If the past few years have taught us many new things, and bought about significant change to the way business is conducted. Working from home become the new norm, the integration of AI tools into daily business. We continue to see businesses “pivot”, and digitally transform to ensure their survival.
Flexibility and responsiveness on all fronts is key to survival.
As leaders we needed to continue adapting to these changes.
5 Things to consider when leading a team in 2024
Learning to manage recruitment virtually
Video conferencing and virtual meetings became mainstream during the COVID era, however the shift to virtual recruitment was already happening, however to manage staff safety (and the risk associated with face to face interviews) we believe this form of recruitment will become the new normal.
But as managers, how to do you adapt and hone your hiring skills in a virtual world to provide a positive interview experience?
Did you know:
A number of guides have been developed to prepare jobseekers for online interviews, but little advice is available to leaders seeking to hire using these platforms.
So a couple of tips from us:
- Turn off any items that may distract you such as email and mobile notifications.
- Building a rapport online can be difficult. It can be difficult to initiate small talk, therefore, it’s important that you are prepared for this. Minimise any small talk but setting the outline of interview, and start with a good introduction of your company and the role itself.
- Dress appropriately, and have a background that is professional. First impressions count, and you want to set and manage expectations of professionalism from the start.
- Be prepared. Make sure you take time to read your interviewee’s CV prior to the interview and prepare questions prior to the interview.
- Actively listen. It can be difficult to communicate via online platforms, and body language and eye contact is important. It can also be very easy to be distracted, so make sure you are listening and engaged.
Effective leadership of remote teams
Effective leadership of remote teams will remain a key skills during 2024. Developing trust and accountability within your team will ensure productive work behaviours continue.
If you haven’t already set expectations for how you team should work remote, this needs to be communicated ASAP. Your team need to understand what is expected of them, how they will communication, collaborate and report on their activities. Transparency and clarity is critical.
We recommend setting up regular one-on-ones and also team catch-ups to ensure your team remains connected to each other. Utilise tools that support remote work such as Slack, Google Drive, Basecamp, there are so many in the marketplace – find tools that work for you and your team.
Developing strong communication skills
I cannot emphasise enough the criticalness of strong communication skills. Communication skills are changing and evolving, and you consider how you are continuing to enhance your communication skills. Your communication skills will influence how you build relationships, and even how you progress through your career. Identify learning opportunities, ask your team for feedback and seek out ways to improve your communication skills.
Developing emotional intelligence
Developing emotional intelligence will be critical should your team continue to work from home. As you know, emotional intelligence is the ability to be aware of and manage our emotions, and also being aware of the emotions of those around us.
Having sufficient awareness of your emotions and those of your team will make you a good leader. There will be times, when your team might feel uncertain about their job and their future, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are connecting with your people on an emotional level. This will enable you to provide support, guidance and direction when needed.
Being data driven
I love data! And I’m sure you know it already, but data collection will be key to managing staff and clients in the future.
Data will provide you with insight into so many things, and you if you aren’t collecting data now, you need to be. Have a look at the different data sets around you. There’s hard data- these are facts and figures, and there’s soft data – which is thoughts and insights and feedback from you team.
Having good quality data available to you will enable you to make decisions quickly, be responsible and flexible in a changing environment.
Conclusion
2024 is going to be another year of change. Be prepared for it now. Developing and adapting our leadership skills is what will make you a good leader.
What skills will you focus on developing?
