As a manager it is important that you be able to show leadership skills  to your team. 

When we used to meet with our teams in the office, we  could do this by showing them that we were listening to them, making eye  contact and other ways to let them know that we viewed them as being  important. During the pandemic, these things are no longer easy to do. 

We are interacting with our teams via video conferencing and it turns out that commanding a room full of team members with our  manager skills isn’t the same thing as commanding a Zoom video  conference.

As the person who is in charge of a team of professionals, it has always  been your job to make sure that everyone is doing well. 

Now that we are  attempting to work our way through a pandemic, things like that have  become a bit more difficult to do. However, it has become even more  important that as managers we are able use our manager skills to detect when members of our team are starting to feel burned out and then we need to be able to step in and do something about it. 

The big question that most of us are currently facing is just exactly what can we do to help out our team members when it all just becomes too much to deal with?

I don’t know about you, but I’m always open to getting some advice.  

Being a manager is hard work and I don’t claim to know how to do  everything correctly. What I would really like is if someone that I  really respected would take the time to point out what I should be doing  in order to become a better manager. It turns out that, of all people, Bill Gates is willing to do just that. 

Hey, if he’s talking to me, then I had better be listening.

There is no question that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed everything for managers. 

Now that we all find ourselves working from home,  we are being forced to find different ways to do everything that we  used to do. Managing a team, delivering results, and doing all of the  additional tasks that managers are called on to do can be especially  challenging when we are isolated at home. 

What we need to do is to find  ways to make our new work environment be as successful as working in the  office used to be.

Let’s face it, most of us don’t really relish the idea of having to go  out and do networking. 

However, in the past we’ve been willing to do it  because we knew that it was an important way to help our career move along.  Then came the Covid-19 pandemic. All of sudden we can’t get together  and make small talk with people that we hardly know. The importance of  doing this has not diminished, just how we have to go about doing it has  changed. 

How is a manager supposed to network in the era of a pandemic?

Congratulations, you have a job. 

However, is this really the job that you want? Do you spend your days dreaming of doing something else?  If you ever decided to do that something else, would it require you to  make a career change? This is no small change – this can be a very big  deal for most managers. 

If your heart really lies somewhere else, then  perhaps the current world that Covid-19 and the associated pandemic have  turned upside down might be just the place where you use your manager skills and technology to make your dreams come true.

Just about every manager has a complaint about the Covid-19 pandemic. 

It  has disrupted the flow of teams in the office. It has sent everyone  home to work. In fact, it has taken the fight out of your team. If we  want to boost our teams back up, managers are going to have to find a way to re-inflate our teams. 

Just exactly how is a manager supposed to go about doing this?

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a lot of things to change for managers.  

Our teams are now working from home, collaboration is much harder to  do, and we are struggling to find ways to keep that team spirit thing alive. Managers are confronting how best to use their manager skills to keep their team from burning out while propelling their businesses forward. Wise managers need to  prepare for change and help workers stay engaged. 

Just exactly how are  we supposed to go about doing this?

Congratulations to you! 

You’ve just been promoted! Finally all of that great work (and the great work of your team) along with your manager skills have been recognized. Umm, now what should you be doing?  The world that you used to know has gone away. You are now in a new  position and the people who promoted you and for that matter the rest of  the company have new expectations of you. 

Just exactly what is a  manager expected to do after they have been promoted?

Getting promoted is what every manager wants. 

With your new position  comes more money, more responsibility, better benefits, and perhaps even  elevated status. However, it turns out that there is a downside to this  type of career advancement. You may now be asking yourself “where did  all of my friends go?” Likewise, now when you walk into a room,  conversations may stop. 

You are going to have to find ways to deal with  this new world order.