After reviewing dozens of reports, speaking to local headquarters leaders, and holding numerous virtual meetings, I decided to do something simple but laborious: personally listen to the field technicians serving these customers, in most of the twenty-five branches scattered throughout Brazil, a country the size of continental USA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We held round tables during the usual 7:30 a.m. morning meetings before they went out for customer visits. I received invaluable insights about our logistical failures, how these employees were evaluated and motivated, and the emotions of being heard for the first time by the company’s CEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To cut a long story short, over the course of two years, many processes were changed to the point where we received global quality awards from the company. Same team, same employees. They were just heard directly from the source, where the action took place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n“It’s very different talking about bulls than being in the arena”.<\/p>\nSpanish proverb<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nI’ve always made it a habit to visit clients facing significant issues with the business I was leading. In another company, I visited a major customer along with the technical salesperson serving them. The products and services were targeted at the manufacturing sector, but we hadn’t received an order in quite some time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I noticed our representative had an excellent relationship with the technical staff. However, upon reaching the Purchasing department and, just as I handed out my business card, he did the same. It was clear that this area received no attention from us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nAgain, in virtual communications, you only see what is shown to you. In person, you see what you wish to.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
After the end of my career with multinationals, I worked alongside an entrepreneur, owner of one of the country’s largest real estate agencies. A Uruguayan immigrant with a captivating personality, he circulated daily in the office, exchanging ideas with employees at all levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On weekends, he personally visited upcoming real estate projects and spoke with many brokers. At Monday morning meetings, he was ready to make important decisions based on his observations and conversations from the previous week. For me, he was an exemplary role model, especially given his age of seventy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Connection and trust<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIn a recent Harvard Business Review article, Mark Mortensen, a professor of organizational behavior at the renowned INSEAD school, wrote about virtual work and his research findings. Some of his conclusions are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Research shows that a lack of close contact reduces connection and trust, key elements of a healthy culture.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n“There’s another significant challenge in remote and hybrid work: we have fewer face-to-face interactions with colleagues, and research indicates that it’s harder to resolve disputes (like those around toxic behaviors) virtually.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n“When we’re face-to-face, we have more interpersonal tools at our disposal. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
We have better data as we can interpret facial expressions more easily and observe off-camera behaviors. We also have better tools since interactions allow us to collaborate in real-time to resolve differences.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nAnother global sales leader, to whom I had the pleasure of reporting, said that when a salesperson underperformed, they needed more “windshield time”<\/em>. This meant not just virtual or face-to-face conversations but also spending days working alongside that salesperson.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNo matter how much new technologies bring significant advancements in business communication, nothing replaces a firm handshake or direct eye contact, conveying genuine emotions. The ability to perceive the environment and behaviors around offers invaluable insight for decision-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Virtual and face-to-face leadership aren’t mutually exclusive. They complement each other. The great risk is relying too heavily on the comfort of the former, relegating the latter to a secondary role. Both are essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To conclude, a quote from Colin Powell, one of the great military figures and modern influencers in leadership concepts, encapsulates this sentiment:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n“Great leaders I’ve worked with are individuals with a deep sense of empathy. They can walk through a factory floor or a battalion and feel if something is off.”<\/p>\nColin Powell<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Executive leadership and challenges in remote management.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":769,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[7],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceoww.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/767"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceoww.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceoww.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceoww.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceoww.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ceoww.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/767\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceoww.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceoww.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceoww.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceoww.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}