The Corona pandemic hit us unexpectedly, and it quickly became apparent that it would occupy us for a long time. It presents both society and the economy with the challenge of significant digital transformation. Employees found themselves in predominantly home office situations faster than expected, which is why the new “home office” setup had to be found and set up within a short time, and digital tools such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom were implemented.
Personal contact abruptly ceased, team structures were found exclusively digitally over sometimes great distances, personal meetings and conversations were canceled. From one day to the next, the entire company had to be led remotely and digitally.
What are the challenges of virtual leadership and how can they be addressed?
When a team works predominantly remotely, typical leadership tools such as corporate culture, emotions, or even occasional meetings in the coffee kitchen are missing. Therefore, leading remotely certainly requires some significant adjustments and different focus areas compared to working together in offices. Here I see three main challenges: maintaining personal contact, not losing sight of the common vision, and paying attention to a balanced work-life balance.
Maintaining Personal Contact
When you no longer see each other every day in the office, a large part of the “human touch” is missing, i.e., humanity, emotions, and closeness. To counteract this, the first step is: Camera on for online meetings! This immediately gives the calls a more personal character. To ensure that everyone feels comfortable with the camera running, it’s important to allow for personal aspects. Not everyone has their own home office and wants to give colleagues exclusive insights into their private living spaces. To preserve privacy here, common tools offer many background images, and for those who want something even more individual, they can use their own motifs. Furthermore, it’s important for leaders to actively maintain relationships within teams and with individual team members. For example, simply calling employees and asking how they’re doing, how they’re coping with the current situation, whether they would like more support in any area. Regular exchanges with different colleagues are also important to continuously gather all opinions, ideas, and the general mood in the company.
Not Losing Sight of the Common Vision
When someone works a lot or currently even exclusively remotely, isolated from colleagues, teams, offices, and corporate culture, it’s very easy for everyone to fall into a daily routine, working through daily tasks without having the big picture in mind. To avoid losing sight of the purpose and meaning, it’s important to constantly emphasize and remind of the shared vision and culture with as much enthusiasm as possible. Therefore, it’s necessary to intensify communication and be even more transparent. This also includes transparently presenting the current economic situation of the company to alleviate possible fears. To make communication more interesting and varied, it’s advisable to choose different channels and formats. For example, every month I present and comment on the figures of our digatus Group in a short video, and the evaluation of the employee survey is also done in video format. In the intranet, our “Weekly News” inform about current projects and news from the HR and Marketing departments. This year, we are also starting our quarterly Town Hall Meeting, in which, in addition to current developments, individual teams present their projects. So it’s about showing (virtual) presence and keeping employees up to date.
Paying Attention to a Balanced Work-Life Balance
Paradoxically, work-life balance can quickly become unstable when predominantly working from home. The usual regulations and structures are missing, such as the daily commute, office opening hours, or colleagues coming and going. The proximity to work blends seamlessly into private everyday life, and people often work during what should be rest periods, for example in the evening or on weekends. To prevent this imbalance, leaders should first look at their own behavior. When we involve our colleagues in work outside regular working hours or even on weekends, we must always first ask ourselves about the urgency and importance. Additionally, leaders should consciously address the topic of work-life balance with their team, both in individual and team meetings. Furthermore, it is advisable for companies to provide offerings that positively impact their employees’ health and well-being. At the beginning of the pandemic, we therefore introduced the daily Movement Break to bring some exercise into everyday life when working from home. By implementing Feelgood Management with Johannes Oberhofer, we are currently in the process of significantly expanding this offering.
What should one specifically pay attention to in order to avoid a shift in work-life balance or even burnout?
Ultimately, work is not just work, but also a place for social contacts with colleagues and perhaps friends. It is a place (even if currently only virtual) that we know well and where we spend a lot of time, almost like a second home. Ideally, we feel comfortable and safe here. To ensure this applies to everyone, there are some things that, in my opinion, one should definitely pay attention to:
- Understanding: Mutual consideration, understanding, and appreciation are the basis for a positive work atmosphere
- Communication: Body language is partially lost in digital communication, so pay more conscious attention to your choice of words and formulate from the “I-perspective”
- Health: Pay attention to ergonomics at the workplace, eat a balanced diet, and incorporate regular exercise breaks into your daily routine
- Leisure: Reserve a few hours each day for yourself, your hobbies, friends, and especially family
- Distance: When you’re not working, you should definitely also mentally distance yourself from work to truly switch off and recover
- Fun: Work should be designed so that you engage in it with enjoyment and pleasure – ideally, work gives energy instead of draining it
- Humor: Laughing together always helps!
How do you see the use of offices in the future?
In my opinion, hybrid working models will be relevant in the long term. I don’t believe we will all return to the offices 100% or continue to stay only in home office. The use of offices will increase again, but the nature of use will change. My wish would be to establish “Feelgood Offices” and thus create creative spaces. Here, one can meet one or two days a week in a cozy, inspiring environment for brainstorming, workshops, and creative meetings, and interact personally. Concentrated work and routine meetings can then be done from home for the rest of the week.
Thank you, Stephan, for your tips on leading remote working teams!
Stephan Bals
He studied Business Administration with a focus on Management at the Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin. After completing his studies as a graduate in Business Administration, he began his career at Siemens AG in Munich.
Early in his career, he gained experience in various executive positions. Among other roles, he was responsible as managing director for medium-sized IT consulting and service companies, most recently Xiopia GmbH, as well as serving on the board of Allgeier IT Solutions AG. With the founding of digatus it group, he continued his career as a founder and entrepreneur. In early 2015, together with Felix Kirschner, he founded digatus it group AG with the goal of "building" a market-relevant IT service provider in Germany. His main focus within the digatus Group is in the areas of sales, growth management, and M&A. At the interfaces between business and IT, he is a sought-after mediator, sparring partner, and idea generator.
In addition to his role as CEO of digatus it group AG, he is involved entrepreneurially as a co-founder and investor, volunteers in various non-profit initiatives and associations, and serves as an advisory board member, senior advisor, and supervisory board member.
