TECHNOLOGY

Apr

2024

Communication Tools for Leaders

Relationships are difficult, and they can be even more difficult in the workplace. Communication is one of the biggest challenges faced by organizations and teams. When I want to grow a relationship, one of the early questions I ask others is what communication format they prefer and use most often.

Effective communication within your team is crucial for success as a leader. Because of technology, numerous tools and platforms are available to facilitate communication. Let’s explore leveraging technology to communicate effectively within your organization.

Chat and Messaging Apps

One of the easiest and most effective ways to communicate within your team is through chat and messaging apps. These platforms provide quick and immediate communication, making it easier for your team to stay connected and collaborate in real-time. Apps like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or even WhatsApp provide a centralized location for team members to engage in discussions, share files, and provide updates on project progress.

These tools are also a resource on social media platforms such as LinkedIn. When interacting with people outside your team through one of these methods, ensure they are familiar with and use this platform. Using these platforms will streamline communication for your team and ensure everyone stays informed and connected, no matter where they are located.

Project Management Tools

Keeping track of various tasks and projects within your team can be difficult, especially if you have team members working remotely. Consider implementing project management tools such as Asana or Trello to address this challenge. These platforms allow you to create and assign tasks, set deadlines, and monitor project progress in real-time.

Project management tools can also facilitate effective communication by providing a central hub for team members to share updates, ask questions, and provide feedback on ongoing projects. If your team does not yet need something as intricate, create a shared calendar such as Google Calendar and provide team deadlines and meetings. Utilizing these tools ensures that all team members are on the same page and working towards common goals.

Video Conferencing

Since the pandemic, virtual meetings have become more common for many businesses. Tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet allow for face-to-face communication, even when team members are not physically present in the same location. If the communication would best be done face to face, but time and travel prevent it then this is your best tool.

Virtual meetings can be an effective way to discuss important issues, brainstorm ideas, and collaborate on projects. They also offer the opportunity for team members to engage in non-verbal communication, such as facial expressions and body language, which can be important for building rapport and understanding and increasing trust within your team.

Foster an Open Communication Culture

While technology plays a crucial role in facilitating communication, fostering an open communication culture within your team is equally important. Encourage team members to share their thoughts, ideas, and concerns openly, and provide a platform for them to do so. Knowing some of the abovementioned options can help you consider how to best connect with your team.

Whether through regular team meetings, open forums, or anonymous feedback tools, creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable expressing themselves will lead to more effective communication and better teamwork.

These were just a few technological tools available to help you communicate. As you consider your team and their preferences, which tool would help you communicate and, more importantly, connect with your team to increase trust and keep communication open? How will you implement it? Need help thinking into this? Contact me for a no cost to you coaching session to help you think into your business. Lead well!

Jun

2022

Remote Leadership

I was sitting at my computer looking at a screen filled with many other people. Not long ago this was a unique experience, but now ZOOM is part of our vocabulary and remote work is the norm. Leading in person is challenging enough, but remote leadership can be even more difficult.

I have had the opportunity to be a part of a remote team for many years now. I never really thought of it that way because we are all part of one organization and spread out all over the world. As I have been a part of that team and watched others lead remotely, I found that if we do a few things well it helps the team connect and continue to move forward.

Communication

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” George Bernard Shaw

Nothing gets accomplished without communication. When we are part of a remote team this requires greater intentionality. I was talking to the CTO of an organization about how they do hybrid work. He said they make sure when everyone is in office on a particular day they have purposeful meetings.

When leading remotely communication must be proactive and purposeful. As part of a remote team, I may send an e-mail to make sure I don’t forget to share a thought with someone. I may send a text to clarify before acting. As the leader we need to initiate communication and respond in a timely fashion.

One caveat on communication. Do it, but also set clear boundaries for you and your team. I would encourage some form of “office hours” so people have realistic expectations on after hours return communication. This clarification protects the overall health of team members and reduces stress. As a remote leader I encourage you to communicate more than you think you need to and discern when you need to reduce the frequency.

Clear Expectations

“Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.” Brene Brown

When a team is distributed we have to lead with more clarity. We can’t wander around the office like the manager in Office Space checking on people and constantly looking over their shoulder. (Nor would I necessarily advocate that kind of leadership anyway.) Whether in person or remote an important role of the leader is to provide clarity. Expectation clarity is even more important with remote teams.

Lazlo Bock who led Google’s people functions for ten years said in an article in Harvard Business Review:

“When it comes to company direction, policies, and values, being clear is the kindest thing you can do . . . .When people know what’s happening, they can make the best choices for themselves.”¹

We want people to have autonomy and freedom especially when working remote, but we need to create clear boundaries. Just like the fence around a playground gives a child freedom to play wherever they want inside the fence, clear expectations do the same for our teams. One final idea on this. Clarity requires communication therefore give your team time to access you for questions and clarification.

Maximize Technology

On this remote team I have been a part of we have had a difficult conversation. The issue needed to be dealt with and it was going to be several months before we were with one another in person again. The leader of this conversation had us all get on ZOOM.

Why?

When we have a conversation 93% of our communication comes through our tone of voice and body language. We can remove over half of the communication cues by only having a phone conversation, therefore we should leverage technology. When we are on a video conferencing platform, we can see facial expressions along with hearing their tone. This is essential especially for difficult or complicated conversations.

Another way to maximize technology is by being accessible (within boundaries). As the leader you may need to have a quick conversation that may have been a walk down the hall in person. Remotely this may be a text, instant message, FaceTime call, or phone call. Be aware of when you are reaching out to respect boundaries but utilize technology to keep communication open and candid.

As you think into your leadership, how are you doing in these three areas? What is one action step you can take to communicate, set expectations, or leverage technology more effectively in your leadership? Need help thinking into your leadership? Contact me for a powerful coaching session to help you think into your leadership. Lead Well.

Bock, Lazslo. “5 New Rules for Leading a Hybrid Team.” Harvard Business Review. November 17, 2021.

Aug

2021

Learning from a Leader in the Tech Industry

I was sitting across from a man who has led six different tech companies over the years and presently is the Chief Strategy Officer for Counterpart. I always enjoy these conversations and learning from leaders and their experience. During this time together I was able to learn the three principles that guide him as he has assumed various leadership roles over the years.

Giving

“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”

Zig Ziglar

This idea applies in many ways. Generosity is at the foundation of many successful people’s lives. One of the biggest ways Drew applies this idea of giving in his leadership is by investing in his people. The greatest asset we have on our team or in our organization is the people. This leader invests in his team in a couple key ways.

Nurtures their strengths. The tendency may be to focus on improving our weaknesses, but when leaders nurture the strengths of those they lead then they are going to multiply the results. As Buckingham and Clifton say:

“you will excel only by maximizing your strengths, never by fixing your weaknesses.”

Understand them. This requires a leader to slow down, communicate, observe, and listen. If we are busy giving orders and fail to slow down and connect with those we lead we fail to invest. Taking time to give our time will multiply in the return when done genuinely and strategically.

Transparency

This idea could be discussed in a blog of its own. I have asked some of my mentors how to be transparent with those we lead, but not too transparent that it creates more unnecessary challenges. The two ways Linn suggests we be transparent are through integrity and honesty.

Nothing is more frustrating for those being led than when what we say and what they experience from us are out of alignment. This alignment only occurs with integrity and honesty. If the organization is struggling be appropriately transparent. While being transparent leaders need to discern how much to truthfully share without creating alarm and also create appropriate urgency. This transparency is also evident when the leader is humble enough to admit not knowing all the answers and engaging the team for solutions.

Continual Learning

The humility I mentioned above is the backbone of Drew’s final leadership principle. He realizes he is not the smartest person in the room. As leadership expert John Maxwell says, if we are the smartest person in the room we are probably in the wrong room. Drew has two key ways he maintains a learner’s mindset.

Get out of his comfort zone. I was talking to my mentor and coach one day and he reminded me that I have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. As leaders when we stay in our comfort zone too long we risk what we lead either plateauing or declining.

Learn people’s story. As I mentioned earlier, people are an organization’s greatest asset. When we take time to learn about others we are showing we care and will be able to align the team/company vision more intimately with someone’s personal vision.

Leadership is a journey and we are all growing every day. If not, we may not be leading much longer. Which of these three areas do you need to develop in? Need help thinking into it? Contact me for a thirty-minute thinking partner session at no cost to you. Lead Well.

Feb

2019

My Technology Failure

Have you ever been ready to throw your iPhone, iPad, computer or some other form of technology against the wall and scream?

That was me on this particular Friday morning. I am sitting at my desk preparing to join my John Maxwell Team friend Eric Reid on his Friday Facebook Live he graciously invited me to participate in.

I am excited and ready to go so I join in while listening on my computer. He sees me there, but I have to get connected via my iPhone or iPad . . . . that is where the problems begin.

I log onto Facebook and see his video, but no matter how many times I touch the screen it won’t play. Confession here, I am not a technology whiz. After about five minutes my blood pressure is rising and then I figure I will download the app.

At this point my friend knows I am struggling and he is demonstrating his phenomenal speaking skills as he speaks on something he totally did not anticipate. As I continue to struggle, I have messaged him with the confession that I am cursing my devices.

We are now about fifteen minutes in and I am yelling and screaming either outloud or in my head and I finally get on . . . . but cannot access the camera . . . whatever that means!

Finally, I message him and tell him I give up because we are now too far in for me to bring much value. He encourages me through the broadcast and asks others to do the same. Now that the emotion is gone I ask myself: what did this teach me about leadership?

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

I should have done the test run beforehand . . . I know common sense, but apparently not for this guy. When we try something new especially involving new technology of some sort, give it a low risk “test drive” first.

Don’t be Attached

I could have been much worse off than I was especially if I allowed my self-worth to be attached to the result that morning. I was frustrated, embarrassed, and felt my lack of preparation let my friend down. The reality is that my self-worth should not be based on the results of a Facebook Live.

Learn.

Why am I writing this now, so I can reflect and learn and possibly help you when you try something new as you lead. Mistakes happen, but in order to learn we need to pause, reflect, and learn from them.

Failure occurs to us all and when we are trying something new the probability of some type of failure is higher. What about you? Do you get attached to what you are trying so much that if you fail you will be crushed? Do you take time to learn from the mistake? Just like I have to remind myself often, because we fail does not mean we are failures. Go out today, try something new personally or professionally and if you fail on some level, learn and re-enter. Lead well.

Sep

2018

Three Leadership Lessons from a CEO in the Technology Sector

I am sitting in a chair at ClearObject across from CEO John McDonald, but I am not in an office, at least not in the traditional sense. McDonald has his “office” in the corner, but it is another cubicle like everybody else.

The chair I sit in is a comfortable, couch-like seat. We are across from each other with a coffee table in between us and behind him are two workspace areas. One is an open area in the corner where a group of employees are working on a project while the other is a glass enclosed space where two employees sit working on yet another project.

As we discuss what it means to be a leader everyone in the office is capable of hearing our conversation just like everyone is able to hear his daily conversations from his “corner office.” This environment is a picture of his leadership approach.

The leader of this Internet of Things organization located in Fishers, IN that creates digital products to replace physical products serves three primary roles as CEO in this fast changing industry.

Raise venture capital
Hire people better than himself at everything
Retain talent

Those three descriptions define his job, but three principles define how he leads within this role.

Vision. When I asked how he described this popular and important leadership concept, he described it as sailing. Company goals are like the skyline, an objective that is far enough and challenging enough that he can’t do it on his own, but close enough to see. As leaders we can paint a grandiose picture, but the vision has to be tangible enough that the team members can define their roles in fulfilling that vision.
Culture. McDonald defines culture as the unwritten rules about how things are done. As a leader with new employees, he finds the most important time in an employee’s experience is the first day. This new individual will naturally test the culture. When a leader has clear norms and expectations, that have been accepted, the team members will quickly clarify for new employees how to perform when they are not aligned with expectations. A leader must be intentional and purposeful in the culture he or she creates in the organization.
Accountability. Accountability at ClearObject is less about punishment and more about acknowledgement. During their Quarterly meetings John will celebrate successes as a means of holding individuals accountable. How does he do this? He sets the bar so people can overachieve. Does he have low standards? Absolutely not. He sets the expectation and gives employees the freedom to go beyond the expectation, thereby exceeding customer expectations and creating an outstanding experience for the client.

As I described the layout of the office and we see McDonald’s guiding principles I realize that everything aligns. An open office space creates open dialogue which is essential in the fast moving tech sector. This also creates a culture where people are approachable whether that is a customer coming in or employees within the organization.

As a leader of your organization or team what kind of culture are you creating? How are you holding yourself and others accountable? Is your vision bigger than you, but still within sight? What is one way you can use these principles to help you grow as a leader at work and home? Comment below or contact me if you want help thinking into your personal or team leadership results.