HLTH (“health”) is an event designed for senior executives in the health
industry. The bring together the largest audience with 7,000+ leaders to solve
healthcare’s most pressing problems and realize the most promising opportunities
to create health’s future.
HLTH features four days of inspiring content, curated networking, educational sessions, and dynamic events for payers, providers, pharma, employers, investors, startups, policymakers and innovation centers. They have put together this list of site to help us, family members and clients though the pandemic.
Outlets that have removed all paywalls on virus content: The New York
Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles
Times, The Guardian, The AP News.
Following the release of our recent report “A Decade in Review: Funding to the Female Founders”
Crunchbase is highlighting female founders who are paving the way for
the next generation of glass-ceiling-smashers. The “Female Founder
Series” is comprised of stories, Q&As and thought-leadership pieces
from female founders who overcame the odds, raised funding and are now
leading successful companies.
Last year, Geosite
arrived at an exciting inflection point in our growth and I was meeting
regularly with current and potential investors. One morning I was
walking to my office in Palo Alto when I saw my reflection in a
storefront window. A light breeze had caught the hem of my floral
sundress and it fluttered in the spring sunlight. A sinking feeling
stopped me in my tracks and I had the sudden, unexpected thought: I don’t look like a CEO.
I brushed the feeling off. I decided I
didn’t have time to be slowed down worrying about others’ perceptions. I
had work to do and a company to grow. But the thought stuck with me
over the past few years as I built Geosite.
Sometimes I am still struck by the
realization that I have a firm idea of what a CEO “should” look like,
and I have to challenge myself to not buy into that or any preconceived
notion of how I might be perceived. Maybe I don’t look the way people
expect a CEO to look, but I am lucky to feel very comfortable with who I
am. Ultimately, it reminds me to keep my own preconceptions in check as
well.
I founded Geosite two years ago and
have built the team to 15 people with $1.7 million in investment and
$1.8 million in revenue. With clients in defense and energy, I spend a
lot of time in rooms where I am the only woman. Like all founders, I
invest considerable time–more than I had originally anticipated–talking
to investors, the overwhelming majority of whom are men. It doesn’t
matter what we wear or how we look, women will always stand out in these
rooms; there just aren’t enough women empowered in leadership, tech, or
finance.
After years of scrolling through
“Meet Our Team” pages on VC websites, the homogeneity of the teams wears
on female founders (and founders from any minority group). That’s bad
for all of us. It is hard for the underrepresented founders leading
their companies and it’s not good for white male VC’s either. They begin
to blur together, robbing them of deserved individuality. “I don’t
know, maybe I’ve met this guy before…? I’m not sure, they all look the
same.”
I see signs that diversity is increasing, but far too slowly.
As a woman running a company now, I don’t have 108 years for gender
parity, so here are the things I choose to lean on in the meantime:
1. Get a strong tribe of advisers, mentors and friends
I am extraordinarily lucky that the
very first check came from the team that, to this day, is the solid
foundation of advice, access, and cheerleading I need to run Geosite.
The team at Bee Partners provides incredible support to not only me, but
is blazing a clear path in the venture community with 50 percent of
their portfolio companies in 2019 founded by women.
Beyond having great investors, peers
are vital. I cannot imagine running Geosite without my CEO besties. The
camaraderie of entrepreneurship is unbelievable and breathtaking: From
the highest highs to the lowest lows, peers who can empathize with and
challenge you are a critical component to sustain yourself. Practically,
it is also important. We expand each others’ networks and refine each
others’ decks and pitches to be the best possible reflection of our
companies.
2. Practice introducing yourself
Heuristics and pattern matching are
important in the risky, intuition-filled world of early-stage investing.
We have little control over how others perceive us at first glance, and
first impressions are lasting. This makes a strong introduction one of
the most important, and often overlooked, skills for founders. I learned
this the hard way.
After a pitch to a few highly
regarded partners on Sand Hill Road, a friend from grad school who had
become an investor at the firm told me I had done a wonderful job
explaining my company … but I had fallen short when it came to my
personal introduction.
It is important to have the humility
to identify what you do and do not know. Don’t make the mistake of
conflating this with a need to hide ambition. If you have the data and
insight to back up what you’re doing, do not shy away from stating that
you will change the world (or an industry, or lives, or the state of
technology). Others will revise down your optimism, so you should not.
Building a fledgling startup into a
unicorn takes a vision and a superhuman amount of optimism. Share that
vision and dream with the people (investors) who have the resources to
help you make that dream a reality and with the team who will join you
on the journey to make that dream a reality.
You’ll be surprised how supportive people are when you aren’t shy about your ambition to change the world.
Rachel Olney
is a Stanford University Mechanical Engineering PhD candidate and the
Founder and CEO of Geosite Inc. She has taught innovation frameworks and
built standard operating procedures for the most elite US military
special operations teams. She has also helped create and scale an
international program in national security innovation and conducted
research for the US Air Force on the Strategic Implications of Ultra
Low-Cost Access to Space.
As the CEO of Geosite she leads a YCombinator backed startup
disrupting the geospatial data industry, making it easier for
logistically intensive industries, such as Oil and Gas and the
Department of Defense and Intelligence Communities, to easily leverage
spatial data (satellites, drones, IOT, and cloud-enables SCADA) to
increase operational efficiency. Geosite is the first enterprise
software to imbed cutting-edge geospatial data into business
intelligence tools.
We realize that everyone around the world is facing unique challenges right now, and for business owners, the stakes are particularly high. In this challenging and uncertain time some of you are able to continue with little change, while others have been required to temporarily shut your doors. We want to offer some support in the ways we can. Here are the immediate steps we are taking to help:
Today Square Online Store released the option for curbside pickup, and later this week a local delivery feature will be available for all businesses so that you can quickly adapt to this changing environment. We are also waiving curbside pickup and delivery fees for the next three months. Square Online Store already offers online orders for in-store pickup with no monthly fee.
We are refunding all software subscription fees for the month of March, which includes Square Appointments, Retail, Restaurants, Loyalty, Team Management, Payroll, Marketing, and Square Online Store. Square will manage the process for you—there’s no need to do anything. We’re also offering a resource hub with information and advice for businesses to navigate this new environment, which covers how to offer local delivery, set up and promote electronic gift cards, utilize free marketing campaigns, turn off signature requirements for in-person purchases, and more.
We are taking proactive steps to ensure we can continue to provide you with both advice and assistance. Customer Support is here to help with questions or concerns. As we continue to assess the situation, teams across the company are prioritizing how we can provide additional support during this time.
Please take care of yourselves, your families, your employees, and your customers.
New teams are critical for developing policies and providing information
Learn COVID-19 protocols and business contingency plans
Monitor impact and conduct assessments to sustain business function
Gallup Managing Director Larry Emondgathered the strategies and policies of 100members
of the CHRO Roundtable, an organization that includes the CHROs of more
than 650 of the world’s largest companies, for their responses to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The companies in this sampling average $27 billion in
revenue with 80,000 employees and most are global organizations. This
is what Emond found.
Crisis Management Teams
Most organizations have created crisis management teams, task forces
or committees with a response tailored to specific geographic regions.
These task forces meet regularly to develop policies and provide
information to leaders, managers and front-line employees regarding
COVID-19 awareness, prevention, management and hygiene practices.
These teams are also focused on management protocols and business
continuity plans to guide current actions and forecast possible
responses to future events. In general, their protocols and plans
include:
developing succession contingencies for all major executives
conducting business using virtual, video or audio capabilities
restricting travel
reducing to business-critical operations only
moving critical operations to unaffected regions
cross-training team members to perform critical functions in the
event of an unexpected absence or quarantine of another team member
documenting business-critical functions, processes or procedures in
the event of an unexpected absence or quarantine of a team member
distributing call center scripts and agent communications
If an employee is diagnosed with COVID-19, many companies have established protocols like these:
Require employees to report confirmed cases — either of self or
family member — of COVID-19 to HR or management. The affected are
typically required to stay home for 14 days and/or until cleared by a
doctor to return to work with confirmation that there is no diagnosis of
COVID-19.
Isolate employees diagnosed at work; immediately disinfect objects
they’ve touched; trace their contact with other employees, customers,
and clients; and notify those who may have been exposed without
releasing the diagnosed employee’s name.
Ask employees to log all contact with other employees or visitors in
case they become symptomatic so that others can be informed of
potential exposure.
Travel Requirements
Most companies have recommended limiting personal and professional
travel, and some have assured workers they could decline professional
invitations without penalty. Generally called soft bans, these partial
travel restrictions have been issued with requests to inform HR of
travel and avoid air travel, public transportation and large gatherings,
as well as 14-day self-quarantines following travel to affected areas.
However, hard bans are in effect in many companies, and travel to
China, Italy, South Korea, Iran, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan has been
prohibited. Indeed, most intercontinental travel — and, more recently,
even travel in general — has stopped for the time being, unless it’s
mission-critical.
Business Impact
Leaders are holding additional meetings to monitor business impact in
efforts to protect or sustain business functions. Many companies with
facilities in affected areas have closed them and are canceling their
own — or their employees’ presence at — conferences, events and
face-to-face meetings. Some have been able to move operations to
unaffected locations.
Simultaneously, CHROs are:
monitoring supply chains or providers for potential impacts
conducting ongoing supply chain risk assessment and operation impact assessment
considering alternative suppliers
preparing for shortages, transportation delays or communication delays
approving additional budget for supplies or additional paid time off
reducing or suspending bonuses for top earners
analyzing and forecasting potential market impacts
instituting mandatory work-from-home or remote work policies where possible
closing on-site facilities such as gyms, cafeterias and common areas
making revisions to employee compensation and benefits policies
granting paid time off for symptomatic employees, employees who must
care for family members who are diagnosed with COVID-19, and/or
employees with diagnosed cases of COVID-19
using standing sick leave, extended sick leave, vacation time, paid time off or flex-time policies
increasing sick leave or paid time off for all or on a case-by-case basis
utilizing short-term disability, family leave (FMLA) or other existing benefits
recommending available Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)
reminding employees about mental health services for stress management
using back-up care programs, childcare subsidies or other dependent care benefits
refraining from penalizing time off of any kind
permitting unlimited unpaid time off without penalty
providing travel/international SOS (medical and travel security) services
communicating employer-sponsored insurance and other relevant benefits
advising employees to avoid public transportation
staggering shifts to help employees avoid busy commutes
advising employees to avoid visiting high-traffic events or locations on personal time
reconfiguring meeting rooms, break rooms and other common areas to promote social distancing
expanding the time of meal service to avoid congestion, and asking employees to consider alternate meal times to reduce crowds
Technology
These companies are testing technological (e.g., remote work)
capabilities, emergency notification systems and updating employee
contact information. They’re advising employees to take their laptops or
other portable equipment home each night, and they are devoting IT
staff to help employees set up remote connections at home, sometimes on
employees’ personal computers.
Leaders are holding additional meetings to monitor business impact in efforts to protect or sustain business functions.
Many companies have required or are encouraging video or
audio-conferencing meetings (e.g., Skype, Zoom, Microsoft Teams) or
phone calls in lieu of face-to-face meetings. They also recommend
conducting collaborative projects by video or audio-conferencing, Google
Docs, emails or other online channels.
Communications
Corporate leadership is communicating frequently — daily, weekly or
as available — to address their organization’s COVID-19 response,
advice, policies and protocols. Many are issuing FAQ guides, and many
are including links to authorities and external organizations such as
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), The World Health
Organization (WHO), Johns Hopkins University, local governments and
outbreak maps.
Along with expert advice, these messages often include a genuinely
personal element, i.e., reminding workers to get information from
credible organizations, assuring them that none of their fellow
employees have tested positive for the virus (where applicable) and
urging employees not to panic or spread rumors. They will also often
encourage employees to obtain enough food, water, medicines and other
essentials for their families in case of quarantine or scarcity.
Corporate leadership is communicating frequently — daily, weekly or
as available — to address their organization’s COVID-19 response,
advice, policies and protocols.
Communications are usually tailored to the recipients — whether
leaders, managers, employees or clients/customers, respectively — and
methods include:
social media for public messages
email, mail, text messages, hotlines and internal systems (i.e., intranet) to propagate pertinent information
signage to reinforce hygiene, screening and other organizational policies
Members of the CHRO Roundtable are conscious of the effects of their
communication, particularly on customers. To that end, many have:
Proscribed responses from managers/leaders if contacted by the
media. Many have designated media relations personnel who address all
questions from the media.
Asked employees not to violate the privacy of diagnosed employees or clients/customers in social media messages.
Deployed social media and marketing messaging about customer policies and alternative commerce/services.
Training
Businesses are rapidly expanding training opportunities. Much of it
concerns managers, who are being tasked with assisting in coronavirus
containment, responding to employee needs or concerns, and communicating
disease-management policies and preventative measures, such as hygiene
practices. But CHROs are also creating COVID-19-specific training
programs for security professionals, cleaning crews, maintenance and
groundskeeping staff.
These protocols and responses, we’re told, will be operational as
long as is needed — the end of May is the current long-term projection
— and all are subject to revision. Gallup will continue to report on
our findings as the situation evolves.
Adapt quickly to COVID-19.
Watch our live webinar “COVID-19: Managing Your Workforce Through
Disruption” to get everything Gallup knows about disruption and other
crises. Join us on Thursday, March 19, at 2:30 p.m. CT.
Dr. Jim Harter, Gallup’s chief workplace scientist, and other experts
will share what we’ve learned through research, hands-on experience and
our connections with leaders around the world.
Larry Emond is Managing Director of Global Leadership Advisory at Gallup.
Ellyn Maese is a Research Associate at Gallup. Jennifer Robison contributed to this article.
Individualization, expectations, communication are key for remote workers
Managers need their leaders’ support more than ever during this time
Going fully remote may be your organization’s new way to work
The novel coronavirus outbreak has put Italy on lockdown, closed
schools in Madrid, shuttered the Securities and Exchange Commission’s
D.C. headquarters, turned New Rochelle into a containment zone — and
prompted business leaders everywhere to tell employees to take their
laptops home at night in case a COVID-19 diagnosis suddenly turns the
company remote.
If so, they’ll join what Time calls “the World’s Largest Work-From-Home Experiment,”
but without the preparation other companies have had. If your company
is one of them — or you think it will be — this is what Gallup analytics reveals about managing remote workers.
Individualization is key. The best managers have always individualized their coaching to the worker, but doing so at a distance requires greater intentionality. Managers need to ask each team member to describe the conditions under which they perform best, their concerns about their workflow and their emotional response to the situation.
Managers in strengths-based businesses have a huge asset — they can
predict employees’ reactions. Whether that means a driving need to
complete projects, keep promises, maintain relationships or any other
motivator, those traits are powerful … and different for everyone.
Managers will need to individualize to the person to get the best performance. A one-size-fits-all response never fits anyone very well.
Set expectations early and clearly. About half of
all U.S. employees — remote or not — don’t know what’s expected of
them at work. That’s a bad beginning, and it’ll get worse for employees
sent home without good guidance. So managers must make expectations
crystal clear: X is the work you should do, Y is the quality standard, Z
is the deadline. Executives should provide higher-level expectations
aligned with the company’s purpose: We’ll keep our customers engaged by
doing X, we’ll maintain our standards by doing Y, we’ll fulfill our mission by doing Z. The more detail, the better.
But remember, fulfilling expectations requires equipment and information. Research from University of California Irvine professor Judith Olson found that the most successful remote work situations are those in which workers have similar work styles, know and like each other, have technology that allows them to collaborate, and know how to use that technology. You may not have time to create great working relationships — though you should try — but now’s the time to explore your digital options. That’s how people will meet the expectations you set.
Communication. Employees who are accustomed to
working in-house may feel cut off from the resources, information or
relationships they need to do their jobs well, so plan for more
conference calls. It’s OK to pad socializing into the timeframe; indeed,
it may be vital for people who need lots of interaction to keep their
energy up. Managers will have to be diligent about communicating productively — coaching high performance requires frequent conversations, and there won’t be chance conversations in the hall.
But your staff needs to hear from you too, especially as
economic fears worsen, to maintain their trust in leadership. Keep the
lines of communication open, honest and broad. Send emails or post
videos about your reasoning, intentions and expectations. Make it easy
for managers to know your thoughts and contribute their own.
Support your managers: A sudden change in the
practice of management can be hard on managers. They may worry about
disruptions to the workflow they’re accountable for. Some may feel they
have to be physically present to be good coaches, unsure that they can
engage workers from a distance. Rather more negatively, there are still
some managers who don’t trust workers they can’t see. All of them will
have to manage workers in a new way, and fast.
So give them your support, both practical and emotional, during what
may be a tough transition. Invest in management development and coaching
ahead of the budget plan, and be affirming about the situation and
understanding about altered deadlines. Just remember, your managers
always need to know you have their back — but never more so than when
they feel insecure.
Looking Ahead
Gallup finds that 43% of U.S. employees
work remotely some or all of the time, and many, many studies show
remote workers are more productive and profitable than in-house
employees. So don’t worry — telework can succeed spectacularly.
Although your company will have to learn quickly, your people may
perform at levels that surprise you.
But don’t be surprised if they don’t want to come back to the office.
Gallup research shows that 53%
of employees say greater work-life balance and personal wellbeing are
“very important” to them when considering a new job — as do 60% of women, of whom 48% are actively looking for a new employer — and that 51% of U.S. workers say they would quit their current job for one that allows flextime.
A huge proportion of workers already have. Gallup found that the
number of remote workers grew by four percentage points — representing
millions of employees — between 2012 and 2016, that workers are
spending more time off-site than ever before, and that more and more industries
are putting remote work policies in place (primarily finance, insurance
and real estate, followed by transportation, retail, manufacturing and
construction). “Remote work is no longer a privilege,” Forbes recently reported. “It’s become the standard operating mode for at least 50% of the U.S. population.”
That percentage is about to explode, whether companies are prepared
for it or not. So if you have to send people home to keep them safe,
individualize, communicate and set expectations so your managers can
coach effectively during a crisis. But keep this in mind: While COVID-19
won’t be an issue forever, remote work will be. What you learn about
leading a remote workforce now will likely become best practice for your
company later on.
Adapt quickly to COVID-19.
Watch our live webinar “COVID-19: Managing Your Workforce Through
Disruption” to get everything Gallup knows about disruption and other
crises. Join us on Thursday, March 19, at 2:30 p.m. CT.
Dr. Jim Harter, Gallup’s chief workplace scientist, and other experts
will share what we’ve learned through research, hands-on experience and
our connections with leaders around the world.
Jennifer Robison is a Senior Editor at Gallup. Adam Hickman, Ph.D., contributed to this article.
Loneliness is emotional and isolation is structural
Managers need to know the difference to help remote workers thrive
A strategy of engagement can help managers keep remote workers connected
Despite the productivity gains and cost savings associated with
remote work, many leaders worry that those advantages come at the
expense of remote workers’ emotional health — in particular, that
remote work causes loneliness and isolation. Ultimately, it’s feared,
remote workers’ engagement and productivity will suffer.
Gallup finds that remote workers can feel lonely and isolated — but it’s not typical and it is
preventable. In fact, a recent Buffer study of 1,900 remote workers
around the world found that 90% intend to work remotely for the rest of
their lives and 94% recommend off-site careers. And when asked to name
the biggest struggle with working remotely, just 21% named “loneliness.”
Still, one-fifth of a workforce is a lot of people, and leaders need
measures in place to fix that problem before it damages engagement and
performance. Gallup research shows that managers are best positioned to
implement the strategies that make the biggest difference for their
teams — but first, they have to know the difference between loneliness
and isolation.
Loneliness is emotional.Isolation is structural.
First, it helps to understand that loneliness is an emotional
response to lack of connection — and people can feel just as lonely in
the office as outside of it. One quasi-field experiment conducted at a
global headquarters that was transitioning to open office workstations
documented an interesting phenomenon. Instead of the open floorplan
encouraging collaboration, the study found the volume of face-to-face
interaction between employees decreased by approximately 70%,
while electronic communication increased. Employees appeared to react to
the workspace by socially withdrawing from peers and partners to
interact over email and IM instead.
Isolation, on the other hand, is related to access — or lack of it.
The isolated can’t get the materials or information they need, they
think their achievements or development are ignored, they feel cut off
from the business. That isn’t an emotional issue, it’s a technical one.
This is a manager’s top priority — having the materials and
equipment you need to do your work right is fundamental to engagement.
Loneliness can contribute to isolation and isolation can contribute
to loneliness, but managers can address both by talking about the issues
that cause them. Gallup workplace research recommends frequent, ongoing
conversations — in fact, we recommend five distinct types of conversations that drive performance,
each timed for maximum impact — but with specific language framed for
remote workers: “I need to know how you’re getting along. So tell me, is
it too quiet at home? Do you miss having people around? Do you feel
left out?”
Direct questions get direct answers, and managers should be prepared
with appropriate solutions. Here’s what Gallup recommends, geared toward
the individual and the issue.
Only the Lonely: How to Help Your Remote Workers
If the worker’s answers indicate loneliness, the manager’s strategy
must reflect the worker’s personality. If he’s lonely because he’s shy,
trying to turn him into a social butterfly is a waste of the manager’s
time and the worker’s patience. A better bet is creating low-stakes
opportunities for meaningful connections, but the manager should take
the lead — making formal introductions to colleagues, accepting the
emotional labor of pre-meeting small talk, linking him with partners for
projects.
If the worker is more outgoing, his manager just needs to help him
open his office door, metaphorically, to visitors. Online group chats
allow teams a kind of ongoing hallway chatter. Managers can set up
weekly “phone trees” for remote workers organized around a workplace
topic. Managers can even send remote workers a list of local coffee
shops along with a small gift card: “You need to be around people to
keep your energy up. Get a cup of coffee and have a great workday.”
In any case, managers who ask lonely employees for their opinions can
gain some valuable insight. Opinions are especially fruitful
post-project or at the achievement of a milestone — reflection helps
workers process learning opportunities — yet remote workers may feel
their perspective is so narrow that their opinion isn’t needed.
When managers can meet the basics needs of engagement, even casual,
friendly conversations turn into innovative discussions that help the
team and organization thrive.
In fact, remote workers’ perspectives can provide rare insights into
the organization. Shy, lonely workers need to hear they offer unique
value — it can ease social anxiety — and outgoing, lonely workers need
more contact. Either way, their insights on the work environment can
bring to light connections they ought to make, as well as show managers
new ways to improve processes.
Out of Sight, but Not Out of Mind
The isolated need a more tactical approach, but it requires a
judicious balance. Remember, some people choose remote work because
isolation boosts their productivity. IBM learned this the hard way. In
2009, IBM reported that 40% of its workforce (386,000 employees in 173
countries) worked remotely. In 2017, after 20 straight quarters of
losses IBM’s leadership decided that it needed to generate more
serendipitous ideas from its employees. So “Big Blue” called in its
remote workers to boost collaboration and innovation.
It didn’t work. Those remote employees who loved to work remotely immediately began searching for new jobs that would continue to allow them to work from home. Those who did return to an office deliberately isolated themselves, possibly to recreate the environment that had best suited them — research has demonstrated as much in other workplaces. It’s a cautionary tale for managers: The isolated aren’t sad, they’re cut off. Managers can fix that by integrating remote workers deeper into the organization, despite their distance.
For instance, managers can bring a list of their remote workers to strategic meetings, annotated with their CliftonStrengths if available,
to help the manager’s recall when projects are being planned. That
keeps remote workers visible and their advancement, development, and
recognition top of mind. Managers can make time with their own managers
to specifically discuss the engagement of remote workers and ways to
help them learn and grow.
If remote workers can’t access the materials and equipment they need,
managers should work with departments that can solve the problem, such
as IT or legal. Cybersecurity can be an obstacle, but tech is
increasingly capable of keeping employees in the loop on secure
channels. This is a manager’s top priority — having the materials and
equipment you need to do your work right is fundamental to engagement.
And remote workers who simply feel left out can really benefit from
being brought in, physically. And as one Gallup manager of remote
workers says, there’s always a business case to be made for in-person meetings at HQ,
even if the purpose is as much social as practical. Or borrow a page
from university alumni chapters’ regional meetups and organize
remote-worker get-togethers somewhere central to them. It’s a
cost-effective way to keep relationships alive and far-flung teams
engaged, as any alumni director can tell you.
Employee Engagement as an Organizing Principle
Supporting the unique needs of remote workers may seem like a lot of
work for a manager. It can be. Though the best managers are masters of
individualization, staying on top of the psychological welfare and work
environments of remote employees takes time and concern.
It helps to use the elements of engagement as an organizing
principle. The five conversations that drive performance are oriented
toward engagement, and they keep managers focused where their attention
most helps performance. Those conversations also give managers time and
opportunity to really understand remote employees. To consider their
unique contributions. To watch how they like to communicate. To discover
how they respond to workplace situations. To understand loneliness when
they see it or isolation for what it is.
When managers can meet the basics needs of engagement, even casual,
friendly conversations turn into innovative discussions that help the
team and organization thrive. That’s what leaders want from remote
workers, of course, and they’re right to worry that loneliness and
isolation may get in the way.
They can — but they don’t have to. Not if managers know the
difference between loneliness and isolation and have the tools they need
to solve for both.
Explore more resources for supporting remote workers:
Read about “The Changing Place and Space of Work” in Gallup’s State of the American Workplace report which includes research on remote work trends and best practices.
Learn strategies for adapting to the future of work including new demands for flexibility with Gallup’s latest book, It’s the Manager.
Attend the free webinar “Managing Your Remote Workers” and learn more about the intentionality and deliberate communication that managing remote workers requires.
Adam Hickman, Ph.D., is Content Manager at Gallup. Jennifer Robison contributed to this article.
Original Article appears here with additional tips: https://www.gallup.com/workplace/268076/manage-loneliness-isolation-remote-workers.aspx?utm_source=workplace-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WorkplaceNewsletter_March_03172020&utm_content=howtomanageremoteworkers-CTA-3&elqTrackId=d32e757e608e45adb6f99b65dfe34e9e&elq=c7db8c639bfa4d5bbe2551a4f67d607b&elqaid=3589&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=787
Join us for multiple days of live streamed content from Singularity University’s
community of global experts on COVID-19, the current challenges and
solutions, and future impact on our health, business, government, and
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We’ll be releasing specific sessions and topics this week.
All session will be live-streamed to our following social channels:
Virtual Summit Schedule Day 1 – March 16, 2020 (Pacific Time)8:45am – 9:00am Opening Remarks – Adam Hofmann 9:00am – 9:45am Everything you need to know about COVID-19, tracking epidemics, and vaccine development strategies – Dr. Divya Chander 10:00am – 10:45 am Perspectives from Responding to Other Outbreaks including SARS, Monkeypox, and Influenza – Dr. David Bray 11:00am – 12:15 pm State of the Global Response to COVID-19 – Dr. Daniel Kraft 12:30pm – 1:00pm: A practical guide to staying healthy during COVID-19 – Nell Watson 1:15pm – 1:45pm Slowing contagion – Amory B. Lovins 2:00pm – 2:45pm Curing Diseases & DNA – Raymond McCauley 3:00pm – 3:45pm Pandemics and resilient cities – Dr. Robert Muggah 4:00pm – 4:30pm Leadership in the Time of COVID-19 – Elie Losleben4:35pm – 5:05pm Bold Choices and Rapid Innovation – Julia Cheek 5:05pm – 5:20pm Wrap up – Adam HofmannDay 2 – March 17, 2020 (Pacific Time)9:00am – 9:10am Opening Remarks – Adam Hofmann9:10 – 9:55 How crowdsourcing and mobile devices helped to monitor epidemics during the 2014 World Cup and Olympics 2016 – Onicio Leal Neto 10:00am – 10:30am Digital Identity in Times of Epidemic – Dr. Mariana Dahan 10:40am – 11:10am Food for Earth: unleash the regenerative power of food during and beyond the CoronaV-ERA – Sara Roversi 11:20am – 11:50am Emerging Digital technologies for Epidemic management: obstacles, opportunities and outcomes – Dr. Sonny Kohli 12:00pm – 12:30pm How can you use data to monitor your lifestyle (from food to exercise) to boost your body’s resilience against diseases? – Sabine Seymour 12:40pm – 1:30pm Why Authoritarianism is Bad for Public Health – Alex Gladstein 1:40pm- 2:15pm The Future of Safe Living in Self-Reliant Neighborhoods – James Ehrlich 2:20pm- 2:55pm Are New Genetic Technologies a Match for the Coronavirus? – Jamie Metzl 3:00pm – 3:30pm How AI can be leveraged for the increasing threats of future pandemics – Bradley Twyham 3:45pm – 4:30pm Polarizing the positive and negative of pandemics and putting it into action – Lisa Andrews 4:30pm – 4:45pm Wrap up – Adam HofmannDay 3 – March 18, 2020 (Pacific Time)8:20am – 8:30am Opening Remarks – Adam Hofmann
8:30am – 9:05am Crisis Mode Education: How to Make the Most of Learning in a Global Pandemic – Jos Dirkx 9:15am – 10:00am Five Ways Your Leadership Must Change To Thrive With Remote Work – Charlene Li 10:15am – 11:00am Remote & Distributed Work During Crises – Gary A. Bolles 11:15am – 11:45am Using Virtual Worlds in a Time Of Travel Disruption – Aaron Frank 12:00pm – 12:30pm Opportunities for more automation and remote delivery of goods and services – Peter Xing 1:00pm – 1:45pm Updates from the field: How governments and organizations are responding – Dr. Eric Rasmussen 2:00pm – 2:45pm Strengthening your company’s resilience against existential threats – Chipp Norcross & Paul D. Roberts 3:00pm – 3:45pm Fake news and media’s role in global emergencies – James Del 4:00pm – 4:45pm How you can take action during times of uncertainty – Christina Gerakiteys 4:55pm – 5:40pm Complexity: How leaders can navigate unpredictable situations – Catherine Brown & Chipp Norcross 5:40pm – 6:10pm Closing Thoughts – Dr. Tiffany Vora About Singularity University
No one thinks much about this leadership quality—until the you-know-what hits the fan.
It’s crisis management.
Thankfully, crises are rare occurrences—the black swans of leadership.
We’ve done nearly 70 million assessments of executives, so we know what makes a great leader—the best-in-class who are among the top 20 percent. Our research shows that three of the four qualities of a great CEO are largely intuitive: (1) sets vision and strategy; (2) drives growth; and (3) displays financial acumen. The fourth, which no one mentions, is managing crises. It’s underappreciated, overlooked, and often not even one of the top requirements—until a crisis hits.
This is one of those times. A month ago, when the stock market was making all-time highs, only the rare few could have predicted universities would close, companies would tell employees to work from home en masse, and the NBA season would abruptly be suspended, followed by museums, cathedrals, and Broadway darkening.
While it’s natural in uncertain times for people to turn to the leader for definitive answers, sometimes the authentic answer is “I don’t know right now”—quickly followed by, “And here’s what we are going to do.” In a crisis such as today, leaders need a Plan B—and a Plan C and Plan D as well.
Leaders always deal with ambiguity—it’s timeless and comes with the job. During crises, ambiguity becomes exponential. As fear becomes contagious across organizations, leaders must manage their own responses to ambiguity.
How do they do that? By following our six steps of leadership:
Anticipate – predicting what lies ahead Navigate – course correcting in real time Communicate – continually Listen – to what you don’t want to hear Learn – learning from experience to apply in the future Lead – improve yourself to elevate others Let me provide some color commentary on what leaders can do to put crisis management in action.
Start at the Bottom of Maslow’s Hierarchy: In a crisis, you first need to meet people where they are. Their most basic needs must be met first and they need to feel safe. Naturally, no one is interested in talking about the company’s strategic plan when they are out buying hand sanitizer and toilet paper. Once their essential needs are addressed, then the focus can shift to alignment, common purpose, elevating others and even opportunities for growth.
Earthquakes and Aftershocks: In Los Angeles, where our firm is based, we’re accustomed to earthquakes—knowing that, when one occurs, the aftershocks are coming. In the same way, in a crisis, you have to anticipate the aftershocks—the unintended consequences of the initial shock to the system. Too often, people don’t consider all the possibilities. Anticipation becomes a Monte Carlo simulation in action. For example, what if travel bans expand, commerce slows, or a liquidity crisis develops, etc.? What is the impact on all aspects of my business? What are the implications for all stakeholders—employees, customers, and investors? Strategy is making a bet, and the skill of anticipating improves one’s odds.
Urgent vs. Important: Day to day, leaders face a multitude of issues—both urgent and important. In the normal course of business, I’ve found that many leaders have difficulty distinguishing between the two. When a crisis hits, though, everything blurs as events and their implications constantly change. What’s important often becomes urgent, and the urgent becomes critical. Leaders must delegate the urgent by empowering others to lead around a common purpose.
Leave No One Behind: In a crisis, leaders must connect with, motivate, and inspire others—and show genuine compassion. In the military, for example, leaders put the safety and well-being of others before themselves. I’ve met a number of military leaders who led during periods of conflict, and many have voluntarily told me, “I’ve never lost a soldier.” This reveals a deep mindset of humility and accountability, rather than hubris and bravado.
Know What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do: There’s nothing like a crisis or a complex problem to accelerate learning. This is learning agility to the “Nth” degree—applying past lessons to new and unfamiliar situations. It really is knowing what to do when you don’t know what to do. In a crisis, this has never been more profound. Amid uncertainty, leaders need to be hyper-focused on past experiences and synthesize and apply them to real-time, fluid conditions. Clarity comes from finding a close comparison. Is it like the Great Recession? The 1987 stock market crash? The outbreaks of SARS or MERS? By running the “unknown” of the current crisis against the “known” of previous ones, leaders gain perspective, identify patterns, connect the dots, and determine appropriate and timely responses. The eventual recovery may be a V or a U or some other alphabet letter, but there will be a new normal—thanks, ultimately, to the scientists, innovators, and dreamers. The natural inclination in a crisis may be to go into command-and-control. That’s not leadership! It’s creating a “bottom-up” culture of world-class observers to accurately perceive today in order to predict tomorrow.
