Combating the challenges of remote working
Uncovering effectiveness as well as emerging leadership talent
Working in a satellite city to the company’s head office or being based at a home office comes with many freedoms. You can duck and dive rush hour commutes, engineer schedules for school pickups, and get work done without interruptions. You can write articles in your gym gear too!
But it is not easy.
A remote worker in his natural habitat
Motivation, systems, and drive are key ingredients amongst many others. When working alone months on end there is little structure with no one else around to bounce off and socially it is lonely with little team interaction. I should know – I have been working remotely for the best part of two decades (and counting). Ironic considering, I am a natural ‘people person’ and help teams work better together.
What I have found in my work with leaders is that the same skill sets can be utilised by remote workers like Account Managers as well as Business Owners. The challenges are remarkably similar, if with a different lens.
When working with Leaders, I take them through the four skill sets that matter:
The Behaviours that matter (Role Modelling)
The Conversations that matter (Influencing)
The Connections that matter (Thinking)
The Interactions that matter (Sustaining)
It looks like this:
The Play Beyond Targets Matrix
How does this apply to an Account Manager out there on the road servicing a region of clients? Below is a table showing how leading a team and managing a region or territory of clients are not dissimilar to each other:
Account Managers and Leaders utilise similar skill sets
Instilling these skills into daily work habits feeds the feeling of ‘being in the zone’ where a lot of work gets done easily without stress in a short time frame. Being in the zone often is called flow or ‘being in flow’. And being in flow for extended periods of time repeatedly is called rhythm. Being in rhythm is when our self-management, relationship management, and work flow management sync with our own personality styles. I call this Playing Beyond Targets, a concept delved into deeper in the Play Beyond Targets Whitepaper.
Combating the slumps, loneliness, and aimlessness of remote working starts with building habits within purpose. I have found that investing in these four categories of skill sets have been game changers for me and the organisations I have worked with.
It also ponders the question – are we utilising these skills in our sales teams for succession in our wider organisations? Are regional teams a breeding ground for future managers?
