The Virtual Leader – Takako Hirata

The Virtual Leader by Takako Hirata is a book that explains the core skills needed to lead in remote environments. The book shares Hirata’s proven methods for thriving in remote work environments and enables leaders to minimize the time and distance barriers that can hinder the effectiveness of virtual teams.

The book covers topics such as conserving office rituals in the remote environment, cultivating trust, enabling clear and efficient communication, making companies more employee-centric, and establishing a culture of collaboration.

Trust in the Remote Workplace

Trust has three interrelated components. The first is our sense of expectation: when we trust someone, we have some knowledge of their abilities and the ways they normally behave.

The second is belief: in addition to knowing their abilities, when we trust someone, we also have confidence that the person will behave in a manner consistent with our knowledge of them. The third is reciprocation: in trusting someone, we also believe that, in return, they have corresponding beliefs and knowledge about us.

Make meetings better

Make meetings more effective and engaging with these alternatives:

• Quick stand-ups for short and informative updates.
• Online workshops for collaborative learning.
• Online brainstorming sessions for generating ideas.
• Online coworking sessions to replicate the office environment while working remotely.

Minimize distractions

To minimize distractions while working from home:

• Create a dedicated workspace at home and establish basic rules to separate work and home life.
• Encourage team members to pursue projects and interests outside of work.
• Have everyone report their energy levels during team meetings to set appropriate expectations.
• Consider providing support for employees during crunch time, such as ordering lunch to their addresses.

Trust the team Part 2

Host a meeting with your team and ask each member to write down a definition of trust. Have everyone share their written definitions. Discuss their definitions and see if your team can then work together to write a common definition. Then pin it somewhere visible, like in a Slack channel.

Remove any mechanisms at work that monitor whether an employee is online or working. Trust is something that should be assumed to be there, and each time the team meets or surpasses expectations, that trust is built upon. Employers violate their employees’ trust when they use software that tracks their screens or keyboards.

Remote work and mental health

• Use an anonymous monthly survey to check on employees’ mental health and share insights with the team.
• Ask employees how they’re really doing to foster honest conversations.
• Provide subscriptions to online exercises and wellness classes to encourage physical activity and reimburse employees for mental health expenses.
• Encourage informal communication and connections between team members.
• Establish one-on-one check-ins for non-work-related conversations to recreate casual office chats.

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