In the not too distant past, effective leadership was about change, and effective leaders were considered ‘Agents of Change,’ with sole responsibility for getting their teams to rise to organizational challenges. Because of the complexity of our modern world, dramatic as well as incremental changes will occur, and many of them will be beyond your control. That no longer works, and no one person, regardless of how talented and hardworking, is capable of mastering all that is required of business leadership today.
Effective leadership in the virtual workplace has reflected a paradigm shift that has occurred, bringing a new order of business relationships and a new definition for the role of the leader. The very nature of a dispersed team means that virtual leaders like you can no longer successfully manage through command-and-control. Leadership takes confidence and the tenacity to integrate people, despite time and space constraints. Your team members may be out of sight, but they can’t be out of mind.
And so a different kind of leadership is emerging, which focuses on connection and collaboration and encourages people to rise above their differences and connect at the human level. At its core, this leadership is rooted in the human element and reflects an increased level of trust and transparency. The updated role as the ‘Agent of Connection’ is your most important role as a virtual leader.
Human Connection in business is such a fundamental, though challenging concept for leaders. Many disregard its significance; some learn it too late in their careers; while others never quite make the connection.
Want to learn about effective ‘Agent of Connection’ leadership?
Effective Leadership
“Through individualized leadership coaching sessions, I have helped many leaders in similar situations get their teams organized and operating at peak performance.
The key is developing unique solutions that emphasize the value of human connection in a cross cultural world.
Leadership coaching sessions include scenarios and action plans that provide a roadmap for successfully leading high performing virtual teams.”
Yael Zofi
Yael discovered the importance of Human Connection while coaching a senior global IT Managing Director who led system implementation across several business units and was stunned with information overload. During an advisory meeting following this leader’s vacation, Yael found him starring motionless at his email box overflowing with messages. The reality of being critically inundated and consequently disconnected from his family and team was rapidly washing over him. Fortunately, with a little one-on-one effective leadership coaching (and a few reminders to keep breathing), Yael and her client waded through the emails—and immediately created solutions to correct the situation.
There were two main problems to confront:
- The team had become too dependent on the leader, instead of being able to function as a team for at least short periods of time without him; and
- Team members needed to agree on better communication protocols when colleagues, including the leader, were away.
First, Yael and the leader set up a mechanism for managing his virtual team remotely, as well as a way for teams to connect regularly with him and with each other. Yael also came up with a great process for creating building trust and engaging his team members by creating virtual water cooler conversations —so “out of sight” didn’t automatically mean “out of mind.”
It’s a classic example of typical virtual team leadership problems and the individualized solutions that Yael can create in one-on-one coaching sessions.
Want to know if one-on-one coaching with Yael could help you face—and conquer—the biggest problem you are facing right now?
Reach out to Yael. Fill out the ASK YAEL form at the bottom of this page, or schedule a free 15-minute introductory session with Yael by contacting her online or calling +1-(718) 832-6699.
