Happy weekend, Remote Work Tribe! With the start of the new month, it feels like employee motivation has skyrocketed across the board.
But though it appeared everything was smooth sailing in terms of productivity, executive business coach Brian Wang posed a question that raised some eyebrows.
In the age of the remote work decade, it can be difficult to determine when an employee is genuinely motivated or when they’re “phoning it in”—literally. Between phone and video calls and a flurry of Slack messages, it takes a keen eye to recognize phony enthusiasm from genuine employee motivation.
Once a manager or leader spots faux-motivation, what’s the best way to tackle it?
Give them opportunities to be more involved/work on whatever they feel is most important (if possible) lots of times I’ve asked these people for input and given them something to own and they crush it
— Austin Lieberman (@7AustinL) September 1, 2020
Maybe first reflect on the environment you’ve created for them.
— кƴlē. St ēphēns (@Ky1e_S) September 1, 2020
Should the current environment give them a sense of a) autonomy, b) mastery and c) purpose.
If the answer to any of those is no, perhaps you can start looking inward first.
I like to do internal team back channeling — ask all members of my team how certain people are doing, how projects are going, if there are issues. I ask for confidential honesty & get background before approaching him/her. hard workers tend to expose others, even if by accident.
— Trista Kempa ✨ (@tristajaye) September 1, 2020
Here at Remote Work Tribe, we’re massive cheerleaders for those difficult conversations you’d rather slam your laptops closed than join. Sure, they may be uncomfortable in the moment, but when your employee motivation is on the line, it’s essential you dig deep to learn more about the employee as an individual and how their work environment has impacted their productivity.
There’s always room for improvement on teams, so take a moment to reflect inward and decide how you would handle this situation on your remote team. Unsure where to start? We have a whole reading list for you to pick from! 📚
But, enough with all the heavy stuff. Let’s check out what else the Remote Work Tribe was up to this week!
The Tribe’s Weekly Vibes
1. This hilarious parrot-like outcome to working around your children for an extended period of time.
2. This ironic Canva tweet (how did this one pass QA?).
3. This plea to airline companies to actually issue refunds rather than flight vouchers.
4. This helpful guide for remote SaaS companies on the hunt for new talent.
5. This fun and honest thread of actual NON-WORK-RELATED hobbies. 🎉
I play the ukulele and write fiction! It’s been a lot of intergenerational stories involving food lately, but I’m starting to explore some Ted Chiang style sci fi:)
— Corine Tan 🍜 (@itscorine) September 2, 2020
Woodturning, unless my career trajectory changes abruptly, and then it will become “work-related”. pic.twitter.com/AFvFujGjdE
— Peter Dorhout (@PeterDorhoutACS) September 3, 2020
I recently started doing string art pieces. Works quite like meditation for me. pic.twitter.com/hI9Qvhbsji
— Arūnas Liuiza (@arunaswp) September 3, 2020
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What’s are some of your favorite hobbies, Remote Work Tribe? Tag us over on Instagram, @TheRemoteWorkTribe, or on Twitter, @RemoteWorkTribe, for a chance to be featured on our next weekly thread!
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