There are a number of misconceptions and generalizations about work from home, remote work, and hybrid work. If you read the pro-remote from home bloggers, nobody is in the office, nor should they be. The traditional business press says everybody’s going back to the office so just shut up and comply. So what’s the real

Read More

How do you keep employees engaged when they aren’t interacting with their teammates and leader every day? The answer is to make sure we’re mindful about including them when we have the opportunity. Positive team inclusion makes for stronger emotional connections, both with fellow teammates and our work. We become more invested in our work, and

Read More

The question a lot of leaders ask themselves is, “How do I know that people are working when I can’t see what they’re doing?” If you are slaving away at home or in a hotel room, that might seem insulting. Many leaders feel guilty asking the question, but the answer matters. Trust is evidence based. Managers

Read More

When you think of “good communication skills,” what do you think of? Odds are your mind goes to writing effectively, making excellent presentations, and being clear in your messages. Whether written or verbal, what you say is important. But what about how you listen and read? I’ve long heard that fifty-one percent of effective communication is

Read More

When you work remotely, or have flexible hours, you have a great deal of control over your schedule. That’s the good news. It’s also the cause of stress and lost productivity. How can you create a “to-do” list that is thoughtful and effective? Too often, we confuse productivity with task completion. If that seems paradoxical, you’re

Read More

Encouraging people to return to the office is an ongoing struggle. Some organizations are navigating these uncharted waters better than others. Instead of cooperative negotiation, many are now resorting to scare tactics. Reports stressing the awful damage work-from-home (WFH) is doing to our bodies, our families, and society in general.Some ExamplesFor instance, if you keep

Read More

A lot of companies are trying to figure out new standards for remote work. Here in the US, it’s largely up to each company or each jurisdiction (because, State’s Rights.) As a result, there isn’t a coherent set of rules to follow. We thought we’d look at what other countries are doing about remote and

Read More

In the conversations about returning to the office, there’s an assumption that it’s “the dinosaurs in the C Suite” who insist people come in as much as possible. But there’s another group that is clamoring for more time together. It’s your youngest, newest employees. An article in Forbes highlights some of the reasons. There are many reasons

Read More

By far the most common concern of senior leaders is developing a corporate culture that creates great work and engages both customers and employees. While those are critical characteristics, the secret to any successful culture is the answer to the question: how will work get done. In our book, The Long Distance Team, Designing Your

Read More

What does being the leader of a hybrid team have in common with canning fruits and vegetables? They both are excellent ways to preserve things for a long time. They also come with potential problems. Stick with me. Unseen dangers When I was a kid, my mother tried canning peaches and making her own pickles.

Read More