Virtual Leadership Insights

Why we need virtual leaders

When employees feel disconnected from their organisation, when levels of engagement are faltering and they’re losing a clear sense of purpose, there’s often an issue of leadership.

More and more, organisations are having to face up to these kinds of creeping problems. The Great Resignation is just one signal of how workplaces have changed post-pandemic — and will never be the same again.

Five ways hybrid isn’t working

The new world of hybrid isn’t as simple as just offering ‘augmented work’: more freedom to be at home and access virtual tech. It means a mix of staff with different experiences and routines who are trying to work alongside each other. It changes the whole dynamic between leaders, managers and line reports.

Five ways to become a good virtual leader

When I first worked as a consultant for global businesses back in 2002, looking to find better ways to get their international teams to work together, the issue was all about technology. It wasn’t always practical to run video conferencing or online meetings without time lags and some people being left out and confused.

The problem now is that this kind thinking hasn’t really changed. We have all the tech and slick speeds we need — but senior teams continue to believe that as long as employees and their managers are linked up, they can see and hear each other, that’s virtual working done.

Leaders have just the same challenges in a virtual and hybrid work setting. They need to be able to engage with people and create rapport, set out a clear vision and maintain levels of engagement and motivation, as well as listen and understand. But when it comes to actually putting these behaviours into practice, traditional forms of leadership practice are mostly redundant.

So what makes a good virtual leader?