More from the Connected Manager
How to take expert advice
Wayne Turmel
You could drive yourself crazy trying to follow every piece of advice you get - and often the experts disagree. So how is a rational person supposed to take all this advice without their heads imploding?
Staying on track isn't easy
Wayne Turmel
It's surprising how often teams lose sight of their goals. There are plenty of reasons, and maybe understanding some of the most common will help you and your team reassess where you are headed.
Don’t confuse task completion with productivity
Wayne Turmel
People who work remotely often claim to be ‘more productive’. But productivity is a long-term measurement that means more than just getting more tasks finished in a given time period.
Data, information and webmeetings
Wayne Turmel
Turning raw data into meaningful information is a key part of a manager's job. And smart managers know that webinars or videoconferencing tools can help translate one into the other.
Snip those email threads!
Wayne Turmel
if there’s one complaint everyone has about communicating with their teammates it's long email threads - you know, the ones that start as a simple request for information and grow like a virus.
Reacting vs responding
Wayne Turmel
Do you interrupt what you're doing to read incoming emails? Do you hit “reply all” when you probably shouldn’t? Too often, we react rather than respond. And that can lead to trouble, especially for managers.
Office politics when you're not in an office
Wayne Turmel
People who work remotely often view the absence of office politics as a real plus. But they’re wrong. Understanding organizational and inter-personal dynamics is a critical part of that thing called ‘work’.
Shut up first, talk later
Wayne Turmel
Sometimes it it can seem almost impossible to get people to contribute or share information effectively in a video conference. Here’s how you can change that.
Don't use technology as an excuse for bad management
Wayne Turmel
When it comes to managing a remote team, technology is not a communication problem. So stop blaming the tools if you chose the wrong one for the wrong reason.
Open questions, open communication
Wayne Turmel
Working remotely, we miss the non-verbal signals we see when working face-to-face. That's why asking open questions is one of the most critical skills the manager of a remote team can possess.
Do you run meetings or lead them?
Wayne Turmel
Why do some online meetings get the job done, while others don't? The difference is that successful meetings need to be led - and there is a huge difference between running a meeting and leading one.
Five ways to derail your remote meeting
Wayne Turmel
One reason video conferences and webmeetings often feel like a bit of a train wreck is because they tend to get off to a bad start. Here are the main things that derail virtual meetings and how you can avoid them.
Five reasons remote teams fail
Wayne Turmel
Many managers are now discovering that leading a remote team isn’t that different to leading a co-located one. But they do have to re-think how they do certain things. Here are five ways you can get that wrong.
Key skills for virtual leaders
Wayne Turmel
Suddenly finding yourself sitting at home leading a virtual team is a tough call, particularly with everything else that's going on in the world. So here are seven key behaviors that will make the task of virtual working much easier.
How different is leading remotely?
Wayne Turmel
If you've never led a remote team and you're worried about how you might cope if the Coronavirus puts you in that position, fear not. For a competent team leader, the differences aren't as great as you might think.
A whole new ballgame?
Wayne Turmel
Adopting remote teams might seem like a whole new ball game, but it’s the same game - just played on a slightly different field. The WHAT doesn’t really change, it's the HOW that's different.
The best gift this Christmas
Wayne Turmel
Want to do something nice for your team this holiday season? How about helping them do nothing at all - or at the very least, a bit less - even if you have to enforce it strenuously.
Getting virtual meetings to start on time
Wayne Turmel
Why do webmeetings always seem to start late? While there’s no silver bullet that will solve the problem, there are some simple things you can do to help your odds of starting (and finishing) on time.
Mapping the power in your organization
Wayne Turmel
Forget job titles, do you know who has the real power in your organization and who has real influence where it matters most?
Getting feedback from a virtual audience
Wayne Turmel
Speaking to large groups on-line can be deeply disconcerting. Why? Because even in a lecture-type presentation, you get all kinds of feedback. But doing it virtually feels like you’re talking into a void.