The virtual manager that every employee wants

The first time that I realized the importance of this topic ( virtual tour ) came to my attention about 15 years ago when the organization where I worked introduced a virtual platform for internal collaboration. The topic has come up again and again since then, but it really exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost overnight, virtual meetings became the way of working, and many leaders did not and still do not know how to work this way.

The big difference is that the interaction doesn't happen organically, but has to be intentionally planned.

Because most executives don't know how to facilitate a virtual meeting in this way, meetings have become a huge waste of time and energy. Employees attend more meetings but interact less, leading to frustration, burnout, and ultimately turnover.

• Be the leader who continues to reach out, and not just at the next meeting.
• Be the leader who knows how to use the technology everyone needs to use.
• Be the leader who schedules another Zoom call that participants actually want to attend.

The manager who continues to reach out, and not until the next meeting

Leaders (mostly) know how to communicate, but the rules of the game have changed. You can no longer walk down the hall and check in with an employee, you can no longer talk to an employee at the coffee pot, and you can no longer linger after a meeting to check in with an employee. Now, to really communicate well, you have to be INTENTIONAL. You have to plan the visits, the conversations and the stays. Employees still want your attention, and just like before, they'll notice if they don't get it.

So schedule 1:1s with each of your direct reports, schedule higher-level meetings, and schedule check-ins with your teams. Be strategic with your calendar - determine your priorities and the people you need to meet with to support those priorities, and then schedule that time.

The leader who knows how to use the technology that everyone needs to use

No one feels comfortable in a meeting where the leader doesn't know where the share button is or how to share with someone else. It's frustrating for participants when they click on the "raise hand" feature and the leader never calls it. What about the questions in the Q&A section that the leader never sees and answers?

Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, Skype, etc. - all of these virtual meeting tools have special features that can bring collaboration and interaction to life in a virtual meeting, but you need to know how to use these features and when and why.

Employees feel more comfortable in a meeting that has some structure. A meeting where they know what is expected of them and how they can contribute. To have this experience in one virtual meeting To enable this, you need to figure out what features are available in your technology platform and why you might want to use them.

A good way to familiarize yourself with the features of the technology is to practice with your team. Arrange a meeting to learn more about the technology and how to use its features. This creates unity within your team as you share a learning experience that is helpful for all of you.

The executive who schedules another Zoom call that people actually want to attend

You know those meetings where no one comments, where people don't turn on their cameras, where there's no chatting in the chat area? These could all be signs that people don't really want to be there.

Employees have different schedules than their manager, and I often hear a manager add meetings to the calendar without considering other time constraints of their team. This leads to frustration. Employees must reschedule recurring meetings or other project meetings to meet the manager's schedule, which often results in them doing work that was originally planned during the meeting.

Then the frustration becomes even greater because the session turns out to be informational only. This is not a productive use of time. Employees want information and need it to do their jobs, but scheduling another meeting to pass on information they can read themselves seems like a waste.

A better way is to assess what information is really just for reading and what information they have feedback on or need their input on. Send the one-sided information via email and then arrange an interactive meeting where a mutually beneficial conversation can take place. You should also survey the team and find the best time to schedule before putting the meeting on the calendar.

You should also learn how to moderate a virtual meeting. The interaction doesn't happen in the same way as an in-person meeting, and you need and want that input from your team. One way to do this is with an icebreaker such as: B. a “show and tell”. Ask each participant to introduce an item in their home office that will help them keep track. This will get participants to turn on their cameras, share personal information that builds trust, and start two-way conversations. Another good addition for a virtual meeting is the assignment of role n, z. B. a moderator to monitor the chat and Q&A sections so you don't miss anything, a timekeeper to make sure you don't overstay, and an online scribe to record decisions and actions that the group agrees with. The online notes can be viewed during the meeting and serve as an excellent overview where all participants can review, update and agree on what should happen after the meeting in real time.

Many of us have become de facto virtual leaders with the new remote workplace, but that doesn't mean we're good at it. It's time to evaluate your skills and make sure you're the virtual leader every employee wants.