The last six months have thrust us headlong into virtual management. What at first may have seemed like crisis management 101, is now the norm. It may be past time ask: “How well am I actually managing my team?” Catherine Mattiske has hurried a new book to print: Leading Virtual Teams: Managing from a distance during the Corona Virus. I love this book as part of a manger’s toolkit. It is jam-packed with checklists to help assess how things are going.

While thinking about your team, consider whether it might be time to ask your MVP’s for feedback and reset how we are all connecting. Here are a few ways to start you on your way.

Managing professional and personal integrity: I’m borrowing from Mattiske with this one. If your team is struggling to build trust, consider your part in the dysfunction. 

• Ask yourself some key questions: Am I behaving in a professional manner, including being in control of my emotions? Am I following up on commitments? Am I taking responsibility? Am I being consistent in my decision making? Am I following up? Am I honest with myself and others? 

• Mattiske also suggests working with your team to create a professional integrity code for the team or office. 

Identify norms: It does not matter is we have always done it “this way.” Take a step back to consider how well it is all working. 

• Revisit the team’s rules of engagement regarding how we meet, when we meet and for how long. 

• Create rituals for connection. At the start of team meetings take a minute for each member to check in with perhaps two words of how they are feeling or what’s going on. Do the same at the end of meetings asking for primary “takeaways.” 

 Connect: Don’t allow distance to build boundaries between you and your team members, colleagues, and internal stakeholders. 

• Don’t be shy about picking up the phone and reaching out to colleagues. Check in and show you care about more than the P&L.

• Go back to basics with the United States Postal Service. I just received a hand-written notecard thanking me for my business and support. Such a simple act, but the time this vendor spent on a handwritten note signaled to me that my business matters. 

• If possible, meet in person with a socially distant team meeting outside. While the weather is beautiful, parks or a back yard make great and safe venues for a one-on-one or small team meeting. 

• Weather getting colder or unpredictable, or just need more structured workspace with white boards? Consider using a local hotel or conference center. These venues are spacious, empty and anxious for business. A big ballroom could be a great solution to host a strategic planning session.  

Banish silos: Silos can appear or reappear as the result of working at a distance, often disrupting cross departmental communication and trust. 

• Banish silos by forcing discussions through cross functional task forces, and virtual working groups. 

• Ask questions and intentionally bring together diverse points of view when critical decisions need to be made.  

Pull back the covers: Don’t avoid the difficult conversations.  

• Make it impossible for your team to hide. Facilitate difficult conversations and manage conflict rather than hoping it will magically disappear. 

• When necessary, pull in outside resources, create agenda items for even those issues you would rather avoid. 

There will never be a point with your team when you can coast, allowing team management to happen. Your team needs constant care and management. Take a moment to be honest about your management right now. Let me know what you think. Email me at katie@mmtmcoach.com with questions or comments.