I always look forward to Wednesday mornings when I can have a catch up with the gang and hear how their week has been. This morning’s meeting was conducted in it’s usual good natured manner, and proved fun and informative in equal measure. The only downside to having to meet via Zoom, and I’m sure all will agree, is that we don’t get to enjoy Sarah’s slap up breakfast at The Dukes in Heath & Reach!

This morning Phil Harrison delivered a 10 minute presentation on the ongoing developments of Corona Virus and gave some thought provoking food for thought around vaccinations. Amid the headlines, rumours and sensationalism of the media it is nice to hear from someone who knows what he is talking about (Phil was quite the high level scientist once upon a time!) and see the unfiltered facts around the effect on population and vaccination effectiveness. Fascinating stuff.

For my own humble contribution I talked for 5 minutes around 5 key tips for managing a remote working team. Sometimes it’s the little things that have the biggest impact on performance. The main points of which are below and shared from www.laurahall.com.au/blog

#1. Consistent Coaching
Coaching is a crucial part of any sales leader’s role and now more than ever, your team will need support and someone to talk to to help manage the level of uncertainty they may be feeling. Many will be working with children at home, struggling with partners losing jobs and its important to make sure this is acknowledged, and conduct temperature checks and emotional check-ins outside scheduled team meetings.

#2. Focusing on what can be controlled
In an uncertain market, it can be unnerving trying to anticipate what each day may bring and if your pipeline will yield positive results. Focus on controllable metrics like conversations and connections and keep in touch with your customers to be a support to them where possible. Be careful to also read the room and give them space to focus on their own business challenges without interruptions if required.

#3. Revise goals in line with current environment 
We all thrive when we feel like we’re achieving, so if sales are slowing or unable to be made, set some new goals and targets around other objectives such as professional development, team training and innovation. Perhaps you could ask everyone to spend 30 minutes per day watching specific online training courses and summarise their key takeaways afterwards, or ask a different member of the team each week to conduct training on areas they are particularly strong in to help others and improve their presentation and delivery skills. Be creative!

#4. Knowledge Sharing 
Talk about what is working and what isn’t. Give everyone the opportunity to contribute their feedback and leanings in a regular and consistent fashion as this may help other members of the team to improve and adapt to their own situation. Keep an online document live for updates or a slack channel dedicated to work from home hacks to keep the information flowing outside of regular team catch ups.

#5. Avoid Micro Management
Show that you trust your team and try and limit check ins to scheduled and agreed times. Ensure you communicate goals and strategy clearly and effectively at every team meeting and coaching session and seek clarification that your instructions are understood by all. Give the team an opportunity to voice any concerns or stumbling blocks that may affect their output or calibre of work and then put your trust in them to deliver on the goals. That way, everyone knows what is expected and can be held accountable if performance and output is poor.

Finding ways to continue to grow and achieve in difficult times will bolster your confidence and help you navigate the road ahead with strength. And remember, keep your sense of humour to keep stress at bay, make peace with the situation we are faced with and embrace adversity as a chance for growth and opportunity.

Lastly, everyone delivered their 60 second presentations and of particular note is Steve Baker, all round top chap and IFA extraordinaire has now been in business for 30 years. I can only assume he’s doing something right so if you need advice on financial planning, investments, mortgages, life insurance, wills, pensions, you name it – Steve at SB Financial is your guy. Congratulations Steve!