As I write this article we are in week 3 or 4 (I’ve lost count) of being self-contained at home. I’m writing this piece thinking about all the people leaders who are now working from home and who have never done so before. I’m thinking about the teams that have been temporarily broken up. When I started working from home a few weeks ago, I was truly happy. I love working at home. I am not gonna lie, I’ve embraced jeggings as the lower half of my work day uniform! Shhhh, can that be our secret?! Is anyone else business on top, party on the bottom? On a more serious note, I am missing my team. In these times I think it’s important to remember, leaders, that our teams may need us to connect even more now than ever. Why? Change isn’t easy for most people. We have been pushed out of our normal way of doing things. How can leaders and managers deal with this change? With social distancing and stay at home mandates, our homes have become our offices. Not everyone is an entrepreneur. Not everyone has worked in this capacity let alone lead their teams from afar. I have seven ideas that have worked for me especially during this time.

1. Acknowledge that change is tough. Acting as if it’s business as usual isn’t going to cut it.
2. Empathy is key. Let your team members feel all the feels. It’s a rocky time. Look at the new workload through their perspective. Walk in their shoes, as the saying goes.
3. Ask questions. Do not assume you know how they feel. Ask your team what they need from you. If they don’t know, start somewhere.
4. Schedule frequent Zoom calls at the beginning. Your team needs to see your face, and you need to see their faces. Communicate regularly and adjust frequency as needed.
5. Make non-work connection time with your team. For example, maybe you schedule Monday morning coffee talk for 15 minutes. It could be a check in.
6. Now that work and life lines are more blurred, it calls for managers and leaders to be more flexible. Parents are now homeschooling.
7. Have office hours for your team. In other words, set aside time your team every Wednesday at noon or whatever time works for you. The point is to be available for them.

What are your thoughts? Do you have something that works for you and your team? Shoot me an email to let me know at clarissa@clarissastudio.com