Setting Virtual Expectations
Everything has moved to the virtual world. Our meetings, our coffee dates, our happy hours, our interviews. Many of us had already been leveraging the virtual world for a while - others of us, well, this is not just a new world, but a new realm.
Regardless of how long you have engaging in the virtual workspace, most people still say they struggle to find the experience as effective as an in person conversation. The biggest opportunity we have for enhancing the virtual environment is to set clear expectations and then hold ourselves and others accountable to those expectations.
If you are leading a team, I ask you to consider the expectations you have set for your team and if there is an opportunity to revisit any of the below. If you are a member of a team, I ask you to step up and consider the impact the below have on you and consider engaging in a discussion with the others with which you interact.
EXPECTATIONS TO CONSIDER:
-Active Listening Changes. You can no longer say the words we typically say to show someone we are listening - “uh-huh” and “mm-hmm.” Where in face-to-face conversation these phrases are valued, in a digital environment they become incredibly disruptive. Most platforms prioritize the speaker. When an individual is just saying a filler word, the video images tend to jump from the actual speaker to the word that just occurred. There are other ways to show you are listening (emoji options on Zoom, a thumbs up) that are more digitally friendly!
-Enhance Your Pause. We have made huge strides in the telecommunications world. Most of the platforms create seamless ways to see and hear one or more individuals. However, we all know that even the best platforms with the best internet connection have a tad of a delay (and sometimes more than a tad). It is pertinent to take a pause to give people the time to respond and see if anyone was interjecting to your comment. Otherwise, you consistently get the, “Oh- sorry, go-ahead.” “No, you go-ahead.”
-Turn on Your Video. Body language is a key component to communication. It “reveal(s) underlying emotions, motives, and feelings” (Goman, Forbes Article). In face-to-face communication we use our visual cues. When that element is eliminated from our access, we are left guessing about the teams reaction. By turning on our video we are streamlining the dialogue and enhancing communication… which brings us to our next point.
-Stop Multitasking. We have all done it. It is easy. You are on a virtual call with your team and you think you can “kinda listen” while you respond to some emails. Or edit that presentation you are working on. Or read through the contract you need to review. Or… fill in the blank with whatever you tend to default to working on. We all get it. But stop. Regardless of how good you think you are, it is distracting and it limits the effectiveness of the conversation. I was on a call yesterday with six people and all I could see was the top of someone’s head for a significant period of time. I have been on too many calls to count where someone is asked a question and… silence. Then the jokes start, “____ are you still with us?” And then they pop on, “I’m sorry… I guess I was on mute, what was the question?” We all tend to accept it as the way of virtual conversations, but everyone knows you weren’t paying attention.
-Communicate Your Distraction. Things come up. In an in-person meeting, if you get a phone call you step out of the room and everyone is aware you are not present. If you have to respond to an email, people can see you are focused on your phone (not appropriate, btw). In a virtual environment, if you mute your line to take your call, no one knows if you are taking a call or if you are just keeping your line quiet. Figure out what is an appropriate way to designate you have stepped out of the meeting. Maybe you put something in the chat. Maybe you say it out loud. Regardless, let people know when you are not present.
-Mute Yourself. If you are not the main speaker at the moment, put yourself on mute. Even the littlest noise can be distracting to the entire group. Just make sure you know how to quickly toggle between mute/unmute. If you are paying full attention to the conversation, that transition can be seamless. If you are multitasking and have to get back to that window, it is a waste of everyone’s time.
-Get Comfortable with your Background. An individual wouldn’t turn their video on the other day because they were working out of their garage. Another individual has set up their “office” in their bedroom and thought it was embarrassing if they showed their bed. I am just as bad as everyone - I want my background to be pretty and put together. But that isn’t always reality (especially right now!). Is it ok for people to turn their videos on, even if you see their bedroom/kitchen/messy house? Identifying what the expectation is gives people permission to be ok with it. And, if you are embarrassed or don’t want the pile of dishes in the sink visible, most virtual platforms have an option to change your background. In MS Teams, you can “blur” your background. In Zoom, you can add a virtual background.
-Identify Appropriate Dress Code. The team is now all working from home. Where in the office it may make sense to ask people to be in business casual, during this remote work time, we may need to re-consider the dress code request. Is it ok for people to be in casual clothes when meeting with their team? When meeting with leadership? When meeting with clients?
-Communicate Availability. If we are working in the same office and you are taking an early lunch, as you grab your jacket and bag you may say, “Hey, I’m running out to lunch, can I grab you anything?” Or if you have a dentist appointment you will probably lament, “Ugg, I have to run to the dentist this afternoon” as you pack up your things. And, even if you don’t say a word to me, I can figure out if you are available by seeing if you are physically at your desk. In the virtual world, we cannot see you. The only thing we have to go off of is your status on whatever platform we use, your calendar, or you actually communicating. There are times you need to step away (kids need help with school work, you need a break, you got a phone call, you decided to throw a load of laundry in (yes, it happens)). Every team needs to decide what this looks like and how we communicate availability.
Once everyone is on the same page - everyone can begin to devote their capacity to the task at hand. It has been a few weeks of remote work. Today is just as good of a day as any to realign the team so everyone can move forward with confidence.
