By Thomas Griffin, Co-Founder and Chairman of OptinMonster. Entrepreneur, investor and software expert. Helps you be a better leader in your organization.
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With the rapid digitization of the world in recent years, there has been a major shift in the way people do things. One of the biggest changes that surprised everyone is the way many of us work in the post-pandemic era.
Unlike ten years ago, many people no longer have to walk into their company offices every day to do their work. We can go to work without even having to leave the house. Sure, companies like ours that had a fully remote team existed before the pandemic, but it accelerated the trend of remote working.
A survey of adult professionals found that: 82% believe that remote working is the future of work. This means that as a leader you you may need to change the way you lead.
To keep your workplace running smoothly, you may need to acquire new leadership skills or strengthen skills that you may never have considered so important before. So what are these skills?
1. Effective communication
One of the most important skills for remote business leaders is the ability to communicate effectively. When you run a remote business, you can hire talented minds from different locations without worrying about physical boundaries. If that happens, you may not meet your employees in person too often. But as a leader, you have to convey your ideas, thoughts, opinions, etc. to them. That’s where your communication skills become important. Knowing how to get your message across effectively over the phone, video chat, and email is crucial.
Whatever message you are conveying, it must be conveyed clearly. This will help your team members perform their tasks more efficiently. Unless they understand the purpose of your idea, thought, or concern, they won’t know how to use it to achieve your business goals.
So work on developing your communication skills. Be clear and concise. It is important that you watch your tone and be polite to the person you are communicating with. Also, practice being a good listener to be a good communicator. Being a good listener helps you understand the perceptions and concerns of others, and it helps you learn from them.
2. Technical knowledge
As a leader, you are the one who runs your company. This means that it is important to have a basic understanding of the technology that allows you to use it. As a remote company, you probably perform many tasks online.
You may have your team to help you, but you can’t always count on others for everything. Make sure you can evaluate, identify and generate information without depending on others.
But you can’t do that without the right technical knowledge. You may not be an engineer or technical person, but when you are the leader, it doesn’t matter. You may be forced to do things even if you’re not good at it. But if you do it with uncertainty, it will only get worse. So why not acquire the skills you need?
Try sitting with your web or software developer and let them show you the basics. You can always contact them again if you need further assistance.
3. Flexibility:
Many people like to work remotely because of the flexibility it offers. Working from home or in a coffee shop or other preferred location not only allows employees to do their job, but also gives them more time to do the things they enjoy.
But some leaders don’t give their employees the freedom to work on their own schedule. Instead of letting them do their jobs when they do best, these bosses try to micromanage their employees without even realizing that it might reduce their productivity.
So stop micromanaging and be more flexible about when employees can do their jobs. Remember, it’s not the amount of the time they put into the work that should matter. It’s about how productive they are in general and how many goals they achieve. If they achieve their goals, you have nothing to worry about.
Back to you
The pandemic has changed the world enormously. Many of us do things differently now. Adapting to the new way of working will not only make it easier for you, but also make you a better leader.