The future of work is remote. That means we need more remote leaders. Empowering employees to work from home requires strong, clear leadership, for it to become a viable and sustainable option for more companies, across all industries. Remote leadership needs leaders who are comfortable and confident leading their teams from a distance. And while it's easy to find resources about remote work and location independent jobs, effective remote leadership is often left to chance - with companies instead blaming the failure of remote working on the fact that it's remote rather than a failure of leadership.Enjoy 60+ pages full of knowledge, ideas and tools to successfully lead your remote team from wherever you are. Whether you are already a seasoned remote leader, or you are just starting out creating (or inheriting) your first location-independent team, this guide will help you to hit the ground running.The book is written with mainly support organizations in mind, but readers of the pre-release version have pointed out that many of the ideas and tools are equally valid for other location independent teams.
LONGLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES & MCKINSEY BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR “I often talk about the importance of trust when it comes to work: the trust of your employees and building trust with your customers. This book provides a blueprint for how to build and maintain that trust and connection in a digital environment.” —Eric S. Yuan, founder and CEO of Zoom A Harvard Business School professor and leading expert in virtual and global work provides remote workers and leaders with the best practices necessary to perform at the highest levels in their organizations. The rapid and unprecedented changes brought on by Covid-19 have accelerated the transition to remote working, requiring the wholesale migration of nearly entire companies to virtual work in just weeks, leaving managers and employees scrambling to adjust. This massive transition has forced companies to rapidly advance their digital footprint, using cloud, storage, cybersecurity, and device tools to accommodate their new remote workforce. Experiencing the benefits of remote working—including nonexistent commute times, lower operational costs, and a larger pool of global job applicants—many companies, including Twitter and Google, plan to permanently incorporate remote days or give employees the option to work from home full-time. But virtual work has it challenges. Employees feel lost, isolated, out of sync, and out of sight. They want to know how to build trust, maintain connections without in-person interactions, and a proper work/life balance. Managers want to know how to lead virtually, how to keep their teams motivated, what digital tools they’ll need, and how to keep employees productive. Providing compelling, evidence-based answers to these and other pressing issues, Remote Work Revolution is essential for navigating the enduring challenges teams and managers face. Filled with specific actionable steps and interactive tools, this timely book will help team members deliver results previously out of reach. Following Neeley’s advice, employees will be able to break through routine norms to successfully use remote work to benefit themselves, their groups, and ultimately their organizations.
In today’s complex organizations it is not uncommon to have as many as 50 percent of employees working on virtual teams. As the “virtual revolution” continues to spread, how can companies ensure that virtual team collaboration is producing the desired results? Highly practical and easy to navigate, Virtual Team Success leverages the authors’ robust global research study and hands-on experience to provide an immediately usable resource for virtual team members and team leaders. This groundbreaking book is a hands-on, practical toolkit filled with down-to-earth examples and insights that can enhance the virtual team experience for everyone involved. The authors’ research study is one of the most comprehensive applied studies ever conducted on virtual teams, and all of the recommendations outlined are based on these findings as well as the authors’ years of experience helping virtual teams and virtual team leaders effectively lead and collaborate from a distance. To help organizations and leaders enhance virtual team performance, the book includes: Why Virtual Teams Fail—outlines the four pitfalls that frequently derail virtual teams Profile of High Performing Teams—addresses the characteristics of the most effective virtual teams and what makes them successful Virtual Team Launch Kit—provides practical guidelines and tools for successfully launching virtual teams How to RAMP Up Your Team’s Effectiveness—introduces a practical research-based model of virtual team effectiveness to improve team performance Profile of Top Performing Virtual Team Leaders—identifies the practices of the most successful virtual team leaders Facilitating High-Impact Virtual Meetings—includes tips and techniques to effectively lead “v-meetings” Virtual Team Success also includes practical resources for virtual team leaders, quick reference guides for diagnosing virtual team problems, and six lessons for virtual team success.
What does it mean to “go to work” when you don't actually leave the house? This is the ultimate guide for remote workers who want to stay engaged as team members, maintain robust work relationships, and keep an eye on their long-term career goals. Even before the coronavirus hit, remote work was growing at nearly 30 percent per year, and now it's just a fact of life. There are many millions of people who once worked at a central location every day who now find themselves facing an entirely new way of working. Written by the founders of the Remote Leadership Institute, this book is the most authoritative single resource for helping remote workers get work done effectively, build relationships that are both productive and satisfying, and maintain a career trajectory when they are not in constant close contact with their leader, coworkers, or the organization in general. The Long-Distance Teammate tackles three important issues: navigating the personal and interpersonal, growing the skills to be productive, and communicating effectively—all from a distance. In short, there is a big difference between working at home and being an effective member of a team. This practical guide describes that difference and allows you to be a great remote teammate.
The classic guide to working from home and why we should embrace a virtual office, from the bestselling authors of Rework “A paradigm-smashing, compulsively readable case for a radically remote workplace.”—Susan Cain, New York Times bestselling author of Quiet Does working from home—or anywhere else but the office—make sense? In Remote, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the founders of Basecamp, bring new insight to the hotly debated argument. While providing a complete overview of remote work’s challenges, Jason and David persuasively argue that, often, the advantages of working “off-site” far outweigh the drawbacks. In the past decade, the “under one roof” model of conducting work has been steadily declining, owing to technology that is rapidly creating virtual workspaces. Today the new paradigm is “move work to the workers, rather than workers to the workplace.” Companies see advantages in the way remote work increases their talent pool, reduces turnover, lessens their real estate footprint, and improves their ability to conduct business across multiple time zones. But what about the workers? Jason and David point out that remote work means working at the best job (not just one that is nearby) and achieving a harmonious work-life balance while increasing productivity. And those are just some of the perks to be gained from leaving the office behind. Remote reveals a multitude of other benefits, along with in-the-trenches tips for easing your way out of the office door where you control how your workday will unfold. Whether you’re a manager fretting over how to manage workers who “want out” or a worker who wants to achieve a lifestyle upgrade while still being a top performer professionally, this book is your indispensable guide.
A timely and hands-on resource informed by lessons learned from Fortune 500 CEOs and executives Leading at a Distance provides executives with the necessary skills to successfully lead in the new virtual workplace, backed by the research and expertise of global leadership firm Spencer Stuart. Although working remotely is not new, the global pandemic has placed virtual work at the center of everyday life. And it has thrust workforce strategies to the core of business operations globally. As the shift towards large-scale virtual work continues to grow and become a permanent fixture—by some estimates, 30% of the workforce will be working virtually – leaders must understand how to build virtual work environments that foster connected, engaged, and high-performing teams. Although some forward-thinking companies and not-for-profit organizations have made significant investments in technology and virtual collaboration, many others have simply joined the “Zoom culture” without fully appreciating what it takes to operate effectively at a distance on a sustained basis. Leading at a Distance is a timely, research-based, and highly practical guide for developing and implementing strategies for conducting high-impact virtual work, building trust, and enhancing team unity. Designed to help leaders shape organizational culture remotely, this must-have resource demonstrates how to conduct virtual onboarding for senior leaders, build top teams from a distance, manage accountability in the new virtual environment, and much more. A hands-on toolkit filled with compelling examples, expert insights, and invaluable advice, this book: Provides clear guidance on establishing effective leadership in the virtual workplace Offers practical approaches for establishing strong relationships, increasing employee engagement, and coaching from a distance Addresses ways to keep geographically dispersed team members aligned and accountable Illustrates creative ideas for boosting team morale Features an overview of the unique challenges facing leaders in the virtual workplace Discusses often-overlooked topics such as virtual hiring and onboarding Leveraging the authors' in-depth research and consulting experience, Leading at a Distance is required reading for anyone needing to adapt to a virtual way of working and develop their virtual leadership skills to maximize organizational effectiveness and performance.
Discover the power of Microsoft Teams with this intuitive and timely new guide Microsoft Teams is unlocking the potential of remote work and virtual meetings at a time when they couldn’t be more necessary. Its feature-rich interface and ease-of-use promise to bring your team together—as long as you can harness its full suite of capabilities. In Teach Yourself VISUALLY Microsoft Teams, Microsoft experts and authors Matt Wade and Sven Seidenberg turn their years of engineering and IT experience loose on the virtual collaboration software now used by over one hundred million people across the globe. Using the book’s huge collection of vibrant and full-sized images and walkthroughs, you’ll see exactly what you need to do in order to: Realize the key benefits of Teams by using its messaging and video-conferencing capabilities to stay connected with your colleagues Manage multiple teams and channels to use Teams across your organization Extend the functionality of Teams by using additional apps and add-ons Learn valuable tips, best practices, and work-arounds to make the most of and avoid the landmines in Teams Rapidly becoming the central hub for working in Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams promises to transform the way you work and communicate. And you’ll master it faster and easier by using this ultimate guide to get the most out of Microsoft’s latest and greatest software!
Organizations are implementing virtual teams using web technologies as a cost-effective measure for training and project development. In Working at a Distance, Cassandra Smith provides a detailed, comprehensible virtual team business model for managers, professionals, teachers or students involved globally with such initiatives.
Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership -- Introduction -- Section One Getting Started -- Chapter 1 What We've Learned about Long-Distance Leaders -- Chapter 2 How We Got to Long-Distance Leadership -- Chapter 3 What It Means to Lead at a Distance -- Section Two Models That Matter -- Chapter 4 The Remote Leadership Model -- Chapter 5 The Three O Model of Leadership -- Section Three Achieving Outcomes at a Distance -- Section Three Introduction -- Chapter 6 Types of Outcomes -- Chapter 7 Setting (and Achieving) Goals at a Distance -- Chapter 8 Coaching and Feedback at a Distance -- Section Three Summary -- Section Four Engaging Others -- Section Four Introduction -- Chapter 9 The "Golden Suggestion" for Working with Others -- Chapter 10 Understanding Politics without "Playing Politics" -- Chapter 11 Understanding and Building Trust at a Distance -- Chapter 12 Choosing the Right Communication Tools -- Chapter 13 Technology Tips for the Long-Distance Leader -- Section Four Summary -- Section Five Understanding Ourselves -- Section Five Introduction -- Chapter 14 Getting Honest Feedback -- Chapter 15 Your Beliefs and Self-Talk -- Chapter 16 Setting Reasonable Boundaries -- Chapter 17 Setting Personal Priorities -- Section Five Summary -- Section Six Developing Long-Distance Leaders -- Chapter 18 Questions to Ask about Developing Long-Distance Leaders -- Epilogue Before We Go -- Notes -- Suggested Reading -- Acknowledgments -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- About the Authors -- About Our Services.
This revised second edition presents 15 years of data on Virtual Distance metrics and their predictive impact on organizational success factors shedding new light on how to correct for communication challenges that often show up as a foggy set of digital disconnects where the vitality of the virtual workforce often gets lost in transmission. This still-evolving Digital Age conundrum continues to present new complications. The rise of remote work which rests on an increasing reliance on electronic communication and the overall growth of virtual interactions has led to the escalation of a phenomenon called Virtual Distance. Virtual Distance, which influences our behavior through three components Physical Distance, Operational Distance, and Affinity Distance affects not only how we relate to others thousands of miles away but even to co-workers sitting right next to each other! Perhaps even more problematic, Virtual Distance causes measureable malfunctions in teamwork, innovation, leader effectiveness and overall performance. But it doesn’t have to be this way. The Power of Virtual Distance offers specific, proven and predictable solutions that can reverse these trends and turn Virtual Distance into a unification strategy to capture untapped competitive advantage. Surprised? The Power of Virtual Distance, 2nd Edition is a must-read for leadership who want to understand the true and quantifiable costs of the virtual workplace. For the first time ever, readers can take the guesswork out of managing the virtual workforce by applying a mathematical approach derived from the extensive Virtual Distance data set: The Virtual Distance Ratio. The Virtual Distance Ratio can precisely pinpoint the particular impacts of Virtual Distance on the organization’s critical success factors. Beyond business metrics, Virtual Distance solutions also detail ways to restore meaningfulness and well-being into people’s experience of work, enhancing life lived in the Digital Age. The Power of Virtual Distance reveals an updated set of data, including the first award-winning analysis, collected from an extended range of executives to individual contributors, that represent situations and solutions in more than 36 industries in 55 countries across the globe. Readers will get a “first look” at the data and its revelations on how to be less isolated and more integrated. Helping managers globally, this book: Offers new, real-world case studies and a chance for readers to participate in thought experiments to help with personal performance, group synergy and by extension, relationship dynamics of all kinds Demonstrates (with statistically significant trend analyses) that Virtual Distance is growing at exponential rates in every corner of communities worldwide Offers expert advice on how to manage the “unintended human consequences” of today’s digital technologies Companies that successfully harness the power of Virtual Distance demonstrate better performance. The second edition of The Power of Virtual Distance is a valuable, one-of-a-kind resource for everyone – from the C-suite to human resource professionals; from divisional leaders to project managers. Everyone in the organization can benefit by discovering how to improve financials, innovation, trust, employee engagement, satisfaction, organizational citizenship and other key performance indicators. And perhaps best of all, by following the prescriptions on how to reduce Virtual Distance, the entire workforce will have the tools they need to bring about a revival of meaning, purpose and an enlivened sense of “humanhood” back into everyday work and everyday life.
