This article is written by Jean Kunz, a director with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and Apolitical Insider Fellow. The views expressed here are her own. This article is edited by Sebastian Muermann, also an Apolitical Insider Fellow and part-time consultant for the World Bank.

Since the lockdown, I have spent a substantial amount of time with my teammates, more than pre-pandemic, virtually or on the phone. From a quick check-in, to long conversations and meetings, I could easily spend an entire day on the phone or video.

But it is very hard to read body language over Zoom, making it much more likely that I overlook the signs of a struggling colleague that I would have otherwise picked up on if we were still in the office.

Looking back, I observe three aspects of virtual work.

Virtual work amplifies pre-existing differences

My team is diverse in perspectives, experience and temperament. When we were in the office, it often took additional time to understand the diverse perspectives and to find common ground.

Virtual work amplifies existing divergence, as phone calls and emails are not as efficient in addressing differences. My team has been candid in expressing their opinions during in-person meetings and there are often post-meeting informal discussions to further clarify each other’s intentions. Teleconference or email does not allow for such instantaneous feedback, leading to misunderstandings.

To help my team articulate their current state and to help them to think beyond the current crisis, I designed a Weekly Insights Sharing and Exchange

It is hard to read non-verbal cues over the phone or the screen. Consequently, there are more follow up conversations, taking twice as long as the original meeting, to clarify misunderstandings and resolve differences. These conversations are taxing and time-consuming, requiring more resilience on the part of the manager and all involved.

Connecting with employees takes more than a video chat

Chats on Zoom, FaceTime, and other platforms can provide a connection with employees. But meaningful engagement goes beyond daily touch base call or raising a toast on the screen. During the first few weeks of the lockdown, we established regular phone calls and video chats.

Conversations were often free-flowing, on everything and nothing. Individuals ranted or joked about their current situations. Only in one-on-one conversations would true issues surface, those of concern about the future and colleagues’ current struggles.

To help my team articulate their current state and to help them to think beyond the current crisis, I designed a Weekly Insights Sharing and Exchange. A question was posed to our team at the beginning of the week and responses to the question were collected and analysed at the end of the week. The insights were shared in the team the following week. The questions ranged from challenges we faced, ways to manage stress, gradually moving to what the new normal would look like and questions to consider when returning to the workplace.

The conversations were focused, authentic and forward-looking. It also showed that, in spite of our differences, we had much in common in our concerns and approaches to stress.

Empathy and resilience are more in demand

To be effective, a leader needs to have empathy and resolve to excel in this new environment.

Empathy, the ability to see things from the perspective of others, helps us to better understand others. Key aspects of empathy include listening to others without judgement, as well as asking questions to further our understanding of the situation. This goes beyond the transactional daily touch-base meetings and superficial team coffee meetups. Though these events are necessary, they are not occasions for deep conversations to understand colleagues’ concerns. Employees will sense that you care when you genuinely take time to ask the right questions and follow up on any key points in the subsequent encounter.

Virtual work is here to stay, even when it is safe to return to our workplaces. The lockdown has certainly exposed our lack of technological capacity and the digital skills we have to enable us to work away from the office. More importantly, it reveals the key competencies required to excel in this digital environment

Resolve is another key ingredient in leadership. There is a time to listen, to care, there is a time to act and make difficult decisions. Often managers swing between the pendulum of being a counsellor and a task master. Some managers care about the concerns of their team to the extent that they become the de facto employee counsellor, but without the necessary skills. Consequently, they suffer burnout due to the additional workload. On the other extreme, there are those who focus on the task at hand, totally oblivious of the well-being of the team.  While I agree that we need to listen to individuals’ concerns and empathise with them, there are also the side of results to think about. We are here to deliver results.

Oftentimes, this means making tough decisions to get things done. This involves being authentic, having difficult conversations and pushing employees to take their performance to the next level, while not ignoring their concerns.

Virtual work is here to stay, even when it is safe to return to our workplaces. The lockdown has certainly exposed our lack of technological capacity and the digital skills we have to enable us to work away from the office. More importantly, it reveals the key competencies required to excel in this digital environment. Being savvy in the digital workplace is more than knowing how to share documents and draft paper in real time or add the amazing background of my screen with ease.

As managers, and employees, it is soft skills that will make virtual work effective. Unlike technical skills, which can be learned through in-class training, building soft skills such as empathy and resolve begins with a change in our mindset. — Jean Kunz

(Picture credit: Death to the stock photo)