Why do some people work from home and others prefer (or have no choice but) to work in the office? The business press will tell you it boils down to personal preference (yours or your manager’s.) New studies show that there are a number of factors involved. A recent study on Working From Home Around the

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Have you ever tried to reach someone on Microsoft Teams and seen a red status message that says they’re busy? That’s fine, but will they be available later today? Are they out of the office? Here is a simple tip that you can use to make those notifications more useful. Let’s say you’re working at home

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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

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When it comes to virtual meetings and communication platforms, times have sure changed. While way ahead of their time, The Jetsons cartoons of the 1960s accurately predicted virtual meetings, tele-health, online classes, and video calls. But it sure took us a long time to get here. And even though video communication technology has been around

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Ask any group of people to make a list of the reasons why meetings are painful or ineffective. Undoubtedly, “They start late” will always make the list. I know this because I have asked groups this question many times. So, starting on time is one of the biggest things we could do to make meetings

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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

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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.

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As individuals grow together to become a team, they move from a group of people who happen to be in the same place to a team of people working together towards a common goal. During this process, all teams go through common and predictable stages of development. In From Bud to Boss, we reference the

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I’ve spoken to hundreds of people in the last little while, and they all say some variation of, “We tried to get people to come back to the office, but we’ve compromised and now work hybrid.” None of them sounded excited about it. Just for fun, I looked up the word compromise. Now I understand

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One of the stressful parts of leading a team is sharing company news with your team. It’s never easy – especially if you have questions or concerns about the new direction or policy coming from “upstairs” yourself. You can feel caught between your people and the company. Still, you have a job to do. It can

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