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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.

7 Productive Ways to Handover a Project

At some point in your career, you will need to transition a project to another person or team. The reason for the transition will vary but the steps for a smooth transition remain the same.  Make it your goal to give your replacement all the information they need to ensure they can carry out the project properly. Creating a transition process gets easier when you think about type of questions you would ask or the type of information you would need if you were the person that was going to take over your project? What would make you feel confident to take on this new project? Below are several plays you may currently use or want to borrow to handover a project to a new person or team.

#1. Create and document a project transition process. 

During a project transition, it is hard to think about the project in transition. Typically, you are preoccupied with getting it off your plate or focusing on the next thing. For this reason, you want to make sure key transition steps are not missed by documenting your process and reviewing it with key stakeholders to make sure it fits the needs of everyone involved.

#2. Ensure the project is current. 

Tie up any loose ends. If you can’t do that, write down pertinent notes and make sure you share this information at your official transition meeting.

#3. Create a transition package.  

Centralize all project documents and information. Some people consolidate everything in one folder on the network and share it. Others create a spreadsheet of the relevant documents and create a hyperlink that points to where they reside. Whichever way you choose to do it consider including some or all of the following items:

  • Project plan document
  • All documents involved in initial project plans
  • Change requests throughout the project
  • Communication and document templates
  • Financial Reports, Invoices, SOWs, etc.
  • Process documents, SOPs, protocols, etc.
  • Copies of all project deliverables
  • Updated project status reports and minutes
  • A list of project contacts and their roles
  • Copies of project emails

#4. Plan how you will make yourself available. 

An overlap time between yourself and the new replacement is highly recommended. Define what that overlap time will be and how you plan to communicate expectations. Be available for them via phone or email for at least the first couple of week. Even if they don’t reach out to you, you need to reassure them that there is somewhere to go to if they get stuck.

#5. Schedule a transition meeting. 

Have a formal meeting to pass all information over to your replacements and all other identified stakeholders. Don’t rush through this meeting. If needed, share the information in chunks over time to reduce overwhelm and ensure information retention.

Plan to review project status updates and task status updates. Outline some of the project methods and ways specific actions are implemented. Suggest next steps for the new replacement. Share your transition package location and share the process on how you want to handle questions about the package and any other information you share.

#6. Have a culture conversation. 

Take the time to update your replacement of some of the cultural nuances of the project. This may be at a separate more informal meeting. Meet to discuss the different personalities on the team, overall politics, and project culture. Your replacement can definitely draw their own conclusions but your cultural insight will give them some foundation to work with as they begin to determine how they will work with the team dynamics.

#7. Transition your relationships.

Help your replacement manage the project relationships. This is the perfect opportunity to introduce the new replacement to team members. Start copying your replacement on emails with your client or team members.  Save all of your emails in a folder and send them over is another option. Involve them in a couple of conference calls between your client and/or team to give them some knowledge on status updates. You could propose that you take over the first conference call and then ask them to lead the second to reflect the transition.

All the above are great work plays to make sure those involved in a project transition are at ease in what can be a highly stressful and difficult situation.

Do you use any of these approaches? What other approaches do you use to handover a project? Comment below and share your ideas.