In my previous role, I worked remote and from home, for ~6 years. You’re probably thinking, being remote and working from home (wfh) are not the same. Well, you’ll be right to some extent. In my case, my cubicle during those 6 years, was located where 2 adjacent rows on each side were completely empty. My work schedule was Sun through Wed, so I worked 3 days onsite and 2 days from home, ergo, best of both worlds!

Not complaining, as in those six years, my Spidey senses became so in-tune with the business & people that I was promoted to team lead (offered leadership positions), won multiple awards (Circle of Excellence) and successfully switched roles 3 times.  Leveraging that experience, I come to you with 3 simple accelerators that will excel you both personally and professionally.

Active Listening:

Active Listening implies listening to understand vs to respond - Let that sync in for a sec!

Being remote gave me a heightened sense of listening, that is coming in very handy. There are subtle cues in the words used, mannerisms of delivery, tone, which are almost as good (or sometimes better) as visual cues. You don’t have to be a master at this, just good enough to avoid developing the HiPPO syndrome (Highest paid person’s opinion in the room).

Once you hone in on this skill, you'll notice underlying messages that others will surely miss. As a leader, this depth of understanding will lead you to ask value driven questions or provide value based answers.

P.S: Active listening curbs FOMO (Fear of missing out), ‘cuz you can decipher the BS from reality!

Talk it out: Learn to Empathize:

A key lesson I learned and actively apply is,  simply picking up the phone and calling the person. Whilst e-mails and messaging are avenues for a quick nudge, personal or complex matters require a personal touch. Active Listening plays a key role here – ergo: “Talk it out”!

Story-time: As a result of a promotion, I had to relocate to different state. My team lead at the time (also acting manager), called me up and we were talking shop. She picked up cues in my tone and inquired how I was doing personally. Long story short, she took it upon herself to reach out our leadership team and allow me to move back, while keeping the promotion. As a result, I was available to address the family situation and to this day am grateful that we had the conversation.

Update: What a great example of Active Listening and Talking it out, from Gravity CEO Dan Price. Due to COVID-19, as the company experienced significant loss in revenue and only 3-4 months of run-way left, he Talked to his team really Listened - with outstanding results!

 Recharge your batteries:

A common assumption when being remote/wfh is that you have to be “Glued to your device”. This is due to the perception that if your status in corporate messenger shows Away or Offline – you’re a slacker. As a team-member, leader, don’t judge or assume the worst, and maybe you need a dose of “Talk it out: Learn to Empathize”!

As an individual, stay limber, take breaks and recharge. Grab lunch in a different spot, throw the ball (or object of your choice) around for a bit, run around and clear your mind – “Un-Glue your self”!