4 Strategies to Drive Engagement on Remote Teams (Part 2)

Last week we started the conversation on how to better equip your Core Leaders to drive engagement across your remote teams.

Here are 4 key strategies to use as we wrap up the year:

Ask –

Wondering what would help people stay engaged as we continue to lead through the unknown and unpredictable? Ask them. While engagement surveys are a great tool for collecting data and insights that can be applied at the organizational level, those one-to-one conversations are the best place to build real connection and understanding about what each person finds engaging and motivating.

Acknowledge –

Let’s face it, 2020 has been a long haul. Most of us have been so focused executing on what needs to be done from week to week, that we haven’t had time to recognize our own accomplishments, much less have someone else recognize them with us. As we wrap up the final weeks of this year, take time to honor the amazing things you’ve accomplished as well as those that have been accomplished by your organization, team, and by each individual. Recognizing each person for their contributions, accomplishments, and the impact of what they’ve done is a great antidote to burnout.

Assess –

Under normal circumstances, it’s valuable to reflect on what we learned over the course of the year. This year has gone well beyond a “stretch assignment” for most of us, and it provides us with even more opportunities to identify what we learned, what we want to carry with us moving forward, and what we want to leave behind. Encouraging each person on your team to reflect on these and then sharing these across the broader team can be cathartic for the individuals and amplify the lessons learned for others on the team.

Aspire –

Even though we continue to deal with uncertainty, setting a positive vision of where we’re going is both possible and essential for maintaining engagement. Now, more than ever, we need to create inspiration to maintain our stamina, overcome monotony, and rise above the daily grind. As we wrap up the year and prepare for next year, you can work with your teams to paint a picture of the ideal state. Some questions to help create that vision are:

• What does our ideal future state look like?
• How will this time of change and challenge build our ability to achieve our vision?
• How will we work together to achieve our vision?
• What is my role in the future state?
• What do we need to do next to achieve the vision?

With this in mind, I wanted to share this quote I recently came across:

“You’ve got to give yourself the freedom to dream – to use your imagination to see and feel what does not yet exist. A vision is not the same as goals or objectives; those come from the head. A vision comes from the heart.”                

            ~ John Graham

Here’s to leading with your heart as we embark on the next chapter of our uncharted journey …