by Michael Holland
Leading GDTs – Geographically Dispersed Teams – is more the norm for leaders today than an anomaly. Leaders leading teams spread across the USA or the world is surprisingly much the same as leading teams dispersed in several local stores or on separate floors of a building. The broadness of the spread of the GDT is less important than the effort a leader invests in maintaining open and effective communication paths. The frequency and quality of these conversations is directly related to the maturity of the leader and not proximity. Good leadership is enabled by quality communications. Employees don’t necessarily care how you communicate with them, but they intimately care about the quality of your communications and if you really care about them.
I find that leaders with close GDT (same floor or building) actually spend less time in quality communications because they believe they are always present. Leaders with broader GDTs realize they need to invest time in creating communication opportunities and absolutely these leaders have to be more diligent and creative in developing relationships.
The principles of management and leadership remain constant. Great, and even good leaders will find ways to create opportunity to apply the principles enabling their employees to be successful.
Coaching Thouhgts – For You and Your Peers
Two 8-year-old boys are playing against each other in a soccer game on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Throughout the game, one boy looks over to see his father constantly on his iPhone, responding to emails or talking on the phone. The opposing player looks over at his dad filming the game, which the boy knows is being fed via Skype to his mom, who is watching the game live while out of town.
Proximity helps. Ultimately, determination, leveraging tools & technology, and creating presence enable opportunity for great leadership.
