Employee engagement is often listed as the biggest challenge for people who lead remote, virtual, or hybrid teams. But if this is a problem that requires brand new, cutting-edge solutions, why are so many companies using caveman techniques to keep employees engaged? If you are of a certain age, you remember the cartoons where a

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A good teacher must be able to put himself in the place of those who find learning hard.         -Eliphas Levi, French educator 1810-1875 One of a leader’s most important jobs is to help develop the skills of their team members. For many of us, this is why we became managers or

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Video conferencing just isn’t the same as being there.  It’s easier to put on a happy face and pretend to be OK when things are just off.  Leaders and managers must be extra vigilant with remote team members to discover burnout and head off the effects.  It’s too easy to lose remote people to other

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With all the headlines about the wonders of remote work, and how everyone will be happier and more productive if we let them work wherever they want, it’s important to offer this little reminder: Virtual teams are not right for every company or every worker. There, I said it. This came to mind because an

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If you lead a remote team, here’s a quote about technology you should ponder. But maybe not for the reason you think: “Technology gives us the facilities that lessen the barriers of time and distance – the telegraph and cable, the telephone, radio, and the rest.”  Emily Green Balch, Nobel Prize Winning economist and sociologist.

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by Chuck Chapman, Content Strategy Coordinator Have you ever had a stressful day at the office and thought about how much calmer and happier you would be if you worked from home? You’re probably not alone in that thought, but according to a recent Baylor University study, the “chill” remote worker may just be a

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You might not have a favorite Greek philosopher, but I do.  And you might not think someone who wrote at the time of the Roman Emperor Nero would be relevant to leading a remote team, but you’d be wrong. My boy Epictetus is still relevant. Particularly relevant today is this quote: “Practice yourself, for heaven’s

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by Chuck Chapman, Content Strategy Coordinator Kevin and Wayne spend an entire chapter (chapter 11 if you want to reference) in The Long-Distance Leader talking about the importance of trust with remote teams and unpacking their model (see below). Trust is one of those “squishy” concepts, however, that can make some leaders uneasy. While it’s usually pretty

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By Chuck Chapman, Content Strategy Coordinator We’re over 100 years removed from the assembly line and the industrial leadership mindset that came with it. That leadership model is best illustrated by the foreman in this classic Charlie Chaplin clip from Modern Times: That micro-managing style of leadership, standing over the worker barking orders to “work faster”

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Engagement is one of the topics remote leaders lose the most sleep over. In a recent poll, we learned that “keeping the team engaged” is more of a concern for leaders than team communication, measuring performance or making sure people are working when they say they are. So, there’s no doubt today’s question is one

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