2. • The author has written this article to discuss the role of
Leaders for effective communication strategies with
their employees.
• Managing a team remotely during COVID-19 has
presented its own set of challenges, specifically for
business leaders . They have all sorts of questions
about the direction of the company, what’s expected of
them ,etc.
3. • But many people don’t have the time to deal with these
questions, specifically those with the added prospects
of caring for sick loved ones and kids at home. This is
especially true for workers who are putting in extra
hours to try to help some of the most vulnerable people.
4. • Meanwhile, managers’ schedules are much tighter as
they’re tasked with transforming daily operations and
keeping the business afloat in unprecedented
circumstances. And in some cases, businesses are
trying to get more done with fewer employees.
5. • All this can make it difficult to give attention to
employees’ concerns. Over the last few months, the
author has begun a new system that works particularly
well with remotely located employees. This system has
advanced the corporate culture during the pandemic.
6. 15-Minute One-On-Ones in a
Compressed Time Frame
• The system begins with scheduling 15-minute individual
meetings with each team member.
7. • Steven Rogelberg, author of The Surprising Science of
Meetings (and MIT SMR contributor), explained at
TED.com, “A 10- or 15-minute meeting done effectively,
with a focused agenda can have tremendously positive
effects.
8. • These benefits can apply to group meetings, he found
that they’re just as powerful in individual sessions.
9. • Holding these meetings individually, rather than in small
groups, helps the author ensure that he hears from
everyone. Some businesses do group meetings with a
round-robin approach, in which each person is given a
chance to speak but these meetings are not that
effective as some people are less talkative .
10. • By packing these individual meetings closely together,
the author quickly identifies common themes raised by
employees across the organization. If he were to spread
these meetings out across a month, the similarities
among what his employees say would be less striking .
11. The ‘Traffic Lights’ Emotions System
• The author begins each meeting with something he
learned through executive coaching organized by
Flourish Ventures (a venture of Omidyar Network, an
investor in his company).
12. • He first asks the employee about his feelings , personal
and professional factors around him .The employee has
to answer using traffic lights system. “Green” indicates
OK, “Yellow” means overall OK and “Red” indicates
pressing concerns.
13. • This system is used to regulate emotions of children but
its useful with adults as well. Its useful to check one’s
own feelings too and analyze them.
14. The author uses this system in one-on-ones with his
team members. They openly discuss their issues related
to family life, health of older people lost jobs ,professional
life stress, isolation etc.
15. • These short meetings have helped the writer in
streamlining operations , providing flexibility to
employees’ needs etc. To stimulate a happy workplace
environment , he implemented Thursday social Zoom
call and sent snack to people’s home.
16. • The pandemic will take time to decrease , so the
managers and leaders should focus on the needs of
employees to meet the challenges and on better team
work performance.
