INTRODUCTION
Leadership is often presented as more art than science, a byproduct of personal charisma rather than a coachable skill. Despite the growth in leadership training and management coaching, remote leadership remains relatively unexplored. To shed light on this crucial aspect of management, we decided to speak with our frontline leadership coaches, who specialize in remote training delivery. They shared insights on structured approaches managers can adopt to enhance their leadership performance in hybrid and remote work setups.
RITUALS THAT CREATE MOMENTS OF BELONGING
Mathilda Nathan is a qualified coach, mentor at Seedcamp, and former senior executive at Groupon, Deliveroo and Zego. When asked about impactful initiatives that foster leadership remotely, her advice is concise: “Develop rituals that create moments of belonging.” The rituals that defined great leadership in-office were developed over years and often benefited from in-person delivery. Team socials, kick-off events, town-halls were opportunities for leaders to set their vision and for employees to feel a sense of belonging and camaraderie. How does remote work replicate and expand on this? By developing a new set of rituals that are tailored to and enhanced by technology and that foster a sense of belonging.
Trevor Davis - Senior Director at Microsoft - expands on this concept by telling us what not to do. He says “You cannot hide behind email, Teams, Zoom, and Slack if you want to be an effective leader in a hybrid work environment. You have to invest in learning about your people, and connecting with them on a personal level.” Only by learning about teammates on a deeper level can we seek to inspire and lead them. Many of the rituals, frameworks and artefacts that Junto teaches - such as the Me Manual or 1:1 template - are designed for meaningful human contact, moments of belonging and a mindful focus on understanding ourselves and others better.
THE EVER-EVOLVING LEADERSHIP SKILLSET
In the face of rapid technological advancements and changing work dynamics, leaders must continually hone their skills to navigate remote and hybrid workplaces successfully. Fadi Hindi - former Head of People Strategy and Operations at Udemy - identifies a number of key skills that leaders should foster; resilience, learning from failure and emotional intelligence key amongst them. He says “Training in emotional intelligence can significantly boost a leader's resilience by enhancing their self-awareness, self-regulation, and empathy. These skills are critical in understanding and managing one’s own emotions and in supporting others, crucial during times of stress or change.”
Trevor Davis is aligned on the importance of emotional intelligence. He says “if we can hold up examples of what strong emotional intelligence looks like, and why it matters in leadership, people can understand what their target looks like. These fundamental skills are timeless and can be used across all business types.” He advocates for adaptable leadership skills that transcend specific circumstances, such as conflict management, which proves invaluable in various situations - “how to manage conflict can be used in salary negotiations, under performing personnel, goal setting, and building a network.”
THE NOVEL CHALLENGES OF REMOTE MANAGEMENT
Fadi Hindi describes the balance modern leaders need to maintain: “Leaders need to not only envision the future and set direction but also effectively translate strategic goals into actionable plans. This requires a balance of innovative thinking and practical implementation skills.” These practical implementation skills often represent the difference between great leadership in theory and great leadership in practice. In the field of training, Mathilda Nathan advocates for the “constant interchange between framework/theory presentation and self/group reflection.” In general, setting aside the time to reflect on structured information - particularly how that information makes you feel - is key for leaders looking to convey information to remote teams.
LEADERSHIP REDEFINED
One area of consensus amongst our leadership coaches was how the definition of leadership has transformed. Where once leadership was taught to individuals in isolation, it is now understood that effective leadership is networked leadership and that managers must be developed in their organizational contexts. Mathilda Nathan summarizes the development concisely “it's not hierarchical anymore. It's moving towards a co-creation leadership style. It's all about getting the entire organization to contribute to both the direction and the success of the company.” Trevor Davis identifies a trend where culture setting has become the key area of leadership, trumping even the bottom line: “leadership was centered around clear communications, organizational goal setting, coaching people to believe more in their capabilities... More recently, “leadership” seems to be more defined by the culture you create and less about the product or even business impact.”
In world where only 28% of roles are fully in-office, it is perhaps no surprise that leaders who successfully build interpersonal connections and create progressive cultures are valued highest. These were often seen as the hardest things to achieve with the proliferation of remote work. Fadi Hindi concludes “There's a growing trend towards leaders who can articulate and embody the organization's purpose and values. Employees, especially younger generations, increasingly seek work that is meaningful and aligned with their personal values. Leaders who can connect the company’s objectives with a broader social or environmental impact are particularly valued.”
share to the world
