Wow! We are in the weirdest times I have ever seen! The whole word has shutdown and businesses are going to have to make substantial changes when everything comes back to life.
For those companies that are still working, there are reports of teams stressing out, endless bridge phone calls, working late into the night, and families interrupting the team members. Getting the work done in these unusual circumstances is tough.
Productivity is in the tank even for those that are working.
Productivity
From all the news reports, normal (whatever that is) will not be resuming soon. May not for many months.
In the meantime, we still need to get work done and learn to adapt to the new world.
It is up to us leaders to shape the workplace for the best efficiency in these weird times.
We need to shape the environment so we can be successful.
We cannot blame Covid-19 for everything.
In fact, that is what a good leader does…make things happen regardless of what is happening around them.
No excuses! Yes, it will be incredibly hard but we have no other choice.
Trust and Expectations
Normal (yes, in the past) work environments meant you worked together in the same office or building site. We saw each other every weekday and we learned to work together. When we can see each other face-to-face as we work, we can read their body language and facial expressions.
I have the opportunity to work remote part of the time for more than a decade and it has become second nature. However, I am sympathetic to those that have never worked remote and are not forced to work that way. It is quite a shock.
I was talking to one of my team members the other day and he mentioned how much harder it was to work remote as he had rarely worked that way and was not ready for it. He missed having people physically around him. He was struggling to get work done.
As I talked with him, I realized that having conference calls don’t replace being around people physically but it does help. I have run conference calls all day with a team on that bridge and it goes a long way to help the team. It makes them feel less ignored and forgotten.
For management, it means learning to trust the team members because they cannot see them. A new method of management is needed and it is needed right now. No slow ramp up. No getting used to the new methods. Do it now.
For management, you need to trust your team. If you cannot trust your team then you are in big trouble!
How do you install trust in your team? Sorry, it is painful. There are no easy short cuts.
First of all, you need to bare your soul! To old-style managers, this gives them a mental stroke.
When you are honest with your problems or issues with work issues, that encourages your team to be honest about their problems.
Make the Pivot
These days, we all need to change and all of us need to pivot to a new way of working in business. Whether we want to or not!