Leadership Consultant | Co-Author
Over the last year and a quarter, since March 2020, a lot of us have been thrown into this work from anywhere world without any prior preparation. It is like being thrown into the deep end of a swimming pool without any prior training. We have had to figure out our own response to the evolving situation. While there has been no shortage of wisdom and webinars, I have been looking for a research backed view to learn from. In that context, I am excited to bring the next conversation with Darleen DeRosa (Consultant at SpencerStuart's Stamford office) and author of Leading at a Distance: Practical Lessons for Virtual Success, that she has co-authored with her colleague Jim Citrin, who leads SpencerStuart's North American CEO practice and is a core member of the firm's Board practice. SpencerStuart is one of the world's leading Leadership Advisory Services firms. Darleen has been studying Remote Work since 2008 long before COVID struck.
Given a lot of the listeners to this podcast are leaders in India or of Indian origin, we have also weaved in insights from some of the leaders in SpencerStuart in India (Ritu Kochhar, Sahiba Singh, Atul Bhandari and Rohit Kale) to contextualize the insights.
We speak about nuances in building relationships in 2D, driving accountability in a virtual world, what the office of the future looks like, effective remote leadership hiring, facilitating effective transitions, managing your energy in a relentless, all consuming online world and much more.
Published in August 2021.
Nuggets from the
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Relationships in a 2D world
Darleen speaks about some the nuances in building and maintaining relationships in a remote world. A lot of things that we might do in the rhythm of an offline world don’t apply. She speaks about some observations from the leaders she has worked with. Sahiba Singh from SpencerStuart India team also shares her perspectives on the topic.
Driving Accountability virtually
Darleen speaks about how leaders should walk the tight rope between letting people be, giving them autonomy and seeking performance. It is a fine line and it is easy to swing too far without realizing it. She speaks about the ATC (Action, Timetable, Check-in) approach in dealing with colleagues.
Communicating thoughtfully
Darleen speaks about how leaders need to look at the way an organization works and the cadence to ensure that people are not overloaded with responsibilities and information. She goes on to say that it is less about technology but more about how it is used and applied in an organizational context.
Office of the future
Darleen speaks about how organizations are beginning to think about the role of the office in the future. She provides her perspective on the insight from Charles Handy who said “An office will be like a club: a place for eating, meeting, and greeting, with rooms reserved for activities, not people”
Remote leadership with Boards
Darleen speaks about how Boards have evolved in a Remote working context. She speaks about CEO succession coming back front and centre in the Board agenda. In addition, Atul Bhandari (who sits on the Global SpencerStuart Board) and Ritu Kochhar (who leads the India Board practice) share their insights around how Boards have started thinking about risk and the kinds of skills that are becoming more relevant in the Board room today.
Remote apprenticeship
Darleen speaks about how leaders and organizations have thought about apprenticeship in these times. Rohit Kale (who leads SpencerStuart in India) speaks about how peer mentoring has been impacted in these times but also goes on to speak about the silver lining here as this provides opportunities that didn’t exist earlier for some colleagues to experience the “moment of truth”.
Transitioning remotely
Darleen sheds light on how leaders and organizations can get more thoughtful in the way they get the cultural assimilation right when a new leader comes on board. Leadership derailment is a lot more about Leaders missing out on the “how” of a job rather than the “what” of the job.
Remote Leadership hiring
Darleen speaks about the challenges in hiring effectively in the remote world. Atul Bhandari, Ritu Kochhar and Rohit also share their perspectives around how we need to tap into stories much more in these times and how remote work has opened up the aperture in terms of where people look for talent. They also share an interesting perspective around how companies are thinking about experience versus potential in these times.
Managing your energy
Darleen speaks about how we need to take care of physical, mental and spiritual energy in these times. Atul Bhandari and Sahiba Singh also share their perspectives around how some leaders can think about staying healthy and productive in these times.