Charisma and confidence got you to management. But these alone won’t carry you in the new world.

Have you found it harder to be charming and inspiring over zoom?

Perhaps you’re struggling to understand why the charisma and intuition you honed over many years isn’t inspiring the team to produce results like it used to?

In search of the solution let's take a step back for a second.

What makes a good leader?

I think we’re hardwired to choose the most charismatic or confident person to lead; just take a look at some of the world ‘leaders’ we have elected. You clearly don’t need to be capable as long as you have charisma and/or confidence.

I’m just not convinced that works remotely and the pain you’re experiencing proves to me that remote teams are less responsive to these qualities.

So I’d ask you to think about what types of behaviours are being exhibited by the leaders who are thriving in your organisation right now. I’m willing to bet, if you took a close look, its a whole different set of new unofficial leaders that's actually keeping things together.

What they're exhibiting are the leadership qualities that matter remotely; and that means the solution to leading remotely is different to what you're used to.

I believe to thrive in the new normal processes, purpose and culture all need a ‘remote-first’ re-architecture.

Activities designed remote-first will work regardless of whether your team members are 5 minutes or 5 timezones away from each other; conversely, we’ve just proven activities that are designed ‘office-first’ simply don’t work remotely.

But I'm struggling to keep the team motivated. What simple 'remote-first' change can I make that will make a material improvement to my team? If charisma and confidence are no longer the key, what is?

Actions speak louder than words.

Scientific research published in June suggests the answer is action. The study found that as the amount of virtual activity increased, leadership behaviour became more important than leadership traits. In other words, taking time to pause and lean in to make a more visible and meaningful contribution to the team was valued over motivational speeches and high-fives.

So this week, perhaps park the Jordan Belfort motivational speech and just roll up the sleeves and see how you can help. The science seems to suggest spending time with your team focussed on being of service to them might just be all it takes.

Source:

Purvanova, R.K., Charlier, S.D., Reeves, C.J. et al. Who Emerges into Virtual Team Leadership Roles? The Role of Achievement and Ascription Antecedents for Leadership Emergence Across the Virtuality Spectrum. J Bus Psychol (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-020-09698-0