Matthias Varga von Kibed defines four main tasks in leadership:
- Deciding and ensuring implementation
- Empowering employees
- Strengthening personal responsibility and self-organization in cooperation
- Providing support and orientation
Let’s look at these main tasks from the perspective of leadership at a distance…
Deciding and ensuring implementation
A manager who leads dislocated teams has to make difficult decisions. Due to the greater distance, structures are needed to make these decisions and decision-making processes transparent, for example, through meetings or individual discussions.
Empowering employees
The manager is called upon to maintain close contact with the employees. This is not about controlling work but about being clear about how team members are doing and what they need to be able to take their next step.
Suppose face-to-face conversations (physically in a room) are not possible for an extended period. In that case, these conversations should take place remotely exclusively with an open camera, undisturbed, so that both sides can freely express themselves.
Strengthen personal responsibility
As a manager, I should reserve enough time for leadership. This means, on the one hand, accepting communication offers from employees and, similar to the “open door,” also ensuring accessibility via the respective platform.
Meetings that require little preparation live need more time virtually to prepare adequately with electronic collaboration tools.
The better the employees are actively involved in the organization and the exchange, the more open and lively the dialogue will be in the virtual space. Once employees have recognized the benefits of moderated, well-prepared meetings, they will adopt this approach for their work meetings with colleagues.
Providing support and orientation
In remote situations, some managers focus on operational issues and keep everything beyond that away from employees, so they can work undisturbed.
Regardless of operational issues, managers should always have to consider the direction the company is taking, especially in remote situations. This involves outlining the path so employees can develop a sense of being part of something bigger.
This communication will tend to go out to only some team members at a time. It will take a lot of one-on-one time to get the message across and allow employees to reflect personally on what it all means to them.
Take a few minutes now to reflect on how you perceive the four main tasks of a leader:
How do you currently perceive these leadership tasks?
Where do you see room for improvement?
1. making decisions
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2. empowering employees
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3. strengthen personal responsibility and self-organization
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4. provide orientation
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Klaus Fischer has compiled this toolbox for you.
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