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Virtual Team Could be More Effective Part 2
Sticky Learning Lunch 30: How to Make Your Virtual Team More Effective
Exclusively to help line managers to discover ways to build a more effective virtual team, in Virtual Team Could be More Effective Part 2.
You Can Read the Full Transcript Below:
Nathan Simmonds:
Good afternoon. Welcome to Sticky Learning Lunches with me, Nathan Simmons. We are just gonna give it 30 more seconds. Just we're all waiting for the last handful of people to arrive. How was everybody's weekend? Let me know in the questions box or the chat box for those in the UK that had a bank holiday. How was your long weekend for those? Not in the uk. How was your weekend? Two days ago? I think there's a few people still just trying to get back in the swing of things for a Tuesday. Hello, Colin. Fabian. Janine. Good to see you. Good to see you again, Pearl. Good to see you Stuart.
Nathan Simmonds:
I think with the long weekend here in the UK that we might see a few stragglers and a few people may be watching us on the replay rather than getting us live as they get back in the swing of things after three days or away in the garden. Windy to start, but so lots of time in the garden. Weed's still winning. Nah, well, weeds are just plants with a different viewpoint put on top of them. I know this 'cause I spent time on my allotment. I've got some potato plants here in the garden that are actually being weeds right now 'cause they're in the wrong place.
How to make an effective virtual team
Nathan Simmonds:
Attendees, let's just make sure we've got everyone here, Aaron, on. Good to see you, Tim. Good to see you. Welcome back. Let's dive in because we have got a couple of key points to, to cover. Anyone misses the first part, they can dive back in and get the recording later, whether that's on YouTube, whether you're watching this on the replay or whether you can watch this live and you're diving, we'll get there or you will get up to date rapidly.
Nathan Simmonds:
Part two of engaging virtually with our teams. Last week we covered some people, ah, always so eager to deliver the content. First of all, let's make sure we're setting everyone up for success. Mobile phones, let's get your mobile phones out, let's make sure they're on flight mode. So you zero out the distraction, a hundred percent attention on you. And you are learning and making sure that you are paying attention to what's happening and where your thoughts are going rather than what's happening coming through from your mobile phone.
Nathan Simmonds:
Thank you, Colin, for the reminder. Let's make it on full screen. So that's the first thing. Second thing is making sure you've got a drink and you are hydrated. It's getting warmer here. Let's make sure actually you are physically looking after yourself so you can mentally engage with what we're doing. And the third thing is making sure you've got a blank page in your not put note, not put notepad with keepers written at the top.
Nathan Simmonds:
And keepers are the things that you want to keep hold of the things you wanna remember and the things you wanna remind yourself about when you read back through your notes and say, ah, now I remember that thing. Ah, this is how it helps and this is how you are expanding it. So it's really important you're doing these three things to give yourself the the the focus and attention and engagement so that you are winning from this from the beginning. Part two.
Nathan Simmonds:
Then virtual engagement, how we are building stronger teams wherever they may be across the globe, across the country. And whatever satellite location in relation to you, you are building a tight network that looks and works much like more like a structure of a chemical compound. Well connected, well thought about and deliberate. So one of the key, well three of the key things that we picked up last week was the three differences.
Nathan Simmonds:
One is distance, two isolation, and three is connection. And I wanna expand and dive into these just a little bit more to give you that bit of extra clarity on them. So as I was thinking about, you know, the, the, the key elements that are building psychological safety and how we do this as, as leaders, as as learning and development practitioners, as HR business partners. These are some of the key elements that we need to be aware of so we can start to build that psychological safety.
Nathan Simmonds:
And as I started to sit on these ideas and, and kind of just to see where my thinking was going and what's important to this and doing a bit more research, you know, I came up with some really key elements that we need to be thinking about the first one and the expansion of those questions.
Nathan Simmonds:
And a quick recap, the expansion of those questions that we started looking at last week, which was now as a leader is asking more questions of your people. How are you? What's going on? How can I help? Then making yourself available to them. So understanding that when you're asking these questions, they're gonna need support and make yourself available to them. Let them know when you are available, where you are going to be.
Nathan Simmonds:
So they've got a mentor pitch of, of your availability so they know when they can speak you and when they, when they need to wait, et cetera. And it just gives them that sense of security that they know they have someone they can call upon. And then the part last part there I put on there was do sweat the small things for these people, for your people that are in different locations, what you think may not be important to you may be massively important to them.
Nathan Simmonds:
And it is the small details that sometime get compounded over a course of time, especially with this intensity of proximity that we have with our families, with our works, et cetera. You know, and the analogy that I used on on Friday was, you know, if you've got a small pebble stuck inside your shoe and your climbing Everest, which one's gonna seem bigger? The mountain you are climbing or the pebble inside your shoe. So think about this, ask these questions to your people and get them and, and get to understand what are those important small things for them so that you can eliminate those obstacles so these people can do their best work.
Nathan Simmonds:
And I wanted to dive into this distance and give some ideas to help shorten that distance. Question to all of you listening, watching right now, what's one thing that you are all doing that's helping you to stay connected to your people? What's one trick or tip that you would like to share with everybody else in this session that is helping you to stay connected with your people and have a slrp of tea? Just while you are pinging in those suggestions,
Nathan Simmonds:
It is important we understand this distance weekly, one-to-one meetings via video. Good using teams allows, for instance, chats, messages, calls, video. Absolutely. So we're using different platforms to stay connected at different points in in the day. We're having a weekly session booked in with our people.
Nathan Simmonds:
The challenge that we have, especially with distance, as any more suggestions come in, the thing we have is now if there was distance in the office, whether there were interpersonal relationships or friction or tensions, these things are gonna be exacerbated over a longer, you know, e even more greatly because of the distance that's being created by logistically and geographically.
Nathan Simmonds:
So it's important we understand this and we need to find ways to close that distance and to get, make stronger connections. And, you know, when we return back to the office, if we can start using these techniques and ideas physically, it makes it easier to manage virtually. Couple of key things in, and we're looking at the distances. We wanna start to learn how to collaborate more clearly. Maybe the people in your teams are working on different projects or working on one. How do they actually connect with each other? How are you encouraging them to connect with each other?
Nathan Simmonds:
How are you getting them to have conversations with them, with, with each other, even when you are not there? So rather than those individuals feeling like they're siloed or segregated even by their own thinking, let alone by, you know, the thoughts or, or in intonations of other people, how are you making sure they're connecting? Couple of things that we can do inside this space is one is create collaborations.
Nathan Simmonds:
Get people to work with each other, get people to have virtual coffee breaks with each other, just to have downtime to speak to each other in the team. So this is one element that we can use these, the technologies and the platforms that we've got, whether it's by phone, because I said about this before, you can still use the phone, it still exists. Don't have to use video chat all the time. Get correct.
Nathan Simmonds:
Create moments where people collaborate with each other. Make suggestions. If you are talking to someone in your team and you say, oh, that's a really great idea, it will be really great if you shared that with so and so or with the rest of the team, could you have a conversation with them and encourage them to speak to other people in the team? They may already be doing it, but get 'em to carve out those little times a window to connect, to shorten the distance.
Nathan Simmonds:
The other thing is, is also getting them to lead meetings. So we talked about before the online presentations, and it's now the same person comes on, here's Bob, the team leader with his PowerPoint deck, and he presses at the beginning and he reads every single slide and you can't see the video and most of the people have checked out and they're doing something else.
Nathan Simmonds:
You want people to engage. And again,
View all episodes
By Darren A. SmithSticky Learning Lunch 30: How to Make Your Virtual Team More Effective
Exclusively to help line managers to discover ways to build a more effective virtual team, in Virtual Team Could be More Effective Part 2.
You Can Read the Full Transcript Below:
Nathan Simmonds:
Good afternoon. Welcome to Sticky Learning Lunches with me, Nathan Simmons. We are just gonna give it 30 more seconds. Just we're all waiting for the last handful of people to arrive. How was everybody's weekend? Let me know in the questions box or the chat box for those in the UK that had a bank holiday. How was your long weekend for those? Not in the uk. How was your weekend? Two days ago? I think there's a few people still just trying to get back in the swing of things for a Tuesday. Hello, Colin. Fabian. Janine. Good to see you. Good to see you again, Pearl. Good to see you Stuart.
Nathan Simmonds:
I think with the long weekend here in the UK that we might see a few stragglers and a few people may be watching us on the replay rather than getting us live as they get back in the swing of things after three days or away in the garden. Windy to start, but so lots of time in the garden. Weed's still winning. Nah, well, weeds are just plants with a different viewpoint put on top of them. I know this 'cause I spent time on my allotment. I've got some potato plants here in the garden that are actually being weeds right now 'cause they're in the wrong place.
How to make an effective virtual team
Nathan Simmonds:
Attendees, let's just make sure we've got everyone here, Aaron, on. Good to see you, Tim. Good to see you. Welcome back. Let's dive in because we have got a couple of key points to, to cover. Anyone misses the first part, they can dive back in and get the recording later, whether that's on YouTube, whether you're watching this on the replay or whether you can watch this live and you're diving, we'll get there or you will get up to date rapidly.
Nathan Simmonds:
Part two of engaging virtually with our teams. Last week we covered some people, ah, always so eager to deliver the content. First of all, let's make sure we're setting everyone up for success. Mobile phones, let's get your mobile phones out, let's make sure they're on flight mode. So you zero out the distraction, a hundred percent attention on you. And you are learning and making sure that you are paying attention to what's happening and where your thoughts are going rather than what's happening coming through from your mobile phone.
Nathan Simmonds:
Thank you, Colin, for the reminder. Let's make it on full screen. So that's the first thing. Second thing is making sure you've got a drink and you are hydrated. It's getting warmer here. Let's make sure actually you are physically looking after yourself so you can mentally engage with what we're doing. And the third thing is making sure you've got a blank page in your not put note, not put notepad with keepers written at the top.
Nathan Simmonds:
And keepers are the things that you want to keep hold of the things you wanna remember and the things you wanna remind yourself about when you read back through your notes and say, ah, now I remember that thing. Ah, this is how it helps and this is how you are expanding it. So it's really important you're doing these three things to give yourself the the the focus and attention and engagement so that you are winning from this from the beginning. Part two.
Nathan Simmonds:
Then virtual engagement, how we are building stronger teams wherever they may be across the globe, across the country. And whatever satellite location in relation to you, you are building a tight network that looks and works much like more like a structure of a chemical compound. Well connected, well thought about and deliberate. So one of the key, well three of the key things that we picked up last week was the three differences.
Nathan Simmonds:
One is distance, two isolation, and three is connection. And I wanna expand and dive into these just a little bit more to give you that bit of extra clarity on them. So as I was thinking about, you know, the, the, the key elements that are building psychological safety and how we do this as, as leaders, as as learning and development practitioners, as HR business partners. These are some of the key elements that we need to be aware of so we can start to build that psychological safety.
Nathan Simmonds:
And as I started to sit on these ideas and, and kind of just to see where my thinking was going and what's important to this and doing a bit more research, you know, I came up with some really key elements that we need to be thinking about the first one and the expansion of those questions.
Nathan Simmonds:
And a quick recap, the expansion of those questions that we started looking at last week, which was now as a leader is asking more questions of your people. How are you? What's going on? How can I help? Then making yourself available to them. So understanding that when you're asking these questions, they're gonna need support and make yourself available to them. Let them know when you are available, where you are going to be.
Nathan Simmonds:
So they've got a mentor pitch of, of your availability so they know when they can speak you and when they, when they need to wait, et cetera. And it just gives them that sense of security that they know they have someone they can call upon. And then the part last part there I put on there was do sweat the small things for these people, for your people that are in different locations, what you think may not be important to you may be massively important to them.
Nathan Simmonds:
And it is the small details that sometime get compounded over a course of time, especially with this intensity of proximity that we have with our families, with our works, et cetera. You know, and the analogy that I used on on Friday was, you know, if you've got a small pebble stuck inside your shoe and your climbing Everest, which one's gonna seem bigger? The mountain you are climbing or the pebble inside your shoe. So think about this, ask these questions to your people and get them and, and get to understand what are those important small things for them so that you can eliminate those obstacles so these people can do their best work.
Nathan Simmonds:
And I wanted to dive into this distance and give some ideas to help shorten that distance. Question to all of you listening, watching right now, what's one thing that you are all doing that's helping you to stay connected to your people? What's one trick or tip that you would like to share with everybody else in this session that is helping you to stay connected with your people and have a slrp of tea? Just while you are pinging in those suggestions,
Nathan Simmonds:
It is important we understand this distance weekly, one-to-one meetings via video. Good using teams allows, for instance, chats, messages, calls, video. Absolutely. So we're using different platforms to stay connected at different points in in the day. We're having a weekly session booked in with our people.
Nathan Simmonds:
The challenge that we have, especially with distance, as any more suggestions come in, the thing we have is now if there was distance in the office, whether there were interpersonal relationships or friction or tensions, these things are gonna be exacerbated over a longer, you know, e even more greatly because of the distance that's being created by logistically and geographically.
Nathan Simmonds:
So it's important we understand this and we need to find ways to close that distance and to get, make stronger connections. And, you know, when we return back to the office, if we can start using these techniques and ideas physically, it makes it easier to manage virtually. Couple of key things in, and we're looking at the distances. We wanna start to learn how to collaborate more clearly. Maybe the people in your teams are working on different projects or working on one. How do they actually connect with each other? How are you encouraging them to connect with each other?
Nathan Simmonds:
How are you getting them to have conversations with them, with, with each other, even when you are not there? So rather than those individuals feeling like they're siloed or segregated even by their own thinking, let alone by, you know, the thoughts or, or in intonations of other people, how are you making sure they're connecting? Couple of things that we can do inside this space is one is create collaborations.
Nathan Simmonds:
Get people to work with each other, get people to have virtual coffee breaks with each other, just to have downtime to speak to each other in the team. So this is one element that we can use these, the technologies and the platforms that we've got, whether it's by phone, because I said about this before, you can still use the phone, it still exists. Don't have to use video chat all the time. Get correct.
Nathan Simmonds:
Create moments where people collaborate with each other. Make suggestions. If you are talking to someone in your team and you say, oh, that's a really great idea, it will be really great if you shared that with so and so or with the rest of the team, could you have a conversation with them and encourage them to speak to other people in the team? They may already be doing it, but get 'em to carve out those little times a window to connect, to shorten the distance.
Nathan Simmonds:
The other thing is, is also getting them to lead meetings. So we talked about before the online presentations, and it's now the same person comes on, here's Bob, the team leader with his PowerPoint deck, and he presses at the beginning and he reads every single slide and you can't see the video and most of the people have checked out and they're doing something else.
Nathan Simmonds:
You want people to engage. And again,