Staying Connected in Difficult Times - The 7 P's
Leader Anchors | 1.0 | February 2022
When you lead a team working remotely, the cues that would tip you off to problems within the team are less available. Schedule regular one-on-one check-in meetings with individual team members to stay connected with them and their work. Use the 7 P's to structure these important conversations.
The Challenges of Remote Working
Few of us are living the life we envisioned for ourselves these days. That includes our work life, where COVID-19 disrupts the workplace while performance demands stay constant or even escalate. Fully remote and hybrid work arrangements appeal to some more than others. But for everyone, working at a distance from co-workers and leadership presents new, unique challenges that can impair individual and team performance.
Working remotely will likely remain more commonplace even as pandemic concerns recede - we might as well get used to it. People are largely adapting, some better than others. That includes leaders making their own transition to working from home while learning to keep their remote teams productive from a distance. Your greatest leverage on the many demands coming your way is still a well-functioning team of capable, engaged performers.
When you share a physical workspace with your team, you can see people working and listen in on their chit chat to get a feel for how things are going. Without much effort, proximity provides regular, direct information about what is happening in the team. The cues are there to spur you to action when someone or something needs attention.
Absent the cues proximity provides, you need to be more intentional about monitoring your team's condition. What seemed trivial before may be more meaningful now. Things you might have ignored in an on-site team expecting they would work themselves out naturally, can linger unresolved in a remote team, festering into bigger problems. And don't be surprised if problems arise in unexpected places as individual team members with their own unique needs, preferences, and circumstances cope with the dynamics of working from home.
If you lead a remote team, you should understand the unique challenges involved, watch for them, and respond promptly to the issues you see. Here are the bigger issues to watch for (click each item for more information)...
The sad reality is that even on-site workers often report they are unclear about the expectations and standards that matter in their work. On-site employees can take cues from what's happening around them to better understand what really matters and is expected, even if that hasn't been made explicit for them. And when sharing a workspace with team members, leaders have opportunities to directly observe an employee losing focus or straying from the team's chosen path.
People can promise and genuinely want to do something in their head and heart, but then choose to do something completely different with their hands and feet. At its root, commitment is about choosing where your attention, energy, and time are invested. When assessing commitment, actions matter more than words - see it by watching what people do with their hands and feet rather than trusting the words that arise from their head and heart.
Great on-site teams benefit from a collective intelligence and shared skill base that allows everyone to be more competent together than they can be individually. Because people can be reluctant to reveal weakness to their "boss", team leaders may not be fully aware just how much some team members rely on their peers for assistance.
When co-workers don't occupy the same physical space, the time and effort it takes to get even simple answers from others can be surprising. Out of a sense of responsibility, fear of looking bad, or simple frustration, some may just move on without asking for the information or explanations they need to fully understand what's expected, the circumstances, or how their efforts will impact others.
We've all had it happen, taking offense to a curt text, brusque email, rushed phone call, or off-hand comment made during a meeting. It's even more likely when remote working makes it difficult to appreciate the circumstances that contributed to a co-worker's actions. Any of us can then fall victim to a primal human defense mechanism that predisposes us to assume malice or threat in the behaviour of others when inattention or incompetence just as easily explain their perceived poor behaviour toward us.
Remote work can be lonely. Granted, the more introverted amongst us probably find the solitude easier to take than the more extroverted. Over time though, reduced interaction with co-workers and team leadership can diminish the sense of "belonging" members feel amongst their co-workers, weakening the connections of common purpose and mutual trust essential to effective teamwork.Leadership Anchors
In climbing, the “lead” is first up, setting the path or route. Along the way, the lead places “anchors”, points of attachment to provide “protection” for them and others who follow, freeing all to use their talents confidently and competently.
Our Leadership Anchors are habits and hacks for leading. With the right anchors in place and used well, you will be better able to apply your unique strengths and style to the challenge of delivering results by leading others.
Ask us how our coaching can help you function as a better leader, on the job, where it matters.
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Check-In to Help Performers Stay
Paying attention to your team and individual team members matters more now than ever before. People have always wanted their jobs to mean more than just a pay cheque, doing their best work when they feel their efforts are worthwhile. Most want to learn, enjoying the challenge and, ultimately, the security that comes from increased capability. They also value the experience of striving together with others, the sense of community and belonging that comes with being a member of a team, an aspect of our working lives most put at risk by remote working.
The pandemic has caused many workers to question the quality of their lives, including their work life, more than they have in the past. Some will choose to leave situations where they don't feel valued, their days have become cluttered with work-related hassles, or they believe their careers are stagnating. Any leaving risks disrupting your team's morale, productivity, and budget. Losing top performers raises the ante, and they are more likely than their less capable peers to attract better opportunities that draw them away.
That's where leaders like you come in, working with your team to create a work environment that inspires greater effort and makes people want to stay around. What you need to know to do that is unlikely to be exposed in a full team meeting or come up spontaneously in casual chit chat. It’s too personal, for your ears only, and often difficult to share. Your most reliable information will come via purposeful, one-on-one conversations with team members. But in the firefight that many workdays seem to be, opportunities to truly connect in real conversation are few and far between. And for leaders of remote teams, out of sight can too easily become out of mind.
Don't wait for an "exit" interview to find out what's happening in your team or why team members left. Move leadership to the top of your to do list and onto your calendar, scheduling check-in meetings regularly to re-connect personally and professionally with individual team members. Even brief meetings (perhaps 10-15 minutes), handled well, provide an opportunity to find out what fires up their engagement and performance, and what it will take for them to stay.
We're not talking here about the task-driven discussions you often have with performers, checking up on work commitments or assigning new projects. Your goal in a check-in meeting is asking and responding more than telling, having a conversation rather than making a speech, hearing about them, not just their work. More important, you need to listen carefully to what they share, seeking to understand what they mean not just hear what they say.
Make Observing Your Team a Habit
To be more confident what's going on in your team...
1. Observe the team closely in virtual meetings, one-on-ones, or via their work products.
2. Capture observations regularly after a meeting or conversation and/or take 5 minutes each day.
3. Record your observations, noting what you see or hear in a notebook or file.
4. Review your notes at least weekly looking for incidents, trends, or patterns of concern.
5. Take action when what you see matters, it is appropriate to step in, and you have a plan.
Click here for a work sheet to help. Use it for 30 days, then ask yourself if attending to the cues listed has helped you see things you were missing before. If "yes", make this an anchor in your leadership practice.
Ask About the 7 P's
Photo by cottonbro from Pexels
Listed below is a series of questions you can use in check-in meetings as conversation starters, invitations for team members to share helpful information with you regarding their performance and personal situation. Some are more professional in nature and others more personal. It may take some courage on your part to ask a couple of them.
Asking these questions in pairs maximizes the clarity and insight provided by the answers. The lead questions seek a response from 0 to 10, turning their subjective “feelings” into objective numbers you can track over time. Think of medical professionals who use the same scale (reversed) to ask about pain. They know it too is subjective. We each experience it differently - one person’s 7 is another’s 4. But if you said 4 yesterday then 7 today, safe for the nurse or doctor to assume you feel more pain now, and that’s what they need to know to make decisions.
The more open-ended follow-up questions in each pair seek out helpful explanations for the score, fleshing out the numbers while asking for specifics. Take the time to check for clarity and probe to uncover the whys behind what’s said. Be sure you understand what their words really mean while working out what next steps you could take to guide their efforts or enhance their engagement.
How satisfied are you with recent Progress on your work assignments (0-10)?
What 2 or 3 “wins”, big or small accomplishments, that stand out for you?
Let them tell you what’s going well first, an opportunity to share their achievements or describe their breakthroughs. Failures or breakdowns are more likely to have attracted your attention - it's just the way our perception works. Successes can too easily fall through the cracks. Especially in stressful times, celebrating meaningful steps forward sustains individual motivation and team momentum in an environment where lots can drag us down. Take the opportunities you see to express appreciation for their efforts, acknowledge their contributions toward team and organizational goals, or reinforce anything they have learned from the experience.
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How certain are you that you can keep your performance related Promises (0 to 10)?
What is the one, most challenging problem or hassle in your way right now?
When you work in the same space, you can pick up on non-verbal cues to how people feel, their energy level, or frustration. That’s much harder when your interactions with them are sporadic, or mainly via email, phone call, or video chat. Give them a chance to be honest about their work commitments and any unresolved problems distracting them from things that matter or draining their energy. Work with them to identify the biggest hassle holding them back, brainstorm options, make a plan to remove or minimize it, then keep any promises you make to help. Your job is not solving every problem for your team; it is ensuring they have a chance to do their best work.
How clear are your Priorities for action going forward (0 to 10)?
What are the top 2 or 3 priorities you need to work on in the next while?
Without clear direction, most people simply follow the path they assume is correct, or the one offering least resistance. Working remotely has only increased the distractions competing for everyone's attention and time. Loss of focus leads to misalignment and potential disappointment if their contributions drift away from results that really matter. Help them see direction for their work in the near term, and a clear line of sight between what they do and the purpose it serves on behalf of the team and the external stakeholders the team serves. If they or you can’t see that purpose behind a particular piece of work, consider reducing or eliminating it.
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How confident are you that the Plans we've made as a team are achievable (0 to 10)?
What are the top 1 or 2 challenges ahead of us that concern you most?
Loss of confidence in shared plans can become just as much a barrier on the road to success as the more tangible problems in your way. Each team member has a unique perspective on the team’s internal capacity, its strengths and weaknesses, and the external opportunities and threats you will face in a chaotic business environment. Tap into their helpful insights, listening especially for trends, patterns, or problems they see that may not be as obvious to you. You may also need to address unfounded worries diverting their focus from what really matters right now. Allay these concerns, sharing the better information you have or offering another, more hopeful, perspective.
How satisfied are you with your opportunities for Professional Development (0 to 10)?
What Skill, area of Knowledge, or Experience are you developing right now?
People have an inherent need to learn. Remote workers have aspirations just like on-site staff, but from their home offices often find it harder to see a path toward their development goals. Enhancing their competence, and in the process their career options, gives them a greater sense of satisfaction and security. Challenging opportunities to step outside their comfort zone generate enthusiasm and energy, enhancing their engagement. Wherever you can, create space in current job assignments for each team member to hone their unique strengths and talents while they do their work. Or, provide resources to facilitate their continued development outside the job.
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How are you doing personally (0 to 10)?
What have you done since we last talked to relax and re-energize?
Let them know you care about them as a person, not just as a performer. Their lives are bigger than their work. When working remotely, it can be difficult to separate work from personal time when both happen in the same place. There may not be much you can do about some of the personal things on their plate - you’re a leader, not a social worker - but they will appreciate that you asked and might be able to point them toward helpful resources in the organization or community. Encourage them to open up by being transparent yourself, sharing common interests or relevant stories from your life to put them at ease.
How are we doing together as Partners in your performance and career (0 to 10)?
What else can I do to help you get what you need from your work?
The relationships between leaders and their followers are arguably the most critical connections in any organization. Weak or damaged connections put results at risk, creating a culture where insecurity, irresponsibility, and disengagement too easily take root. When your partnerships are strong, your influence grows along with your shared capacity to get things done. As with any other quality relationship, the leader-follower connection is a two-way street. They are responsible for speaking up, voicing their needs, expectations, and concerns. You are obliged to nurture an environment where expectations are clear, speaking up is safe, and your help is readily available.
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Anchoring this Leadership Practice
Every leader's situation is different and every follower unique. When it comes to leading, one size definitely does not fit all. You must adapt any good theory or practice to your own style and circumstances. Here are a few tips to help you make this leadership practice a habit, suggestions informed by real-world experience...
Use Our Online Questionnaire
With our partners at Corporate Compass, we have developed an online tool to help you share the questions above with your team. Here's how it works...
- Sign up, telling us about your team and team members.
- Prior to meeting with team members, send them a link to the questionnaire.
- Team members take 5-10 minutes to respond to the questionnaire online.
- When their responses are submitted, you and they receive an email summary of their ratings and comments for reference at your meeting.
We handle the administration - you handle the leadership. Team members have an opportunity to reflect on the questions in advance, organizing their thoughts. Seeing their responses prior to meeting, you can prepare yourself with helpful information and ideas. When you meet, your time together can be high graded, the focus on moving forward with each other rather than simply talking to each other.
The information collected via the questionnaire remains secure and confidential, overall data shared only with you, each team member seeing just their own responses.
See a sample of the questionnaire by clicking here, (leave the "Team Name" and "Email Address" responses as you find them). Or, contact us if you have questions.
If you are ready to get started, click here to register your team.