry and be known as a source of knowledge to your colleagues.
(Photo: margolove)
How are you possibly going to get everything done today? The answer is simpler than you might think. Focus.
We have all been there, it may be an mounting pile of work, a project needing completion, or a customer presentation you have not even started to put together. You may be thinking you are up against an impossible mission, but don’t give up – just stay focused.
Getting Started
Take time to clear your head and relax so you can start with a clean slate and concentrate. Many people find by allowing yourself a calm before the storm, it allows you to enter into your project with a clear head focused on the your desired out come. For me it could be reading a book and having a cup of coffee; others may go for a walk, hit the gym or read the morning paper. Do whatever works for you, but by allowing your mind to calm you are preparing it for what lies ahead.
Get in the zone
As you prepare to take on your day be sure:
I will grab something to drink, go into my office, close the doors, tune to my favorite internet radio station, sit at my desk, clear away any distracting clutter and organize for the day. Do what works for you.
Sometimes all it takes is a change of location to really focus, there are times I have packed up my laptop and found a far corner of the local library for some distraction free concentration. Some people enjoy having music on in the background, others do not. I find music gets me in the zone and allows me to zero in on my task. Whether it be music, a change of location or something else determine what works for you and make it happen.
Planning
Task List: It’s best to keep a task list of some sort be it electronic, a note pad, or just a scrap of paper you write your “to do’s” on.
Prioritize and Schedule: Prioritize your task list by sorting them into urgent, important and non-urgent tasks. If you have trouble prioritizing, use the 80/20 rule (aka Pareto’s law) to determine what the important tasks are.
Staying on Track: Now you have prioritized your day and determined the first item on your list, break it into small pieces. As you do this it will make a large task seem less daunting and as you accomplish each piece you will build momentum as you move throughout the day.
“Your daily schedule helps to focus the mind, holds it steadily to one thing at a time and in the right order. Following a logical sequence tends to eliminate confusion.”
Keep a stringent schedule for your day. As mentioned, I take time in the morning for relaxation so I can come in the day focused. I move right into my projects and phone calls, check and respond email before lunch, come back, work on other projects and phone calls, check email an hour before the day is over, review my next day, prioritize, clear my desk of clutter and I am ready to start the next day with a clean slate.
Not everyone is the same, so when you find a method that works for you, stick with it. Soon you will see you will be getting more done in less time by using focused planning and execution.
More Tips:
(Photo: darkpatator)
So many times we are thinking about the big win, the one deal that will save the day, help us reach our goals or make us look like hero to the rest of the company. And why not; it is great to focus on those sizeable achievements, but it also takes those several smaller feats too when you are looking at the big picture. Often times it can be those last few small drops that allow our cup to run over. After all without the constant flow of your day to day business, where would you be?
So where do you start & how do you determine what to focus on?
All too often we get so busy, being busy, we don’t take the time to focus and strategize on what the big picture is and what needs to be done to accomplish the most. So be sure to take the time to assess your best strategy then move forward with a well thought out plan.
Get the big win’s, but don’t forget about your core business and the small feats. Take time to prioritize and strategize. Soon you will find your cup runneth over.
(Image: Jason Christensen)
“Karma is a funny thing.” It displays itself in many forms, is caused by what you do and affects all that happens to you. The results of your leadership in part is determined by karma. How you lead your team establishes what you get back from them.
| This is the story of Paul a manager in a corporation. Paul lead a great group of people, this team could really put their heads together and produce results, the leadership was there and the followship was there. If one member of the team ever became distracted, any member of the team would help him to veer back onto the path and focus. Each gear was well oiled and everyone took satisfaction in their part of a bigger machine knowing they always did their best. When each project was finished, they would celebrate knowing they had completed a difficult task as a team and had done it better than the rest. One day while in a staff meeting, after overhearing his colleague’s boast of their accomplishments, Paul became envious and decided to take personal credit for a project his team completed so successfully as a unit. It made him feel good to reap the reward and praise for his team’s accomplishments; after all he was the leader of the team. News of this got back to Paul’s group and soon after it began to fall apart. The loyalty was no longer there, people started shifting departments and everything Paul had to put together as a leader began to crumble. Paul realized after the destruction of his team, it had been his egotism which caused the unit to fall apart and karma had struck him in a big way. |
A display of loyalty to our team and acting with integrity reveals our character and lets people know if you can be trusted; it inspires others to treat you in kind. With karma, you get what you give, so why not give your absolute best?
It is important in your role as a leader to keep yours and your team’s focus on the goal you are seeking and to not allow yourself be distracted by accomplishments going on around you. Forget what others are doing and strive to achieve your own results knowing you and your team have a clear vision and are doing your best to achieve a common goal. You get in return what you invest in your team, so invest well by creating good karma through:
While you are at it don’t forget to invest good karma in yourself by:
Investing good karma in your team and in yourself will garner the same in kind.
Remember to always do your very best. Don’t worry about what others are doing around you. If someone is boasting about something they accomplished do not attempt to outdo them. Take satisfaction in your team knowing you did well, after all this is how Paul got in trouble in the first place. If you take personal satisfaction in a job well done you will never grow tired of doing what is right. If you don’t get discouraged and give up you will reap what you sow by keeping the good karma flowing in and ebbing the bad karma away.
Remote Note:
As a remote user you will often spend a lot of time traveling and as you know during travel people can be tense and angry for things well beyond their control. Take the higher road and don’t let these things get you down, instead be kind and generous to others and you will see they are kind and generous to you. Let somebody merge in traffic, and somebody lets you change lanes without tailgating or blaring their horn. Help somebody pick up the contents of their accidentally-spilt briefcase and somebody holds the elevator door for you. Good ultimately begets good. Instant Karma is a wonderful thing. Who doesn’t love a quick pay-off?
What karma are you putting out there? What are you getting back in return?
“Why aren’t they listening,” you ask? Because they want a message with purpose; something they can believe in, remember and take action on. So how do you do that?
Start by Generating a Message with Purpose
First your message must have purpose. Are you talking just to fill time or is what you have to say really going to be of importance to your audience? Be sure to consider your audience and determine if what you are about to discuss with them is really going to matter. Once you have done this it is easy to know the direction of your next steps.
“To talk or not to talk – be sure to ask the question!”
Getting their Attention
Once you have decided that your message is important enough to move forward with; how do you do it? How do you get your audience to listen? Start with something to get their attention. A riveting statement, a perplexing question, an amazing fact, a brief story; anything that will turn their head and bend their ear in your direction, just make it relevant and make it something you can circle back to in the end.
Developing your Message
Know your audience and keep your message in context. Now that you have their attention; will they understand?
Tailor your message to the level of your audience.
If you are talking to a group of children, then make it simple and easy to comprehend. If you are speaking with a group of specialists, use their language and terms they familiar with. So what is your message? What is it you want to say? What do you want them to gain from your message? Think about these points.
Include content pertinent to the idea you are trying to convey.
Create an outline formatted to help you step your audience through the message in a logical process. Point A leads to point B which leads to point C and so on. Now you have your message laid out; is it clear and easy to understand? Take a second look, take some time away and come back to it with a fresh mind and maybe even do a dry run with a peer asking them to give you some critical feedback. What’s your back-up plan? Always have Plan B in your back pocket. Get down to the brass tacks. If you had to cut your 30 minute presentation down to 10 minutes or less, what would you say? You know your speech, you know the message you want to convey and you know the key points you need to drive home with your audience. So if the unforseen happens and now you only have 10 minutes to get your message across be sure to hit on those key points. If you are compelling with the key points, your audience will come back to you for more.
Delivering your Message
Ok, you have your message ready to go. How do you get them to believe in your message? How do you get them to remember? First, you MUST exude confidence! If you don’t believe in what you are saying, why should they? Look at them in the eyes when you talk to them it builds trust with the audience and will reinforce your believability. When you talk, use clear and concise sentences; speak clearly and avoid being monotone. Keep them engaged. Whether you are delivering a speech or giving a sales pitch you can keep your audience engaged by asking questions and taking time for dramatic pauses. Ask them to visualize what you are saying, it helps with recall. Use repetition, the more you repeat it, the more likely they are to remember it. Use repetition; the more you repeat it, the more likely they are to remember it. Be passionate about the message. Deliver your vision, make it their vision, get them on board and compel them to act. When you are finished, ask yourself: Do they agree with it? Is it something they will put into action?
“I get it, I agree with it, I think I can do it, I’m willing to try it.” – Jeffrey Gitomer
Circle Back
Bring it full circle. You started out with something to get their attention. A riveting statement, a perplexing question, an amazing fact or a brief story; now it’s time to get back to that statement or question. This will bring relevance to that statement which got them to listen in the first place. It will help them to understand your opening statement really does relate back to the end result. Bottomline: Prepare. Be confident, clear and compelling.
(Photo: Sarah’s Blog)
“Always make new mistakes.” – Esther Dyson
“I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.” –Socrates
(Photo: Center for Nonverbal Studies)
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(Photo: Richard.Asia)
You can’t get what you want and still make everyone happy. . . can you? Yes, it is possible! I have always been a person to find a way to get things done, a method of accomplishing the goals I wish to achieve. Maybe it started in childhood when my mother said, “no,” so I went to my father asking the same question. I can’t tell you how many times I heard the line, “What did your mother say?” Lesson learned; if it doesn’t work the first time–take a different approach. Preparation
“Start out with an ideal and end up with a deal.” – Karl Albrecht
Discussions
“If you can’t go around it, over it, or through it, you had better negotiate with it.” – Ashleigh Brilliant
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Resolution
“The first principle of contract negotiation is don’t remind them of what you did in the past; tell them what you’re going to do in the future.” – Stan Musial
Negotiation can bear a negative association so be sure to take the time to fully understand the situation, be a good listener, work to develop win-win resolution and never compromise your values. So dream the impossible dream, achieve your goals and gain a new confidence in life to go out and take the world by storm!
(Photo: jbelluch)
Has there ever been a time where you should count to 10 and relax for a bit? Well, I’m gonna count to NOW!
Are there ever times in your life when you should take a moment, count to ten and relax? Instead, you find yourself so infuriated you can only count to NOW! Let’s face it sometimes all we need is a little lesson in patience. Perhaps we should take a couple minutes right now to explore patience, before you blow your top.
“Serenity now!” -Frank Costanza (Seinfeld)
What is Patience?
Patience is the act of remaining calm and collected during times of stress, challenges or difficult circumstances.
Determining the Cause
What caused this turmoil, why are you so upset? Take some time to reflect and become conscious of the reasons you are so irritated.
Counteracting Your Impatience
When you feel the tension of intolerance building here are some things you can do:
Stop Your Frustration BEFORE it Happens
What preemptive measures can you take to dissipate the emotion and ensure they don’t reoccur moving forward?
“Good things come to those who wait.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
What to do in the Future
Take it each day as it comes with a vision for the future. To succeed you need to prepare a well thought out plan with a clear vision.
“Our life is what our thoughts make it.” – Marcus Aurelius
Patience is an important factor to a well-balanced and harmonious life. As you progress through your life and excel in your career there will be times of great stress. Take the time to be patient and make calm rational decisions rather than quick disorganized reactions.
What are some tips you have for patience?
(Photo: Robert S. Donovan)
Can Facebook really be used as a serious workplace tool? The answer may surprise you…
With so many virtual teams scattered and far flung around the globe we need to find a way to cultivate the team bonding experience achieved in an office. In today’s mobile workforce the sense of presence is limited which in turn decreases the opportunity for team bonding, communication and trust. Sure we all have email, phones and other means of communication; but what opportunity do we have to really get to know each other? What can be done to stifle the disconnect and bring people closer together? The answer is…Facebook.
Why Facebook?
What’s lacking in the virtual workforce is the personal bonding which typically occurs when colleagues work side-by-side day after day. Relationships develop; people learn about one another, hear about family life and gain perspective of each others personal interests. A bond is a close personal relationship that forms between people working toward shared goals using collaborative efforts. So how do you duplicate this in a virtual team environment?
How Do I Get Started?
Start by creating a Facebook group for your team. If you company is large make sure you pare it down to only include the members of your team directly. Be sure to incorporate your team identity and include basic information to the group such as:
What Should Each Team Member Post?
Now you have your group set up and you are ready for your team to join the group and start posting. If any of your team members are new to Facebook here are some guidelines to assist them in determining the content they should share:
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At first they may be apprehensive about contributing personal information to the group, let’s face it many people are a little uneasy about tipping their cards. Make clear to them you would not expect them to share any information they would not otherwise discuss if they were in an office setting. Explain to them you are working to create a more personal, humanizing dimension to people who are otherwise perceived as distant and unconnected. It is also significant to note to your virtual team there are many security settings on Facebook allowing them to pare down the information they choose to share with the group.
What Should Each Team Member Avoid?
How do you know what is appropriate? Of course it is imperative for people to know the boundaries of acceptable material. Set specific guidelines and add to them as needed, to start…
Why Incorporate Facebook at All?
Employers are embracing Facebook and believe it can help build a sense of community amongst employees and help foster bonds with clients. A spokesperson for Facebook stated, “Facebook is an incredibly efficient way for people with real-world connections to share information and communicate, including among people who work together.” Among other things Facebook is a good way to…
Let’s face it remote employees are spread far and wide across the globe today and if you are looking to bolster loyalty to the company and generate a team atmosphere it is crucial you embrace the technologies available to your workforce. Rather than forbidding these tools as many employers do find ways to utilize them as functional workplace mechanisms.
Can Facebook really be used as a serious workplace tool; what are your thoughts?
Jason was BusinessWeek’s Featured User on February 24th, 2010. There was a mention in the upper right corner on the site and it was also tweeted on their Twitter profile.
(Photo: Jason Gulledge)
Did you ever notice how great the banana is? How it fits so nicely into your hand; how just by looking at it you can tell if it is ready to eat? Did you ever realize it has a built in pull tab for easy opening, the peel separates and falls back so gracefully and it’s even curved toward your face for easy consumption? Yes, it doesn’t get much better than the simple yellow banana.
For all the effectiveness the banana has to offer in its tight yellow package there is not much about it you can offer as a complaint; in fact the packaging is even biodegradable. So my question to you is how can you make your life simpler? What can you do to make everything you in your life as effective as the banana has? The answer is easy; it is execution that’s the hard part.
Going on an Information Diet:
“You don’t need to know everything; you just need to know where to go to get it.”
Think about it; do you really remember everything you read, watched or listened to at the end of the day? And of the things you do remember how important are they to your life? Does it really affect your life when a celebrity cheats on his wife? Unless you are his agent or he is endorsing your product, I’m guessing not. So why spend time cluttering your mind with information that is going to be yesterday’s news – tomorrow?
Instead spend some time with your family and friends or take some time for yourself to relax.
Apply the 80/20 rule:
Pareto’s Law says 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. This or similar ratios apply to most things in life.
Think about what you can eliminate to remove the complicated stressful parts of your life and apply the extra time toward those things which make you happy and add simplicity to your existence.
Be in Control:
“You can’t control everything that happens in the world but you can control your response to it.”
Be in control of yourself. If someone is trying to argue with you; the only person who can allow you to get upset about what they are saying, is you! If you are feeling stress about an upcoming event, this may happen or that might go wrong; guess what? Those things are out of your control! What are you accomplishing by worrying about them? Have a contingency plan and move on.
All too often we get worked-up about things in life we have no control over, take time to assess the situation, determine if there is anything you can do to affect the outcome and if the answer is no, then let it go. Take control of your life and put your efforts toward the things you can contribute to and make your life simpler.
Once you start to let it all go, you will feel the stress dissipating and your mind focusing on what is truly important Let your own built-in effectiveness take over; the banana did it, why can’t you?
What are you going to do right now, to make your life simpler?
(Photo: Legospective, originally uploaded by Guillermо.)
There I was, a young child, sitting in the middle of the floor in my parent’s living room with my box of LEGO® bricks, each in their own compartment sorted by color. My options were endless; with LEGO® I could be anyone, go anywhere and do anything. Now thirty odd years later in my own living room I relive those memories, sitting on the floor with my sons, toiling with them as they build their own LEGO® dreams.
As indirect as it may seem, I learned much from playing with my LEGO® building bricks. Many of those same lessons my sons will learn too.
1. Organization
“Organize your life around your dreams – and watch them come true.”
To this day, I am particularly organized; including lists, calendars, general tidiness and yes – color coding! Did it all start there so many years ago placing each color LEGO® into it’s own pile making sure none of the blue were mixed in with the red? Who knows, but I do know every day when it was time to clean up, each piece went back into its own color coded compartment ensuring the next time I brought them out, no sorting would be needed.
2. Following Instructions
I don’t remember them when I was a kid, but in today’s LEGO® sets there are step-by-step instructions of how to put together each item in the set. The coolest creations are made easy following along with page after page of pictures stepping you through the construction. Maybe it stifles the creativity a bit, but what it does is teach you how you can accomplish your tasks by following along with the directions. Not bad lessons to learn as you are starting out in life.
“Discoveries are often made by not following instructions, by going off the main road, by trying the untried.” – Frank Tyger
3. Creativity
“Creativity is the power to connect the seemingly unconnected.” – William Plomer
Once you get past the instructions and let your creativity flow, the options are infinite. With the LEGO® bricks in hand you can build whatever you want; there are no limits. When you build a straight up tower of bricks, it can be a rocket ship or a tall building or a sword, your imagination is your own limitation. Let your mind be your guide as you steer toward your life’s destiny.
4. Patience
“Patience is the companion of wisdom.” – Saint Augustine
Building with LEGO® bricks is a slow progression. It can be a grueling process, but it is a lesson in the value of patience. And patience is a virtue teaching you self control and restraint.
5. Attention to Detail
“In the successful organization, no detail is too small to escape close attention.” – Lou Holtz
Piece by piece you labor to advance your work of genius; each part needing to be in the right spot in order to achieve your desired outcome. I watch as my son studies in detail the pictures on the box, carefully calculating the placement and adjacencies needed in order to build his next LEGO® project. I recall similar analysis myself at a young age and to this day you can find me sitting down with a pad of paper and pencil to layout the design of my next project.
6. Adapt to the Situation
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. – George Bernard Shaw
One day you can build an airplane and the next day, with those same LEGO® bricks, you can build a skyscraper. If you find yourself a few LEGO® pieces short for your intended project you can modify your results by using another color, a different piece or scaling down your design. The possibilities are never ending. In life everything will not happen as we intended, we need to be able to revise our plans when necessary and go with the flow.
7. Any Mistake Can Be Fixed
“Ok, I can fix this” – My son upon breaking one of his LEGO® creations.
My son enters my office to showcase his latest LEGO® construction. As he extends his arms to present me with his creation as it breaks into two. There were no tears, no grumblings of anger, none of the negativity you might expect when something you worked so hard to build falls apart. On the contrary the first words out of his mouth were, “Ok, I can fix this.” We can all learn a lesson from this type of can do attitude, knowing no matter how awful circumstances may seem our problems can be repaired with a little ingenuity.
8. Problem Solving
“Any problem can be solved with a little ingenuity.” – MacGyver
One of the greatest characteristics I developed playing with LEGO® is the ability to know I could use my mind to remedy any situation. No challenge was too great; I would always be able to determine a method for success. It may not have been my original intended approach, but I knew there was always a path to my final destination.
9. You Can Build the Impossible Dream
“Without dreams, there is no reality!” – Luis B. Couto
Dreams are the means to a desired end. With LEGO® bricks you can capture those ideas, you can construct your vision no matter how large an obstacle it may seem. The same applies to your life; never accept that something cannot be accomplished – despite the barriers to can realize your dreams.
10. Never Give Up
“Never, never, never, never give up.” – Winston Churchill
Sure there are times when you want to throw your hands up in defeat, I did it myself and I see it from my sons as they construct a LEGO® projects, but the answer is to never give up. Determination is a key factor in life; if you endure the journey keeping the vision alive you will see some of the greatest accomplishments achieved you never thought would happen.
11. Teamwork
“The nice thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side” – Margaret Carty
We can all use a little help now and again, my sons will periodically come up to us for assistance with their LEGO® creations needing my wife or me to snap a piece or two together. Sometimes we can all use a little guidance to get us through a tough spot and it is good to know you have others to rely on. There is no need to go through a difficult situation alone; the insights from others can often be inspiring as they allow us to see circumstances from perspectives outside of our own architecture.
12. Celebrate your Achievements
“The virtue of achievement is victory over oneself. Those who know this can never know defeat.” – A.J. Cronin
Finally, you have worked so hard to carry out your objective don’t let your labors go unnoticed. Boast your accomplishments with humility and place your LEGO® creation up on the shelf for all to see. The same policy is relevant in later life; use tact, but be proud of your accomplishments.
Those are just a few of the lessons I learned from play with LEGO®; I’m sure there are many more. Who knew back in 1934, when a carpenter turned, wooden toy maker, Ole Kirk Christiansen, took the first two letters of the Danish words LEG GODT, meaning “play well,” and put them together; the concept later developed by LEGO® would expand into a global staple of childhood toys shaping the minds, visions and futures of children into adulthood.
“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” W. Clement Stone
What other life lessons have you carried into adulthood based on your childhood experiences?
"Life of a Remote Leader" 