Unless your laptop camera is very high quality resolution, people meeting with you virtually probably won’t notice the bags under your eyes from staying up the previous night with a sick child or that you didn’t have time to take a shower after your morning run.
The key to leveraging the world of virtual work is to be well known as a productive and personable team member. These 12 practices will ensure you consistently show up as positive, focused, and energetic. How many of these best practices are true for you?
- Before calling or emailing, I plan what I want to communicate and consider the best approach considering the personality and the perspectives of the recipient.
- When I answer the phone, I look away from my computer so that email and instant messages don’t distract me.
- When I speak up on a conference call or virtual meeting, I deliberately smile so I sound more pleasant and approachable. (Yes, people can see and hear the difference!)
- I use IM status codes deliberately to communicate when I need to focus and don’t want to be disturbed and when I am open for conversation.
- I show genuine interest in my colleagues’ lives outside of our immediate project work by asking questions about their interests and sharing a bit about myself to build trust.
- When I work on a project or task with someone, I take time to collaboratively share expectations and agree on deliverables to prevent misunderstanding and conflict. I do not promise what I may not be able to deliver.
- I have a way (phone app, computer screen, etc.) of quickly recognizing the current time zone of a colleague and I modify my communication appropriately. (For example, you could start an email request with I know you are probably ready to leave for the day, so when would be a good time to chat about xx?)
- I demonstrate respect for others by adapting my behavior based on their availability and workload, and I show appreciation for their efforts.
- My shared team calendar is always up to date so that my team knows when I am available for meetings.
- If I write an email when am annoyed, angry, or frustrated, I save it as a draft and review/edit it later before sending it.
- I never multitask on one-on-one meeting calls and limit my multitasking when on large conference calls or meetings. (Exception: forwarding someone a document to facilitate discussion is acceptable since it supports the conversation.)
- I only use the Reply All email feature when I am confident everyone on the list wants or needs to know the information I am sending.
In addition to reducing commuting time and saving money on a wardrobe, working virtually also allows you to choose how you show up to others. Use these behaviors to be the person everyone wants on their virtual team!
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