Effective team work depends on productive relationships This, therefore, has to be a key competency as well for virtual leaders. Here we are again with the next, the third, competency for virtual leaders which I would like to present and share some thoughts on how…
Leadership is mostly about communication. So, effective communication is also a key competency for virtual leaders. This is now post #3 of an 8-post-series on the subject after the introduction and the one on self-leadership. And today, I would like to present you the second…
Self leadership is a key competency for sustainable and impactful leadership in a virtual context As announced in the opening blog post of this series this is the first of seven competencies I want to present, and reflect on how you can develop this further…
THE 7 key competencies which make you highly effective as a virtual leader Looking into larger organisations and how their structures have evolved over the past years I see the dispersion of functions and their teams across sites, national or global, as the norm. As a response…
Leaders need to be able to disrupt their business in a controlled way before new competitors do it! A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend a webinar offered by Korn Ferry about the future of leadership in disruptive times. This webinar covered…
The leadership paradox of organised informalities Communication is one of the keys to success in any team, be it local or virtual in structure. To get things done and deliver results team leaders have to pay attention to the quality of formal communication with and…
Older maybe, but certainly not outdated We are in the middle of a revolution. Mobile phones, computers and iPods have long become a commonplace around the globe, impacting how we perceive our world and changing ways we interact. Smart machines are starting to compete with…
How I fight the infectious disease of meeteritis More often than not when I start engaging with a new client scheduling the first meeting seems a challenge for the leader. And indeed, if you look into the diaries of these people they are overcrowded with…
How artificial intelligence (AI) could enhance the reach of coaching and change its economics A few weeks back I reported from an event where experts talked about the trends for artificial intelligence. I’m still very much intrigued what artificial intelligence could mean for businesses and…
Creating focus through mindfulness - an experience with senior leaders On a regular basis my coaching clients bring up the theme of becoming more effective or efficient in their job. In some cases it's as simple as rebuilding the awareness for prioritisation and proper time…
How to use artificial intelligence in managing virtual teams I have recently attended an online event organised by Adobe, called Experience Festival. One highlight for me was a talk around artificial intelligence (AI) and how it could help organisations to create a different future in…
My strategy to keep connected to myself in the high-paced business world Working with leaders in organisations I have noticed a continuous acceleration of the pace of business over the years. In some organisations it feels like they are breaking the sound barrier with their…
The wrong kind of empathy prevents you from giving effective feedback! Regularly, I work with leaders who struggle with giving open and honest feedback to low performers in the team. They all have one thing in common: they believe that giving honest feedback to their direct report would…
Exaggerated focus on a single value bears the risk of creating an imbalance in leadership behaviour Working as a coach I experience sometimes phases where clients from different industries or organisational levels bring the same challenge into the conversation. In recent weeks, such a theme…
Three factors I care about managing a virtual team Key factors for successful virtual teams: tips for management and leadership - part II In the first part of this blog I have described my experience and approach in designing a virtual team with focus on…
My approach to team design to succeed with a virtual team Key factors for successful virtual teams: tips for management and leadership - part I The foundation for high performance virtual teams lies in the selection of team members and the design of the team.…
Generations have said it before - youth has no respect anymore! However, I feel these days it is not only youth that is lacking respect. Wherever one looks, people are fighting, not discussing. Parents hit referees because they believe their children have been treated unjust.…
How nature created one of my best coaching experiences In my work as a coach in organisations I usually meet my clients in meeting rooms or in a virtual setting also indoors. Very early on I learned to be cautious in the selection of such…
Good reasons why sometimes face-to-face meetings are NOT outdated If you have followed our blog so far you know by now that I am an evangelist for virtual working. And I am always willing to share my experiences in that area with anyone who is…
The recipe for delivering a compelling vision In last week's blog I had reasoned that as the leader of a virtual team you can boost the engagement in your team through a compelling vision. I had also outlined the 5 ingredients necessary to make a…
The ingredients for a compelling vision As mentioned many times before, organisations are getting highly dispersed. One of the biggest risks in dispersed organisations is that members are far less engaged than in co-located organisational units. Over and over again this challenge surfaces in conversations…
We live and work in "VUCA" surroundings Many companies are operating in a business context which is more volatile than ever. Uncertainties of market dynamics have been boosted through America’s steps towards trade wars. With all the complexity we face in a global economy and…
The things “aside” most people do not pay attention to but make a great difference in virtual meetings Virtual meetings should be fun and effective and not frustrating or energy draining. With this attitude in mind I have - in part I of this blog - focused…
Attention to small „aside“ things make for better virtual meetings In previous blogs I have described various aspects that influence the perception of the quality of virtual meetings and the engagement of people. If you have missed these blogs check them out here. Working as…
Three dimensions to manage your career in an organisation In part 1 of this blog, last week, I have introduced the PIE-model, developed by Harvey Coleman, based on research he did on the dynamics of careers in organisations. Here is a quick re-cap: Harvey Coleman…
Three dimensions to manage your career in an organisation Recently the question how to best manage one's career has surfaced several times in my coaching engagements. These clients held firm beliefs that their performance would speak for themselves and foster their career. In addition, they…
My one essential ingredient leading a dispersed team effectively Leading over distance, being a virtual leader, is the norm in most international organisations. Yet, it is a widespread view in business that virtual teams are often managed badly and are performing way under their potential…
How I made my leadership more impactful when leading remotely Leading over a distance in today’s reality bears risks and challenges which can have a negative impact on the effectiveness of a leader. Because of the omnipresent high workload, the natural reaction of the human…
Communicating in difficult times 5 things to ask yourself and 4 steps to enhance your effectiveness We are living in times when leading people and organisations can be a very challenging job. We have to make tough calls with budgets, people and programmes – tougher…
How I got myself and people around me out of a blame attitude There were times in my life when an attitude of "blaming others" had served me well in not feeling guilty and avoiding to accept responsibility for the situation I was in. On…
Budget efficiency vs. effective talent utilisation - a critical review Over the years we have observed more and more admin jobs, like data input in tracking systems or travel booking, being replaced by IT-systems to support managerial and operational aspects of running an organisational unit.…
The mindset that drives your ability to recover from setbacks The first few weeks of 2018 have already gone by. Many people will have set resolutions for new behaviour or goals in private or business life at the beginning of January. Sometimes they are easy…
It is a key element in leadership effectiveness. In the first part of this blog I outlined the WHY, our purpose in life, and explained why I believe it is important for you to know and talk about it. In this second part, I will write about how you…
It is a key element in leadership effectiveness I have split this blog in two parts. In this first part, I will write about what I mean with the WHY and explain why I believe it is important to know about it and to talk about it. In the second…
Overcoming intercultural challenges when leading virtual teams ... ... was this months subject for the VLD-Café. In a lively discussion our diverse group of visitors came up with these fundamental challenges and ideas around the subject: the style of leadership the style and methods of…
Two factors you should consider when choosing the technologies to use Many discussions with leaders of virtual teams sooner or later lead to the question whether the importance of technology and its role in virtual collaboration is over- or under-estimated. From my personal experience and…
Unfortunately, our 3rd session had to be cancelled -so you won't find a review of it here. We hope this will remain a one-off, as the feedback from participants so far was very positive and encouraging to continue with this new, innovative format even if…
- that applies to business relationships too! It comes as no surprise that everyone who is in a leadership role knows how important relationships are. When I have conversations with leaders their focus is mainly on how to build relationships, whether it is in…
How often have you led or participated in virtual meetings where the engagement of the other participants seemed to be low and discussion limited only to two or three persons? In a recent discussion with a virtual team leader we discussed exactly this challenge. It was not…
Session theme: Mastering presence in virtual meetings The beginning of our session was particularly interesting, as for some visitors it was rather unusual to have the webcam on. Hence, we started talking about when the use of webcams is appropriate and when it would actually get in…
Very often I hear from leaders that they consider videoconferencing the ultimate way of interacting remotely and be present. This is true if you still rely on visual tools as the one and only form of expressing your presence. Research shows that the selection of technology…
In recent years virtual leadership has matured from an exception to being almost the norm in international organisations. Many conversations I have with leaders who are more and more exposed to virtual leadership show that different mindsets are necessary to be effective in a virtual context.…
How often have you experienced bosses you worked for giving you the impression that their behaviour was not really authentic but more of a simulated role they have learned in some of their training courses. How strong was your followership to those bosses? In the…
For decades we have been told that the principles of effective motivation are being build on the simple carrot-and-stick model. Generations of leaders have followed these principles in trying to create motivation in people working for them. Even though, over the years, motivational principles contained…
Leading at a distance, being a virtual leader, is becoming the norm in international organizations. Yet research shows that less than 30% of virtual leaders are perceived as being effective and successful. I am sure no leader in that position is happy with such an…
Working with virtual teams is a common place in multinational organisations these days. As we all know, next to motivation, loyalty between the local organisation and the virtual team can become a challenge for the people working in your virtual team. This challenge of staying loyal…
Are you familiar with VUCA? Do you wonder what this four letter acronym means? If you know what it is, just skip the following paragraph and continue reading further down. The usage of the term VUCA began in the 1990s. It originates from military vocabulary…
In today's organisational reality leaders in medium to large companies name complexity and virtuality of their work as the key challenges. Especially working in a virtual context is becoming much more dominant and the norm in international business settings. The real challenge is, however, that…
... and how to get people out of it Those who have been following the events in Greece over the last months and maybe even years may have noticed that a rather strange mentality seems to have developed. Everybody in Europe and especially the economically…
(co-author: Ian M Clark) The following is the last of 3 parts of an article on the challenges around managing the global transfer of innovation in today's businesses. It was originally written for and published in the "SOFW Kosmetikjahrbuch 2014". Parts 1 and 2 were…
