I don’t have it all figured out, but I’m learning about how to lead in a remote environment. Here are 4 things I’ve been learning (and working on) in recent months.

1. Getting comfortable working for the future.

It’s easy to get caught up in your day to day work. And, at times, it can be easy to not see the big picture. That’s certainly true whether or not your team is remote.

It’s also just as easy to get uncomfortable when deadlines you thought you’d hit for new product launches (or whatever it may be) pass you by. But business success is often a long-term commitment, and you can’t always reap the benefits in the short-term.

2. Letting go of the need to be right.

Easier said than done! In the book, “The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership” by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman and Kaley Klemp, the authors describe how instead of being in a place of wanting to be right (a closed and defensive posture), we have the capacity to shift our thinking so that we are more open and curious.

Said another way, instead of leading “below the line” (that’s a place of leadership blindness), we’re actually able to shift and approach situations with a focus on learning—or what the authors call leading “above the line.”

Part of the process is recognizing when we are committed to being right, rather than approaching a situation with the intent to learn from others. Hey, it’s a common state we can find ourselves in when we’re looking to prove how “right” we are! But just having that self-awareness alone can help us powerfully shift to a state where we lead with security and trust.

3. Making sure we use the right lens to guide decision-making.

Many decisions don’t require much effort or thought, and they don’t require us to manage our emotions. Others…are much more complex and challenging, let’s just say!

An effective lens that can help when making tough decisions for our team at Edoc is as follows:

• Is it a win for the client?

• Is it a win for the company?

• Is it a win for each individual on the team?

I’ve learned many times the answer will reveal itself when these questions are asked.

4. Not deferring life.

Recent events have helped to remind me the importance of enjoying family and friends while we have them around. As a remote worker, arguably, this is made easier.

Similarly, in “Remote: Office Not Required,” authors Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson talk about how remote working can help you avoid deferring what it is that you want to do with your life. “The new luxury is to shed the shackles of deferred living— to pursue your passions now, while you’re still working…Your life no longer needs to be divided into arbitrary phases of work and retirement,” the authors say.

If you can hop on a plane and work from almost anywhere that has Internet, then why not go see the Rocky Mountains? (It’s my personal favorite—and where most of my family lives.)

After all, there’s nothing truly stopping you from doing so. And, just the same, there’s not a whole lot of barriers stopping you from spending quality time with family and friends as a remote worker.

Have Remote Workers?

If you have remote workers, then you’ll want to subscribe to our Digital Labor Law posters, an application that provides you with all your up to date, digital Labor Law posters.

Save money and make your posters more accessible by posting them digitally. And, your office manager will thank you: after all, the Digital Labor Law posters are automatically kept up-to-date according to local laws in every state. Learn more about your one-stop destination for digital labor law posters.