Are Your Managers Ready?

In the most recent edition of The Economist, the article “The Rise of Working from Home” suggested that the blurring of the office and home work environment will have the largest impact on managers.

2020 accelerated the work from home trend in ways that would have been unimaginable a year earlier. While many have seen this as positive, and research on employee engagement indicates a positive bump, are managers ready?

Prior to COVID, managers could rely on a wide variety of techniques to on-board, train, lead and manage their teams. Often, there are standards and norms that are just ‘picked up’ along the way. Being together in a shared space enables us to learn about our roles and adapt to those practices.

With many of us working remotely, how will managers adapt when their available channels to convey expectations has been reduced? Managers will have to develop a higher degree of attunement into each of their team members. A preferred method to communicate for one employee may not be shared by others. The most effective leaders will communicate frequently – using channels and methods that have been discussed openly and determined collaboratively.

If you or your team is struggling to communicate in our new semi-disconnected state, let’s talk about how to develop an approach for what your team needs to fulfill their role more effectively.