Spontaneous Chats
Leadership is relationship work- I guess you heard that one before. Success in my role often hinges on how closely I can follow my teams and individual team members. The closer I am to understanding what’s currently happening—what people need to plan, make decisions, and execute—the more I can think ahead and determine whats next. One way I achieve this is through spontaneous talks throughout the week.
I’m not a fan of waiting for bi-weekly check-in meetings (which I often don’t even schedule, they just clutter everything anyway)—too much can happen in just a week. Instead, I prefer an open line of communication where both sides can reach out at any time. Initially, this might feel a bit unnatural, like the early stages of texting someone new—sometimes it’s awkward. We all know! But as soon as spontaneous thoughts are shared and discussed in real time, these quick, spontaneous interactions often create stronger connections than formal meetings with set agendas. It’s my way of replicating the ‘coffee machine run-in’ feeling that fosters informal, yet meaningful, exchanges.
Shared Reality
If you and your co-workers don’t share an actual, physical space, you need ways of making sure that you are nevertheless sharing the same reality. We all need agree on what the facts are – just as if we were looking at the same physical chart in a meeting room.
With the right tools, replicating this effect digitally is easy. The key, however, is: You have to be rigorous. Everything that happens has to leave a digital trace. My default way of thinking is: Always assume that one person is not present today. Maybe they have a different work schedule, maybe they are on holidays or sick leave - doesn’t matter. I just act like one essential person is missing and will, at some point, have to be able to catch up and contribute. I work in shared documents and expect everyone is consuming the information or adding to it in a certain way. While there might be occasions for polished stories down the line, most of the work is iterative, plans change because they never survive contact with reality. Let’s allow it all to flow more and make changes as we go.
Time Matters
When working remotely, the challenge is to create the immediacy that is natural to most office environments. If a colleague comes to my desk and asks me a question, I don’t make them wait two days, five hours or even ten minutes to answer. I swallow my piece of Oreo-chocolate and answer right then and there. This rule should apply to digital workspaces, too.
When everyone is working hard, making your teams wait for your feedback—or worse, having them remind you to provide your input—is something I avoid at all costs. This isn’t about instant availability or constantly answering detailed execution questions; it’s about providing strategic direction when it’s needed most in a timely manner.
Personally, I find that when topics stretch over too long a period, they start to lose energy. Perhaps you’ve felt this too: If a meeting has been rescheduled one or two times, that topic is dead, right? All momentum is lost. The same principle applies to feedback. I believe in giving feedback in the moment, while the context is fresh. Why wait for the official half-year review or even schedule feedback three weeks later when the moment has passed? Remember 6 weeks ago? Honestly no, I don’t! Time flies, people move on, and feedback is most effective when it’s immediate.
I have found that if you these things leading remote does not have to be liability it can be power move that strenghtens your impact in the organization. For today, I’ll leave you with a quote from an article (link in sources) captures the shift in our work culture and new power symbols emerging in our workplaces: