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CULTURE SAVING TIPS ABOUT SETTING UP A PODCAST FOR YOUR REMOTE TEAM

A great deal of trust can be built up
between podcaster and listener.
Even when the podcast host
is the CEO.

 

In today’s remote work environment, team collaboration is more important than ever before. Remote teams are often spread across different locations, time zones, and cultures, making it more challenging to find effective ways to connect, interact, and stay productive. If you are a CEO, Founder, entrepreneur, or team leader, you may have some of the following concerns with remote work that keep you up at night.

  • How can I maintain contact with my team and my coworkers?
  • When we are all in different locations, how can I retain a human connection?
  • How can I get my team more involved?
  • Will my business culture suffer as a result of being remote?
  • How do I create or maintain a positive team culture?

Leaders can make every effort to maintain contact, but when we you switch to a remote or hybrid team structure, engagement can decline. How can it be fixed? Well, here comes podcasting!

HOW DOES PODCASTING HELP MY REMOTE TEAM?

Whether you’re a remote team of two or two thousand, podcasts can be a great tool to keep your team connected and motivated. They allow team members to stay in touch and stay informed, no matter where they are. Plus, they can be used to create a sense of community and help keep everyone get on the same page.

A podcast is essentially an audio program that can be recorded, edited, and shared with an audience. It’s a great platform for remote teams because there are no geographical boundaries to contend with. All you need is an internet connection.

Podcasting is “intimate,” to put it simply. It’s one of the best simulations of a genuine conversation there is and the most scalable approach to communicate with large numbers of people while maintaining a personal touch.

This has a lot of influence in a professional, remote setting. It implies that managers can communicate with a large group of employees by speaking to them as a whole. It implies that CEOs can brief the entire organization and encourage participation. It implies that coworkers can broadcast to coworkers in a style that is quite similar to a water cooler talk, sharing knowledge, insights, or status updates.

It becomes even more potent when the just-in-time component is included. Instead of mandating that all employees use webinar software like Zoom and others.

HOW CAN PODCASTING IMPROVE REMOTE TEAM CULTURE?

Once your podcast is up and running for your remote team, you can begin to create content. Think about topics that are relevant to your team and that can help keep everyone informed and motivated.

There are several ways that podcasts can be a helpful tool for remote teams.

1. Improve Culture and Cohesiveness

Your content can be used to create a sense of culture and togetherness. Remote teams can use podcasts to stay connected to each other by discussing topics of interest, sharing stories about team members, discuss successes and challenges, talk about upcoming projects, and hearing from each other.

2. Encourage Collaboration and Brainstorming

It can also be a great way to encourage collaboration and brainstorming. Through podcasts, team members can discuss solutions to common problems and work together to find creative solutions.

3.  Provide Training for Your Team

Podcasts can also be used to provide training and educational content for remote teams. Team members can tune in to learn new skills, stay up to date on industry trends, and gain insights from industry experts.

4.  Provide Feedback and Recognition

Podcasts can also be used to provide feedback and recognition to team members. This can help to motivate and encourage team members to continue their hard work.

5.  Share Team Experiences

Finally, podcasts can be used to provide an outlet for team members to discuss their experiences as remote workers. This can help to foster a sense of appreciation and camaraderie among team members who work remotely. It can also help to give remote workers a platform to share ideas and valuable experiences that can help to inform the team’s decision-making process.

CAN I KEEP THE AUDIO PRIVATE AND INSIDE MY COMPANY?

You can, thanks to fantastic private podcasting tools! For example, you can create a podcast for your CEO update, a podcast for staff development, and a podcast for your community and make them accessible to your complete team or just specific members. To keep teams informed about information that is exclusive to them, you may, for instance, establish a “development team” podcast or a “HR Team podcast.”

HOW WOULD REMOTE TEAM MEMBERS LISTEN?

A team member may say it sounds fantastic, but when am I expected to listen? There question makes sense. Do you anticipate that your team will listen to an hour-long podcast episode that you release every week or month during their downtime? Attempting to listen to a podcast “in the background” while performing any sort of knowledge job would be completely unproductive.

Instead, consider suggesting team members include it in the workday or workweek is an alternative. Telling your employees to take brief time off each week or month to listen to the podcast.  Tell them to ‘take an hour each Friday to listen to the team podcast while you get some fresh air ’. This way it makes the podcast feel like a reward.

To start a podcast for your remote team, you’ll need to find the right hosting platform for your needs. There are a variety of options available, from free to paid. Once you’ve chosen a platform, you’ll need to create a podcast channel and upload your audio files. Contact us if you need help setting up your podcast.

Overall, podcasts can be a great tool for remote teams. They provide an opportunity to stay connected and engaged, while also providing a platform for training, feedback, and collaboration. With the right podcast, remote teams can stay connected and productive despite the challenges of remote work. So if you’re looking for a way to keep your remote team connected, a podcast could be the answer.

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The “W” Word Every Coaching Leader Should Stop Using and Other Coaching Tips

According to a Bersin & Associates study, business results improve by 21 percent when leaders coach effectively and frequently.

As you coach your direct reports, always keep in mind that the coaching conversation is about the employee’s development and you are facilitating the learning process. Keep a few key coaching plays in your back pocket to make the process more effective and help you get the results you need.  

Play #1. It’s about capitalizing on learning moments.

Try not to wait too long after an incident to address problem issues. Talk about and reinforce behavior best practices in-the-moment. It is the best way for learning to occur. 

Play #2. It’s about two-way conversation.

Take an ask vs. tell approach in your coaching dialogue. Avoid telling the employee what to do. Ask powerful questions that allow the employee to create their own solutions. As you guide them through the problem solving process, you have a better chance of them buying into the solution because the solution will be their idea.

Play #3. It’s about choosing your words wisely. 

Confucius said, “Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know more.”  Many times we use great words or phrases irresponsibly because we don’t know any better. One word in particular is the word why. It is not a negative word but it limits a leader’s ability to have an effective conversation.

The goal of a coaching conversation is to have a two-way dialogue that produces a useful outcome.  Leveraging good questions enables this type of outcome. Ask open-ended questions that steer away from asking “why?”.  Why tends to give off an air of judgment.  Open-ended questions invite positive dialogue. Try the ones listed below.

  • What is the status on “x”?
  •  How can I help you? 
  •  Can you tell me about that error?
  • Walk me through your thought process?
  • What other approaches might you take next time?
  • How are your emotions influencing your perception of the situation?

Your career will blossom if you are known to be a good developer of people and that takes strong coaching skills – a critical skill for long-term leadership success!

Can you think of other open-ended questions to use when coaching? Comment below and share your ideas.

8 Effective Strategies to Onboard a Newly Promoted Manager

Being an effective manager entails a steep learning curve that is often times unanticipated by those newly promoted to management roles. A robust manager onboarding plan can help reduce time to proficiency and get managers acclimated to their new role quicker and easier. Consider your current manager onboarding process. How much of it prepares managers to be proficient in their role? Consider the following onboarding workplays to help onboard your next newly promoted manager.

Play #1. Start development before a promotion.
Once a team member shares their interest in leadership and you detect potential in their abilities, begin the process of developing their leadership skills. Create opportunities where they can learn and stretch themselves. Development ideas don’t always involve a fee. It could be as simple as allowing them to shadow a leader at an event, running a meeting, participating in the interview process, assisting with the budget, etc. These example development activities give an employee the opportunity to get more exposure to the leadership role and kick off their preparation period for a future promotion.

Play #2. Include peer mentors.
Newly promoted managers should be paired up with peer mentors who can share smart insight on everyday management situations. These mentors can be selected internally and externally. Just ensure there is a diverse mix of subject matter experts that can share relevant best practices and strengthen their network.

Play #3. Engage the manager’s manager.
It is common place for a manager’s manager to think that their newly promoted manager is able to hit the ground running with minimal supervision. Unfortunately, even the most experienced managers need some type of nurturing by their direct supervisor. Some may need a lot, others may need a little but everyone needs some level of guidance on a consistent basis.

Share suggestions on how much face time managers should have with their management team. Don’t let them leave discussion initiation solely to the newly promoted manager. The reality is some managers will not seek help even when they are floundering. So, have them stay in close contact with the newly promoted manager to help them navigate the managerial terrain.

Play #4. Pace the delivery of knowledge.
Many onboarding programs cram a lot of knowledge (i.e. HR information, compliance training, etc.) in a short span of time. Information is stuffed into a program without any consideration that the employee needs time to process and figure out how it all connects to their role. Keep in mind that most of the information shared will not be used immediately. It is a good idea to share the information but also provide refresher materials on a shared location that can be easily referenced, when needed.

Play #5. Invest in formal training.
A newly promoted manager is most open to learning when they are first promoted. If you start developing managers as soon as they start, you have the best opportunity to develop a foundation of good habits and skill. In turn, they will be more inclined to pass those good habits to others who need it on their team and throughout the organization. 

Play #6. Leverage a coach.
A coach has the ability to guide managers through a series of exercises and brave discussions to help them address work and team challenges from a different perspective. While some companies reserve this path only for executives, coaching can be very effective and cost effective for newly promoted managers too.

To drive coaching costs down, many organizations have internal volunteer coaching pools that have proven to be development effective. Another way to reduce the cost of traditional executive coaching is through the use of email coaching to facilitate manager coaching guidance.

Play #7. Integrate team building.
Create opportunities in your onboarding process to allow newly promoted managers to get to know their new teams. Informal social events are great starts to create team rapport.  But you also want to include more structured team building events that focus on having team dialogue about team needs, issues, and concerns.

Play #8. Get feedback.
Give newly promoted managers the opportunity to give feedback on the effectiveness of the program. They will have great insight on if and how the program should be improved.

Have you used any of these practices to onboard a newly promoted manager? What ideas do you have to better onboard newly promoted managers? Comment below and share your ideas.