David Dye's Blog, page 54

Leading Through Rapidly Changing Priorities

Help your team master rapidly changing priorities with skillful preparation.

Rapidly changing priorities can demoralize and frustrate your team if you’re not prepared to help them navigate the shifting landscape. Effective leaders prepare their teams for changing priorities, create structures to help the team shift, and advocate for their team to ensure their work is meaningful. These eight strategies will help you maintain your team’s energy and morale when goals change frequently.

Set ExpectationsCreate a Consistent Reliable Communication StrategyAdvocate for Your TeamConnect Priorities to PurposeRetire or Table Old PrioritiesCelebrate EffortAlign New Goals with Critical BehaviorsCreate Space for Letting Go and Moving Forward

It was one of my earliest moments of workplace disillusionment. I was six months into a new job and my boss’s boss asked me to take on a major project. I was excited for the opportunity to add value and prove what I could do. I worked hard and gave the project my evenings and weekends until it was done.

When I returned the completed project to my boss’s boss (ahead of schedule and with better quality than anything he’d seen), he frowned. “Oh, we’re not doing this anymore. Can you do this instead?” and outlined the new goals.

No acknowledgment of my work. No recognition that I’d busted my tail to get it done. Just a new priority. No explanation. Nothing.

Frustrated doesn’t begin to describe it. I fumed. And I never fully trusted this guy again. (Also, I committed myself to helping leaders avoid these soul-crushing mistakes. So good did come of it.)

Whether you work in a fast-growing startup or a more established company that’s adapting to a rapidly changing world, priorities will change. Healthy organizations always adapt, innovate, and shift their goals. That’s life. But how you handle those changes makes all the difference in whether or team adjusts and engages with energy or gives up with futile frustration.

Leading Through Changing Priorities–Before the Change Happens

These first three steps take place before you communicate changes with your team.

1. Set expectations.

One of the most important parts of your communication is to let your team know that goals will change – and how frequently they can expect it to happen. Ideally, this starts in the hiring process. Some people enjoy shifting priorities. It keeps things interesting. For others, it’s maddening if they can’t finish what they start.

2. Create a consistent, reliable communication strategy.

The faster the change in your business, the more important it is to have a consistent, reliable communication strategy. We’ve seen leaders who leave changing priorities to instant messaging threads or word-of-mouth. Chaos and frustration are predictable.

Instead, if you can’t give the team predictable goals, give them the confidence of knowing exactly how they’ll know – and when.

3. Advocate for your team.

As priorities shift and your leaders ask you to change course, engage with them about the decisions. Can you add context to help them understand the impact on the team and other priorities? Help them to examine the tradeoffs. Often, leaders don’t have all the information and you can help them improve their decisions.

If they decided and it’s final, you can also advocate for your team by ensuring that you understand the bigger picture. When people move quickly, they can forget to connect what they’re asking to why it’s important. Ask how the changed priority fits into the larger goals and how it will help achieve them. You’ll need that information when you speak with your team.

Leading Through Changing Priorities–After the Change

These next five steps happen once the decision is final and it’s time to work with your team on the new priority.

4. Connect priorities to purpose.

As you communicate the change, connect “what” to “why?” There is a reason that things will change. Help them connect to and understand the bigger picture.

5. Retire or table old priorities.

You can help your team transition between shifting priorities with an intentional stop-doing or pause-doing routine. If the previous goal is going away, be clear about that. For example: “This was our goal. It no longer is. We can let it go.”

This process of consciously retiring old priorities can help your team avoid the mental drag that comes from open loops and unfinished projects.

There are times, however, when you won’t set aside a goal–you just have to pause working on it while you focus elsewhere. In these cases, it can be helpful to have a system where you and your team document progress made, next steps, and lessons learned. Then, when it comes time to pick up the project again, it will be easier for the team to get moving.

And–every 4-6 months it is useful to review these paused projects and ensure they are still relevant and need to be done. If not, retire them so they aren’t dragging down your team.

6. Celebrate effort.

An important part of your “stop-doing” routine is to intentionally close a task or project by asking the team what they learned and what they can carry into future work. Celebrate their work, what they learned, and the progress they made.

This creates a formal ending for the unfinished goal. You can have fun with this and create team ceremonies that honor the work they’ve done and the process of moving on.

7. Align new goals with critical behaviors.

As you introduce new priorities, be sure they aren’t just abstract goals. Does everyone on the team know what success looks like–both in the big picture and in what they observably do day-to-day that will lead to success?

8. Create space for letting go and moving forward.

Change comes with emotion – and changing priorities are not exempt. Your team will be able to move forward with more energy and creativity when you pause and give them room to process the change.

It doesn’t have to be a tumultuous grieving session. You might say something like:

“I know everyone worked very hard on that last project and we would have liked to see it through to the end. I know I would have enjoyed seeing that too. So, I want to pause and acknowledge what we learned. All the wins we had …

“Now, let’s take a deep breath …

… and look at the future with this new goal. Here’s what we’re doing. Here’s why it matters. This is what success looks like. Let’s talk about how each of us contributes …”

 

Your Turn – How Do You Address Changing Priorities?

Leading through changing priorities requires preparation and nimble leadership to maintain your team’s focus and morale. I would love to hear from you—have you seen, or do you have, a fun or cool way of acknowledging the past while changing focus?

You might also like:

How To Change Your Mind and Not Lose Their Trust and SupportLeading through Conflicting PrioritiesLeadership Skills: 6 Competencies You Can’t Lead Without

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What Do Highly Successful Virtual Teams Do Differently? (Video)

The Best Hybrid and Virtual Teams Work on
Connection, Communication, and Stay Curious About New Ways of Working

The best hybrid and virtual teams don’t leave connection and communication to chance. They’re consistently asking “how can we do this better?” They spend time communicating about how they communicate AND make an extra effort to build psychological safety, trust and connection.

And, they focus on the fundamentals.

It’s interesting how often people will come to us to ask us help train their leaders on leading virtual teams, when mostly what they need is help leading teams, who just happen to be working remotely.

So if you’re virtual or hybrid team is struggling, be sure you are clearly defining what success looks like, creating a cadence of accountability, and building deep trust and leading with compassion.

In this week’s Asking for a Friend, David and I share 6 habits of highly effective. hybrid and virtual teams. If you haven’t seen our FREE virtual and hypbrid team assessment you can download that for FREE here.

If you’ve missed these articles, they’re also a good way to infuse some fresh energy on your virtual team

3 Leadership Values to Nurture in Every Member of Your Team

VIrtual One on One Meetings: How to Build Better Connection 

How to Take Charge of your VIrtual Meetings

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Does Your Team Ignore Your Feedback?

Have you heard this from your managers (or said it yourself)? “My people aren’t coachable. They’re defensive, it’s like they have a wall up. They ignore feedback and just won’t listen.” Sometimes people can’t grow because they’re not in the right position or they are actually incapable.

Leaders take responsibility for the legitimate reasons people might ignore feedback. In today’s episode, you get seven reasons people ignore your feedback (and solutions to match).

Why People Ignore Feedback

1:04 – We’ll hear from team members explaining each of seven reasons they struggle to hear or do something with the feedback they receive.

1:30 – Avoid the feedback flood

2:15 – There are two types of hypocrisy that can prevent people from hearing your feedback. The first is not modeling receptivity yourself.

3:06 – The power of reflect to connect and listening.

3:20 – The second type of hypocrisy to avoid.

4:36 – The problem with vague feedback.

5:18 – Sometimes people will disagree with you. That’s okay. How to take responsibility and help your team through these moments.

6:05 – When you’re wrong (it happens) and what to do to ensure people can still hear you, even when you make a mistake or don’t have all the information.

8:21 – The final reason people can’t hear feedback is they don’t understand what you’re trying to tell them. This happens most often when a leader is uncomfortable or self-protective and won’t say what needs to be said.

11:05 – A follow-up question from a previous episode: How do I get my team to trust one another?

14:06 – Send in your leadership or management question. I’d love to answer it in a future episode: leadershipwithoutlosingyoursoul.com

You might be interested in:

How to Give Difficult Feedback to Your Boss (Even When You’re Scared).The Blight of Soul-Crushing Useless Negative Feedback.

 

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Managerial Courage: 7 Practical Ways to be a Bit More Daring

Small Acts of Managerial Courage Build Confidence, Trust, and Connection

What if you approached the new year with just a bit more managerial courage?

Could you take on a new challenge? Try a new approach? Tell someone the truth? Question that decision that just doesn’t make sense? Raise your hand to try something new? Ask for feedback?

When I think of the most courageous leaders I’ve worked with over my career, it’s not the BIG decisions they made or the SINGLE TIME they made the tough call that created a legacy of courage.

It’s that you could count on them to CONSISTENTLY speak the truth, have your back, or be willing to let you experiment with a new idea.

They earned their reputation as a courageous manager one small daring moment at a time—small micro-moments of courage that led to better performance and deeper trust.

The best way to gain confidence speaking up and other small acts of courage is to experiment with getting out of your comfort zone, one mini-brave act at a time.

What is managerial courage?

Most definitions of managerial courage involve speaking with candor, being willing to act with incomplete information, timely decision making, and addressing performance issues.

Courageous managers will tell you their truth, even if it’s hard to hear. They surround themselves with people who will challenge them. And they give credit where it’s due. They’re consistently trying new approaches, coming to work each day curious about how to make work better, easier, or more efficient.

Every day. In little ways.

7 Practical Ways to Be a Bit More Daring

So as we begin the new year, I’m inviting you to be 10% more daring by taking on one or more of these managerial courage challenges.

1. Ask a colleague for feedback.

One of the best ways to demonstrate managerial courage is to invite (and act on) feedback.

If you’re up for a small challenge, pick one area you’re looking to improve and identify someone you trust to offer you candid feedback. To get the best input, be specific.

What’s one best practice I could do to really improve my communication?What’s one thing I could do differently to make your meetings more productive?I want to take my contributions to our team up a level this year. What’s one change I could make that would make your job easier?What’s one change I could make that would increase your trust in me?

If you already regularly ask for such input and want to take on a bigger challenge, consider going on a DIY 360 (or listening tour).

We often include these DIY 360s in our leadership development programs. We consistently hear that having these informal, voice-to-voice conversations builds deeper trust and connection, and opens the door to more collaboration, as well as helps to identify specific areas to work on.

2. Open up just a bit more—and let your team learn something new about you.

Sometimes it’s scary to let people see who you really are at work. And yet, people trust people they know at a human level. 

If you want to take this on as a team challenge, our BECOME team-building exercise is a great way to encourage and facilitate deeper conversations. 

3.  Address a performance issue.

When I ask high-performing employees “What’s one thing you wish your manager would do better?” the most frequent answer is that they would address the performance issues on their team.

If you’ve been letting a slacker slide, this managerial courage challenge is for you. Click on the link above for how to do this well. And if you need to reset expectations, the new year is a great time to do that too. More on resetting performance expectations here.

4. Share an idea.

In our Courageous Cultures research, 40% of respondents said they held back ideas to improve the business because they lack confidence. If you have an idea to improve the business but are stuck with FOSU (fear of speaking up), this is the challenge for you.

Here’s a conversation starter that will make most managers really listen to what you have to say.

“I really care about our team and our success. I have an idea that will ___________ (describe what strategic outcome your idea will improve, e.g. make us more money, save us time, improve retention). Do you have a few minutes for me to walk you through?”  And then use our I.D.E.A. model to position your idea in a succinct and compelling way.

The worst that can happen is that they don’t use your idea. But either way, you’ll be seen as a critical thinker who cares about the team’s success.

5. Experiment with a new approach.

If “It ain’t broke, don’t fix it” feels comfortable, experimenting with a well-run pilot can go a long way in upping your managerial courage while managing your stress. 67% of the employees in our courageous cultures research said their manager operates around the notion of “This is the way we’ve always done it.” If this could be you, this is a managerial courage challenge for you.

6. Advocate for a team member.

Courage is contagious. And, speaking up gets a whole lot easier when you have support.  If this is tricky for you, a good way to take on this challenge is to find little ways to advocate for your team.

7. Ask for help.

Sometimes one of the most courageous acts is to admit that you need help. If asking for help is hard, this might be the perfect managerial courage challenge to kick off the new year. Find one area of your work where you need some support and ask for the help you need.

Do you know what happens when you ask for help? You might actually get the help you need. And research shows that asking for help is a great way to build trust and connection. 

I’d love to hear from you. What’s one small act of managerial courage that has made a difference in your leadership?

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How to Quickly Build Team Commitment

Trust takes time, but sometimes you need to get everyone working together quickly. If you’re going to succeed, you have to build a team that’s able to work well together and get results, and you need to be able to do that quickly. In, How to Quickly Build Team Commitment, get four activities to speed up the process and improve your team’s commitment to outcomes and to one another.

 

How to Quickly Build Team Commitment

02:31
The driving question for any team is why are we here? Start with a shared purpose.

03:19
Next, be real and transparent to help a new team, or your current team, trust you.

04:41
Care for your team and have their back to build team commitment to one another and their work

05:57
The fourth activity is celebration and accountability. Use the inspire method to teach your team how to have the kinds of conversations with one another that are transparent and celebrate success.

07:58
And once you’ve done all of these, the best way to make the trust and commitment that you need stick is by letting the team see you live these answers every day.

08:42
I’d love to answer a leadership question of yours. Click here and press the big orange button to record your question.

 

 

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How to Be a More Compassionate and Skillful Listener (Video)

Karin and Jess Pettitt, author of Good Enough Now, answer the question: “How do I become a more compassionate and skillful listener?”

2:00 Jess shares what has been a source of inspiration and strength during this tricky time. She has been encouraged that people are still trying to have challenging conversations and have a higher tolerance level for the unknown. She also provides more info on her background and her desire to help people do the best they can with what they’ve got for some of the time.

4:47 What does effective listening / being a skillful listener look like?True listening means that you ask a question that you have no idea what the answer will be.Fill the space with curiosity and generosity.Doing this some of the time is better than never.Transactional listening is different than deeply listening.Example: “Can you tell me where the bathroom is?” is a common question in the hospitality industry. Deeper listening is to not assume what the person coming up to you is going to ask.How can I be most helpful here?Sometimes, instead of asking a very specific question, saying “How’s ‘it’ going?” or “Catch me up” (credit to Deb Fine) are more comfortable ways to show interest because they allow people to share what they want to about their lives at that time.11:15 Considering the concept of pre-conceived judgment as you strive to be a skillful listenerTake responsibility to feel safe and prepared (i.e. preparing for interviews)We make judgments so we can feel safe and prepared so we feel more prepared, but we aren’t always accurate.Go ahead and “write your story” with your judgments and lived experiences in it as a DRAFT (triple spaced, plenty of margins) leaving room for edits as you experience the situation.Active listening means being curious and generous to make edits to your draft.Whatever story you write can affect how you listen to people.15:36 Listening to others as if they are wise.Assume the person knows something you don’t know.Better connections are often what really matters.19:09 Dealing with the hard topics on teams as a skillful listenerShutting down these conversations is not listening.There are individuals and there are groups. We often look at the people we disagree with as a group. We look at the people we agree with as a group. Individually, we want to be seen as an individual.Be careful not to lump people together.Figure out the complexities instead of swooping things into groups.Listen with curiosity, generosity, vulnerability, and authenticity.If you have the power to take a stand on something, it may be best to make that stand – strive for clarity. You may lose people, but you may gain/keep people who align with your values.You could also take a stand on how we will show up to these conversations (i.e. with compassion and empathy)26:11 When a leader finds out they are not a good listener, where should they start in improving?Decide that you want to make a better connection rather than being right or winning.Decide what format you want to use.Don’t speak – listen. How are they responding? What is their mood?Form a message that is clear on the intended meaning.How would you communicate differently if you were 100% responsible for whatever happens.When comfortable with that, then have the conversation – you’ve already taken responsibility before you started.Ask yourself if the connection is now better, worse, or neutral?30:19 One last, best piece of adviceDo not underestimate who the person is or what they may be dealing with.Allow people to show up the way they are showing up.Tips for Being a Compassionate and Skillful Listener
(Even When It’s Hard)How to Build Better Connections (a Process)

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Compassionate Conversation Starters: How to Help Your Team Connect More Deeply

These conversation starters make caring dialogue a bit easier.

For most teams, having genuine caring conversations takes practice. It can feel easier to keep the conversations light, particularly if that’s your team culture.  But at a time when people are longing for compassion and connection, taking the conversation a level deeper can make all the difference for your employees’ mental health, as well as for building deeper trust. These compassionate conversation starters are a great way to normalize going a level deeper, so it’s easier for anyone to start a conversation when they need it most.

Why practicing going a bit deeper matters

Have you ever experienced a scene like this?

Someone asks, “How was everyone’s weekend?”

And the responses are quick and casual.”Ahh, good, man.” “Yeah, mine too.” “Did you do anything fun?” “Not much, you know … just chilln’.”

And, one guy, let’s call him “Kevin” is sitting there thinking:

“You know, my weekend was pretty crummy. My three kids have the croup. We are worried it’s COVID, so none of our family could help. And my wife is pretty sick too. I’m extra worried about her, because she’s already under so much stress. No one got much sleep. I know, we’ve got this important presentation today, so I got in early, but honestly, I’m pretty much toast and could use some extra help.

But instead, he says, “Yeah, you know. Same.”

His body language is telling you something’s not quite right, but you don’t want to pry. So you move on to the work at hand. Kevin doesn’t get the support he needs, because he’s too afraid to ask.

The Best Way to Get Better at Deeper Conversations is to Have Deeper Conversations

There’s a reason that Gallup includes “I have a best friend at work” as a cornerstone question in their employee engagement survey. When people feel connected at a human level, they’re more productive, more engaged, and tend to stick around.

I’m not suggesting that these conversation starters will suddenly turn every member of your team into besties, but a regular cadence of real conversation makes it easier to bring up the tough stuff as needed.

In my last role at Verizon, I led an entirely remote team. It could have been a really lonely job for all of us.

One day, my boss observed, “It’s amazing to watch how close your team is to one another. You can tell that they truly care and enjoy one another. And, so much laughter. Not to mention, you’re getting it DONE! How do you all do that?”

The truth is, I give all the credit to my team.  As the leader, I just had to create to space to make these conversations possible.

When we were able to be together, we shared meals and talked about the hard stuff. We made it okay to not be okay on the team. People felt like they could pick up the phone and just vent to one another without judgment. They asked what they could do to help—and then did.

I want that for you and your team too.

So here are a few conversation starters that can help.

Compassionate Conversation Starters to Help Your Team Connect

These conversation starters work great as a quick warm-up to a remote meeting or as part of a speed connecting session at a virtual kick-off. 

You can share the entire list of conversation starters and invite each team member to pick one to answer. Or you can rotate through a question of the day or week.

Of course, it’s not just the one conversation that makes a difference. These questions can help your team form a habit of being a bit more real with one another. And after a while, they won’t need a conversation starter to start a more compassionate conversation.

Questions to help people connect after a tough yearWhat has been one source of inspiration or strength for you this year?If you had a one-word mantra to describe your approach to this year, what would that be?As you reflect on the turbulence of this past year, what makes you proud?What are you grieving most from this past year?What are you learning about yourself?Conversation starters to help your team learn more about one another

One thing you don’t know about me that might surprise you is __________.On weekends I love to ___________.Some of the people most important in my life are __________One thing I’m really looking forward to outside of work is ______________If money were no object and I could pick any career I wanted, I would love to be a professional _________.Conversation starters to help your team celebrate and encourage one anotherWho on this team was particularly helpful to you this year? Why?What do you appreciate most about working on this team? Why?What kind of recognition do you find most meaningful?One idea I have for us to be more supportive of one another is __________.Next time we accomplish something big, I think we should celebrate by ____________(insert realistic idea here).Probes to encourage your team to share their concernsOne thing I’m worried about is ____________I don’t think we’re spending enough time talking about __________My biggest hope for this year is ____________ and my biggest fear is ____________.If there was one thing that could derail our team’s success this year, what would that be?At a personal level, I’m most worried about __________

Of course, once the team has some regular practice with some of these conversation starters, you can also invite your team to BYOQ (Bring Your Own Question), Inviting them to consider a compassionate probe that would serve the team.

Your turn. What are some of your best practices to encourage your team to connect at a deeper level?

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Asking for a Friend 2021 Video Highlights Part 3

What matters most now? #askingforafriend

In our final Asking For a Friend highlights reel, thought leaders share inspiration and ideas to help you and your team prepare for a brighter, bolder future.

I would love to hear from you. Do you have topics or guest recommendations for the coming year? Leave me your thoughts in the comments or drop me a note at karin.hurt@letsgrowleaders.com

Asking for a Friend Inspiration Soundbites

Dov Baron invites you to ask yourself “as a child, what did I need that I didn’t get, or didn’t get enough of?” Because that’s what you’re still trying to get– and it may be playing out in unconscious ways.

Atholl Duncan asks you to consider how you will “bridge the gap between knowing and doing.”

Susan McPherson: “The science shows that if if you make a meaningful attempt at building meaningful connections you will live longer.”

April Rhine shares insights for living in a world of constant Flux.

Jack Phillips shares ways for managers to show they’ve got things under control. And, to reduce micro-management and increase empowerment.

Jim Detert challenges us “you’re not going to be ready for the big moments (of courage) if you don’t put the work in every day.”

Sara Canaday: “we need to talk about what’s worked in this past year and a half. And, determine which of our pivots we need to start, stop and continue doing.”

Shep Hyken “our goal is to restore confidence.”

Dr. Bob Nelson “You can be very, very creative with recognition– even without a budget.”

Kurt Madden “no matter how bad it gets, you’ve got to commit not to quit.”

Liz Wiseman “Impact players make work lighter for other people.”

Thanks to all of my amazing 2021 guests and our amazing executive producer Jared Herr— I’ve included the link to view all the episodes and the other 2 highlight segments in the comments. Stay tuned for a fantastic line-up this year.

If you like this, you won’t want to miss part’s one and two.

Asking for a Friend Highlights Reel Part 1

Asking for a Friend Highlights Reel Part 2

Coming Soon on Asking for a Friend

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Meaningful Leadership Conversations with Jessica Pettitt

This episode has it all – poignant wisdom, 6th graders influencing billionaires, mason jar soup, even Darth Vader jokes. Above all, you’ll get practical wisdom to help you show up with grace and dignity for some of the conversations that many leaders find most challenging. These can be the most meaningful leadership conversations you’ll ever have – when you learn how to acknowledge your story, listen deeply to others, and take responsibility for your communication. Jessica Pettitt gives you all this and more in this heartfelt episode.

Meaningful Leadership Conversations

5:40 – A powerful example of persistence and the value of “not knowing you can’t.”

12:45 – The value of balancing risks – there are risks in every choice. You can run the risk of knowing or not knowing. So why not learn what you can?

15:04 – Showing up with confidence, curiosity, and persistence.

15:58 – The principle of tension. Showing up with confidence and humility. Curiosity and generosity. Vulnerability and authenticity.

23:03 – Healthy discomfort vs what’s not healthy and what to do in each situation.

25:00 – An example of polarization from Jess’s life and how “knowing what you know” and sticking to it without curiosity can limit your life in meaningful ways.

30:23 – Thoughts on “cancel culture” and the problems with canceling – and what to do instead.

32:28 – How to recognize and take responsibility for our own defensiveness in conversations.

38:29 – Taking 100% responsibility for your conversations.

40:28 – Trying is everything. And…trying is trying.

43:55 – Riding both the humility and ego horses and when to emphasize which.

51:08 – The role of connection and humanity in leadership.

55:02 – The incredible power of recognizing how you can show up safe and prepared in every conversation AND leave room for edits to help you build better relationships and be a more effective human being (and leader!)

57:32 – Darth Vader Jokes. Yes, you read that right.

 

Connect With Jess

Website

LinkedIn

 

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101 Remote Team Communication Approaches for Stronger Teams

Master remote team communication with variety and consistency.

If you’re serious about becoming a better remote leader, you’re going to want to become a master in the art of remote team communication.

Key initiatives, motivation, strategic priorities, updates, celebrations–there is so much to communicate with your team.

But here’s the big question.

How do you know your messages aren’t getting lost in the background noise of competing priorities, digital distraction, and hazy sameness of emails and instant messages?

Communicating What Matters Most

It’s no exaggeration to say that every time you or your team form a memory, your brain changes. You literally build new connections (or strengthen existing connections) between neurons.

We also know quite a bit about how people build memories and retain information. As a leader focused on remote team communication, four of the most important principles are recency, repetition, recall, and emotion.

Recency

One way to spark memory is through recent experience. You probably remember what you had for breakfast today … but lunch three weeks ago is likely fuzzier.

Repetition

It’s easier to remember what you encounter more often. Hear a song once and you might say “that’s a nice song.” Hear that song ten times and it might not leave your mind for a week–whether or not you want it to.

Recall

One way we strengthen memories and retain information is by accessing it. When you have to recall the information to answer a question or do your work, you are more likely to retain it.

Emotion

Emotion has a powerful effect on memory. If you reflect back on a time you experienced a strong emotion, you probably remember more about your surroundings. For example, I’ve been in many high school auditoriums, but I still remember details of the auditorium where I learned I’d won my first multi-state high school debate tournament.

Bringing it All Together: The Power of 5×5 Remote Team Communication

Effective leaders don’t leave these memory enhancers to chance. You can build processes and plan your remote team communication strategies to leverage these characteristics of memory.

One technique to help you do this is our 5 x 5 Communication Planner.

5 x 5 refers to communicating key messages five times, five different ways. “Five times” achieve repetition and recency. Five different ways can help with recall and emotion–particularly when you engage your team and get creative.

The first two or three elements of your 5 x 5 communication plan will be the standard ways you use consistently and people come to rely on. These might include team meetings, emails, project management software, and message threads.

When you extend beyond these and do something differently, that creates positive emotion: “Oh, wow, this is different and fun. This is important.”

It can feel challenging to get creative and mix up your communication strategies when you’re busy and tired. So, we made it easier.

Mixing it Up: 101 Remote Team Communication Techniques

We’ve been working with remote leaders around the globe to help them communicate clearly and ensure they and their teams align around what matters most. We’ve also asked them what’s working and how they vary remote team communication to help keep everyone on the same page. Here’s what they said:

Visual ReinforcementScrolling bannersVirtual backgrounds for MS Teams, Zoom, etc.Items on shelf/credenza in the virtual backgroundLogin messages on laptopsSplash screens when logging onto the company websitePhysical whiteboard, chalkboard, or poster placed next to, or behind, you in a video callScreen saversPop-ups on internal websitesEmail signaturesA second monitor in your background scrolling the message or with a related imageBanner or ad on an internal websitePollsVirtual desk dropsQuick recorded video messageCreating memories with a bit of funClient or customer presents to the teamInternal wikisMusic videoRiddles at the end of emails or agendas related to the topicHave another leader recognize one of your team members or team for performance related to the topicTemporary tattoosDress up in costumes to emphasize the message#HashtagsVideo text messagesGamificationMemes or fun graphicsAn inspiration speaker related to the messageAnimated GIFsSongsWrite a poemCameo app (where a celebrity delivers the message)Play a game related to the messageA humorous presentation or sketchTelephone game–pass the message in a loop through the teamText-based Games that Reveal the Message (eg Wheel of Fortune)Games that reinforce the message (eg Jeopardy or Trivia-style with related content)Theme musicNamed group-chats or text threadseCardsInternal competitionsCross-team presentations related to the message or themeMessages on (or with) StuffSend flowers or plants with the message.Sending food (many leaders were very specific about the kind of foods including: pizza, pastries, cupcakes, frosted cookies, muffins, healthy snacks, goodie bags, meal-delivery services, coffee, and tea). Messages are either printed on or included with the food.Send a book that emphasizes the message or has it written on the front cover BookmarksSwag gifts (Tchotchkes with key messages)Personalized/inscribed beverage bottles with a messageSend a balloon with a deliverable or key message inside the balloonClothing with message printed on it (eg: hats, tee shirts, sweaters, jackets)Print it on mugs or cups that are used in virtual meetingsMessage in a bottleYard signsMeetingsRotate team members sharing the message in a meetingTeam members presenting to one another on key message / topicHave a respected peer, colleague, or another leader share the messageVirtual coffee chats (supply the coffee/tea and invite to change camera view to something more casual.)Virtual lunchesMeeting notes / summariesMeeting agendasCalendar invitations with key messagesMeeting pre-reading materialsOne-on-one meetings Skip level meetingsAll-hands meetingsVirtual walk and talksDemonstrationsOld School Tried and TrueA positive, encouraging start-the-day message from leader (recorded or written)EmailMS Teams & Zoom Meetings & MessagingProject management software (eg: Asana, Trello, Basecamp, Slack)Phone callsText messagesCell phone notificationsVoice messagePowerpointPhysical mail–letters, greeting cards, postcardsNewslettersSurveysThank-you notes (handwritten)Recognition and celebrationCheck for understandingPress releaseVary the timing and context of routine messagesAcronyms related to the message (if you’ve read any of our books, you know this is one of our go-to favorites)Tag lines to make it memorableSocial MediaLinkedIn (articles, posts, features, video)TikTok videos (and ultimately, all social media channels were mentioned)Online paid adsWrite and/or share articles related to the subjectInternal blogInternal podcastSocial media spotlights celebrating related behaviors and accomplishmentsProject TrackingAction trackersProject plansOpen issues listsStoryboardsCalendar invitationsMicro-learning softwareShared documentsStatus settings in collaboration softwareAnnual or project kickoffsPost-project celebrationsYour Turn

There’s a starting list of remote team communication techniques. To improve your remote team communication, work on one or two items from the list that add variety and break up preoccupation.

We’d love to hear from you–what would you add to help leaders master this critical skill?

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