Remote Work doesn't mean you ignore your people. Here are 15 ways I lead my remote team with empathy: 1. Start with Check-Ins ? Begin meetings by asking how everyone is doing. ? Show genuine care for their well-being. 2. Respect Time Zones ? Schedule meetings at times that work for everyone. ? Avoid assuming everyone shares the same hours. 3. Encourage Breaks ? Remind your team to step away from screens. ? Normalize taking mental health days when needed. 4. Be Transparent About Challenges ? Share your struggles to create openness. ? Build trust by showing your human side. 5. Listen Without Interrupting ? Give your full attention during one-on-ones. ? Use active listening to validate their concerns. 6. Celebrate Small Wins ? Recognize progress, even if it’s minor. ? Create moments of joy and motivation. 7. Clarify Expectations ? Provide clear guidelines to reduce stress. ? Ensure they know what success looks like. 8. Be Flexible with Deadlines ? Understand personal circumstances that may affect timelines. ? Collaborate on finding realistic solutions. 9. Ask for Feedback ? Regularly check how you can support the team better. ? Act on feedback to show you value their input. 10. Develop Social Connection ? Create opportunities for virtual team bonding. ? Use icebreakers or casual chats to ease isolation. 11. Provide Resources for Growth 12. Acknowledge Overwork 13. Lead with Gratitude 14. Be Patient with Tech Issues 15. Create a Culture of Safety When it comes to remote teams EQ >>> IQ It's easier to burn out in remote settings. Take care of yourself and your team. What did I miss? ?? Repost this to help others. P.S. I am on a mission to make remote entrepreneurship simple for millions.
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Developing leadership skills in a remote setting presents unique challenges, but it’s far from impossible. Here’s how I would approach it, blending practical strategies with principles from leadership development: 1. Shift the Mindset: Leadership Skills are Both Taught and Modeled While it’s true that many leadership skills are “caught” through observation, remote environments require us to expand the definition of “proximity.” Leaders can still model behaviors, communicate effectively, and provide guidance through virtual platforms. Acknowledge that leadership can be learned intentionally through structured experiences and deliberate interactions. 2. Leverage Technology to Bridge the Gap Use Video Platforms for Interaction. Make video communication a norm for leadership development activities. Video calls allow the mentees to observe body language, tone, and how leaders navigate difficult conversations. Record and Share Leadership Moments. Share recordings of meetings or interactions where effective leadership is demonstrated. This provides a library of real-life examples for emerging leaders to study. 3. Design Intentional Development Opportunities Use Virtual Shadowing. Pair up emerging leaders with seasoned leaders for virtual “shadowing” during meetings or decision-making sessions. Try role-playing exercises in small virtual groups to practice conflict resolution, giving feedback, and other key leadership skills. Conduct Project-Based Leadership. Assign stretch projects that require remote leaders to lead a team, solve a problem, or manage a deliverable. Provide coaching along the way. 4. Focus on Building Soft Skills Remote environments amplify the need for skills like emotional intelligence, active listening, and clear communication. Leaders should: ? Practice empathy during one-on-one or team meetings. ? Encourage open dialogue and foster trust in virtual spaces. ? Learn to communicate decisions and feedback succinctly and effectively online. 5. Foster Peer Learning and Community Create forums or regular sessions where leaders at all levels share challenges, solutions, and insights. Learning from peers can be as powerful as learning from senior leaders. 6. Feedback and Reflections are Critical Encourage self-reflection and continuous feedback loops. Use tools like anonymous surveys, 360-degree feedback, or regular check-ins with a coach to help emerging leaders assess their progress. 7. Model Leadership Virtually Senior leaders must demonstrate the behaviors they wish to instill in their teams: ? Be visible and approachable. ? Show vulnerability when appropriate, acknowledging the challenges of remote leadership. ? Create a culture of inclusion, collaboration, and accountability. Leveraging these strategies will make leadership development in remote environments not only feasible but become a catalyst for innovation and growth.
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Feeling more like a therapist to your team than a leader? You’re not alone. During my recent market research project, one theme popped up again & again: leaders today feel like therapists. And not just any therapists — ones who didn’t sign up for the job, didn’t get trained for it, & now feel completely drained by it. You know what I’m talking about: *Unprompted tears in a 1:1. *Defensive outbursts between teammates. *Coaching someone through their embarrassment after a presentation went sideways. You’re doing your best, but it feels like your role has shifted from leader to emotional crisis manager. So now what? Do you update your title to “Leader + Therapist” & call it a day? Absolutely not. If this resonates, here’s what I need you to know: being a leader today requires emotional intelligence. It’s not optional, & it’s not just about managing tasks + hitting KPIs. Humans —your humans— are emotional creatures. They want to bring their whole selves to work, & if we want to bring out the best in them, we have to meet them where they are. The good news? There’s a way to lead without losing yourself in the process. Let’s break it down using Daniel Goleman’s emotional intelligence framework: 1. Self-Awareness The foundation of emotional intelligence. Tip: Before stepping into your next 1:1, pause and ask yourself, “What am I feeling right now, and how might that impact this conversation?” Your emotions will set the tone—intentionally or not. 2. Self-Management Managing your emotions in real-time. Tip: When a team member brings unexpected emotions, resist the urge to fix. Instead, ground yourself with a simple practice like taking three deep breaths before responding. This helps you stay calm and present. 3. Social Awareness The ability to read the room (or Zoom). Tip: Notice what’s not being said. Is someone’s body language tense? Is their tone sharper than usual? Ask open-ended questions to understand what’s really going on. 4. Social Influence Bringing people together and inspiring action. Tip: When emotions run high (think: team conflict or post-presentation panic), acknowledge what’s happening first. Try saying, “I can see this was frustrating—let’s talk about how we can move forward.” Validation builds trust & opens the door to solutions. Leadership will never be emotion-free. But by sharpening your emotional intelligence, you’ll stop feeling like a therapist & start feeling like the confident, connected leader your team needs. What do you think? Have you felt more therapist than leader lately?
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How do you help your team navigate their professional responsibilities while processing deeply concerning (read: abjectly terrifying) political developments? I wish I didn’t have so much experience at this, and I wish I’d had more tools and resources five years ago, because I really failed at this a lot. Now, we have some practices at Seed&Spark and Film Forward that make space for the rollercoaster of emotions and the stark new political realities that in many cases almost immediately impact our team members in some way. 1. First, acknowledge reality. We don't leave our humanity at the door when we come to work. When people are worried about their safety or the safety of their loved ones, pretending everything is "business as usual" only increases anxiety and erodes trust. 2. As a remote team, we acknowledge that we also may be feeling things very differently based on where we are. We may have to make space for certain team members who are, for example, living in the middle of a climate disaster one week and others who live near an active shooting the next week. This is the world we live in. So we do a “red yellow green” check in at the top of each meeting - everyone can state how they are showing up. And we can adapt how we are resourcing certain priorities (or just how much moral and professional support we are providing our colleagues) using that information. It builds trust and support in a team that rarely sees each other in person. 3. Make space (as in: PAID TIME OFF) for mental health needs and civic action. I put these in the same bucket because often civic action is a mental health support action as well: it keeps people connected to community and purpose. Is there really a meeting that is more important than people going out to fight for a better future? 4. Don’t shut down conversations about how hard this is. It’s perfectly reasonable to feel like showing up to work in most jobs is playing violins on the titanic. If people can’t feel validated for their fears they will not be able to locate their purpose in your workplace. 5. Don’t bury your head in the sand about business realities or infantilize your team. This is the time to triple-down on transparency and give everyone the context they need to make grown up decisions. The only way out is through, together. #Leadership #WorkplaceCulture #InclusiveWorkplace #CorporateResponsibility