Virtual Leadership Requires These 5 Skills

Virtual Leadership Requires These 5 Skills

S. Chris Edmonds is a sought-after speaker, author, and executive consultant. He’s the founder and CEO of The Purposeful Culture Group, which he launched in 1990. Chris helps senior leaders build and sustain purposeful, positive, productive work cultures. He is the author or co-author of seven books, including Amazon bestsellers Good Comes First (2021) with Mark Babbitt, The Culture Engine (2014), and Leading at a Higher Level (2008) with Ken Blanchard.

What skills do you place at the top of your values lists? Everyone wants to be productive and effective, and remote teams can create the potential for extra challenges. Virtual leadership must actively inspire teams to be purposeful, positive, and productive. Here are five essential skills for virtual leaders that have yet to be fully understood and
leveraged:

Humility

Leaders are often given credit for their team’s accomplishments when, in actuality, the leader didn’t personally deliver the results. Humility enables results. So, give
credit. Take blame. Thank others. Validate others.

Genuine, inclusive humor.

Teasing occurs far too frequently in many work teams. Teasing gives the illusion of “laughing together.” It’s actually “laughing at.” That’s not healthy humor. Healthy
humor invites – it doesn’t separate. Here’s a great example – during the pandemic, businesses could arrange with zoos to have wild animals participate in Zoom calls.

Values-driven interactions. These include:

Treat everyone with dignity and respect, all of the time. People on your team,
have skills, creativity, enthusiasm, and pride that can help your team meet
expectations.
Expect the best – and give people the benefit of the doubt.
If others on the team treat others disrespectfully, don’t let that go without re-direction. Don’t tolerate bad behavior.

Virtual leadership must actively inspire teams to be purposeful, positive, and productive.

CHRIS EDMONDS

Hear what’s not being said.

Pay attention to video call participants’ engagement. Silence can mean that people’s internet connections are burping or that they’re fine with the options on
the table. Or it can mean people don’t agree with an option, and you need to invite discussion.
Create a dialog by inviting insights from participants by name.
If issues arise that would be better dealt with offline, facilitate that discussion.

Perceptive time management.

Keep your commitments on video calls.
Start on time and end on time. In fact, if you can complete the agenda sooner than expected, everyone will appreciate it.
Watch the clock so that no single issue – or player – monopolizes the available time.

Virtual leadership challenges were present before pandemic, during the pandemic, and since the pandemic. Virtual leadership skill remain a critical tool for every leader. Grasping and developing these nuanced approaches to drawing out teamwork and collaboration from a distance won’t be a passing stopgap, but a permanent, non-negotiable trait of values-based leaders.