How can leaders become more “sticky” in a remote working environment?

Question

Answer

I've been trying to increase how sticky I am with my people, and I've noticed that it's now about the whole person and their personal situation. So when engaging with them I’m trying to be across not just the work stuff, but everything that's going on with them. Sometimes it’s just a matter of sending little messages to say, “Your child was sick, how are they now?” It might be just to follow up on their interests, for example, if they were doing a half marathon or something like that. I’m trying to be much more involved in what's happening outside of work, as well as what's happening at work. They should feel that I really care about keeping up with what's important to them. Even sending them little text messages can help.

Answer

As leaders creating the organization’s culture, I find it to be easier when you're in person. Whether it's at the water cooler, in the shared kitchen or in front of the whiteboard, you get to know people in that space and in a virtual setting there's two just dimensions. Finding ways to improve that virtual dynamic is something we'll continue to see in 2022 — what are ways we can create that water cooler space? At my organization we’re striking a balance where we’re on-site a couple days and remote for a couple days each week. We’ve been trying different things, like icebreakers, to get people involved in the virtual realm, but creating that culture and keeping it alive when you're online is hard.

Answer

I see some good advice here already. Like with all things related to peopleware one needs to use an individual approach and to find a right balance. I would not focus on being sticky, but rather on making sure that in all interactions the following clearly comes across - that you genuinely care.

How can leaders become more “sticky” in a remote working environment?

Content you might like

How do you attract new talent to your IT department?

If you had a magic wand - what's the #1 daily business challenge you'd eliminate?

Do you hold separate meetings for career development and performance reviews with your engineering staff?

Can anyone share effective strategies they've used to help individual contributors recognize the intrinsic value and personal significance in their tasks, especially when the company's mission or the nature of their projects might not be considered the most captivating?

How do you strike a balance between providing clear direction as a leader and allowing your team the autonomy to embrace Agile principles like self-organization and decision-making?