On March 31, during a webinar with Olena Zhyltsova, we discussed new trends in the organization of teamwork and their influence on team's performance. We would like to share the key points of Olena's speech:

1) The world will never be the same and the decisions we make now will remain with us. Therefore, if you are engaged in something right now, do it thinking of a perspective, not just the quarantine.

2) An executive today should be visionary, forward-looking and flexible, but at the same time he/she should set expectations, communicate decisions honestly, clearly and plainly; be confident, genuine and empathetic as well as be a decent corporate citizen. The first person has always been a role model, but this role of CEO is being transformed today. He/she becomes a Chief Meaning Officer, a Chief Energy Officer, a Chief Empathy Officer, a Chief Education Officer.

3) For an efficient work of a remote team:

— say goodbye to any process, agreement, meeting that adds no value either to an internal or external customer. Instead, create real-time coordination mechanisms to help you get feedback on internal and external changes and to find proper organizational solutions;

— make regular Daily Check-In, daily short meetings about achievements and results of the day before and about your plans for today;

— set rules for interaction in the virtual environment: agree on frequency, means and perfect timing of communication with your teams;

— trust your employees and do not send them heaps of messages; currently, we manage not the processes but the results;

— discover technologies for interaction in the virtual environment that will be just right for your team;

— do extra training for the team about remote work, as these skills are not innate.

4) What should be done to keep the office fun and personnel energy while working remotely? The following may help: informal communication at the end of a meeting, interesting polls, a picture of a day for employees, joint coffee breaks in Zoom, virtual pizza parties, thanks to the team for their work etc.

Olena Zhyltsova is a kmbs lecturer and organizational development consultant. She has 16 years of experience in human capital management. She was the head of organizational development and team management in pharmaceutical, retail, IT, food production industries. She trains owners and top executives in organizational design, organizational culture, organizational development, human capital management strategies and tactics.

Virtual boss: how to maintain the team performance?