How Will Leadership Principles Change with Many More People Working Remotely?

Yes, there will be changes, and no, the basics will not change.

Going forward, we need to:

• Assure greater clarity of goals and expectations
• Be empathetic, which will be more important than ever
• Prioritize productive working relationships, which require our one-on-one conversations
• Respond to our people as promptly as we can
• Empower our people, letting them know we have trust in them
• Encourage ideas flowing up

This said, the principles of highly effective leadership and relationships founded on respect and trust were always essential, remain so, and will not change. We absolutely must:

• Lead with humility and empathy
• Ask our people for their ideas, input, advice, and feedback
• Listen with our full attention to understand and learn
• Assure our people feel appreciated
• Address problems promptly
• Offer and ask for timely and honest feedback, accepted with appreciation
• Treat everyone with dignity

A wonderful example of how the basics do not change is Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, which he wrote in 1936, and his messages about creating and maintaining wholesome relationships not only remain relevant, they are even more relevant today in our hyper-busy business world.

I firmly believe that as leaders we should want our people to contribute their ideas about how with many working remotely we can maximize our success. Changing times call for adaptation and innovation, and our people are very likely sources for great ideas. Let’s ask and listen to them.

Ideally, we want our people to feel a sense of “ownership”, which is preferable to top-down decisions.

Communication is key, even more than ever, and not just group communication. Leaders need to speak individually with each team member on a regular basis, and to be personal rather than solely focused on business matters, e.g., to ask how they are doing, and their family. This is always true, but all the more so now, with people feeling so much uncertainty and change, and far fewer meaningful ways to connect with others with whom we work.

We need to celebrate successes, small and large, and let our people know they are valued and that they are heard.

This short article is simply a start, just basic important principles mentioned. There are books being written about the new normal for leadership. I absolutely would welcome your ideas. If you would share, comment below.

Let’s commit to coming out of this pandemic better than before as a leader, a team, and a company. This is my prayer.