Leading A Virtual District

A few days ago I met with a few district leaders and we discussed some of the challenges they are having with leading a virtual team and staying connected with their students, staff, and community. During the call we leveraged a behavior and change management structure to help us all get on the same level when discussing some of their challenges. We talked about the Positive Culture Framework as it related to aligning an organization that may be transitioning or when assessing their current state against their desired future state.

We also discussed Dr. Hawkin's Level of Consciousness model as it related to where some people could be on the scale in regards to this pandemic and our challenge as leaders to raise our organizations lower level energy to a level of Courage. We know at this level of courage, our team members could begin to admit and take ownership for their current situation, and begin trying new things and getting out of their comfort zone. Which is definitely needed in these times of significant change.

When introducing the Positive Culture Framework, we always start with the Mission/Vision and normally would ask participants why we would start there and not anywhere else. We would get great responses like "you have to set the right foundation", "you have to know where you are going", "you can't build an organization without a direction", etc. All the right answers; however, during this call on Leading A Virtual Team, we discovered something that has not been discussed since I have been using this framework.

During our discussion about levels of consciousness on this call, someone made the connection that Vision/Mission statements are normally created at a higher level on the consciousness chart where there are higher levels of energy and a majority of people (85%) according to Dr. Hawkins reside at low level energies. Wow! We went on to say that when we build organizations around a person or people, they don't last - it is the mission that moves forward even when people move on. It is the mission that defines our organization and gives us purpose.

If this is true, then our mission/vision statement, no matter what the situation, challenge, or event should inform our solutions. Imagine that. If you are experiencing challenges transitioning your team, go back to your Mission/Vision statement and make sure any changes you make temporarily or permanently aligns to your mission.

We also discussed some of the challenges virtual teams have:

• Misunderstanding from poor communication.

• Incompatible communication preferences.

• Differences in work ethic.

• Lack of clarity and direction.

• Frequent second-guessing.

• Deficient sense of ownership and commitment.

• Inability to ask the right questions.

• Difficulty with delegation.

• Communication

• Trust

• Productivity

What we discovered about the list above is that these are the same issues that we have when we are meeting and working face to face. The only thing is when we are working virtually, these are magnified and need to be addressed. We have to be more intentional about what we communicate, what's expected, and how we recognize our talent!

Thanks to those who were able to make the call!

Fear is inevitable, but Courage is a choice.

We always have a choice, what will yours be today?