Updated on Jan. 23, 2022! An updated version of this book (new title and new cover, etc.) was published on Jan. 23, 2022. Click on the title to order from Amazon: Working Remotely: A Framework for Success, by Nick B Nicholaou, General Editor.
Issue No. 486 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting features an expert-loaded book on working remotely—and a 30-minute interview (live today). Listen as George P. Wood interviews John on mistake-making for the Influence Podcast. And this reminder: click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies) and click here for the new book John wrote with his son, Jason, Mastering Mistake-Making: My 25 Memorable Mistakes—And What I Learned.
Working from home? Nick Nicholaou and 10 colleagues deliver a framework for success in their new book, Strategic Reset on Staff Working Remotely.
Working Remotely: Accountability & Measurements
Yikes! Recent news reports say many organizations will continue to allow staff to work remotely—due to COVID. But there are downsides:
DOWNSIDE #1. “Zoom-call Blunders Led to Someone Getting Axed, 1 in 4 Bosses Say.” That was the Aug. 31, 2021, headline in the Orange County Register, noting a Bloomberg report by Matthew Boyle that “Zoom-call blunders can be hazardous to your career.” (Read the article here.)
The report noted that “Nearly one in four executives have fired a staffer for slipping up during a video or audio conference, and most have levied some sort of disciplinary action for gaffes made in virtual meetings, a survey of 200 managers at large companies found. The survey, commissioned by Vyopta Inc., which helps companies manage their workplace collaboration and communication systems, also found that executives don’t fully trust a third of their staff to perform effectively when working remotely.” Yikes!
DOWNSIDE #2. “Remote Work May Now Last for Two Years, Worrying Some Bosses.” The longer that Covid-19 keeps people home, the harder it may be to get them back to offices; ‘There is no going back.’” That’s from Chip Cutter (now that’s a great name!) in The Wall Street Journal on Aug. 22. (Read the article.)
Bosses should note that change and uncertainty = anxiety. “Some employers, including Gusto, a payroll, benefits and human-resources technology company, say they have reduced any anxiety about office reopenings by providing assurances that employees will be able to largely select how they work—and change their minds over time.
“Already, many employees are ‘bombarded’ with messages from recruiters and friends, attempting to lure them elsewhere,” the vice chair of Prudential Financial noted.
DOWNSIDE #3. “How to Gameplan Your Office Days: An Overachiever’s Guide to Hybrid Work. Thursday may be the new Monday when it comes to strategizing what days in the office will get you the most face time with senior leaders; ‘Your boss’s schedule is your schedule.’” That’s from Patrick Thomas in the Aug. 23 edition of the WSJ. He quotes an expert, “The rules for maximizing office face time with the bosses are about to get more complicated…” (Read the article.)
GOOD NEWS! Working Remotely Has an Upside!
UPSIDE #1: NEW BOOK! Strategic Reset on Staff Working Remotely: A Framework for Success, by Nick B. Nicholaou, General Editor. Just in time—GreenDot.Press released a book this summer featuring short chapters by 11 experts. Targeted to organizations and churches, the book notes: “Experts suggest the number of church and ministry staff who will work remotely following the pandemic will be quite high—fifty percent or more!”
Nicholaou’s counsel: “The question facing leaders is no longer WHO should we allow to work remotely, but is now HOW do we relaunch this in a way that is fully powerful while also protecting the organization and each team member.”
And by the way, when you’re watching the first NFL game of the season on Thursday, Sept. 9 (will Tom Brady lead the Bucs to a back-to-back Super Bowl win?), see if you can spot the “green dots” on the helmets of two players. (Visit Green.Dot.Press to learn more.)
In Strategic Reset on Staff Working Remotely, Nick Nicholaou assembled a stellar cast of in-the-trenches experts in three critical arenas: team leadership, HR, and technology. That was wise, because I can’t think of one author (or even two) that could cover the depth and breadth of this crucial topic on remote work policies and strategies. It’s takes a village—and here are the villagers Nick recruited to this project: Lisa Francisco, Michelle Halonen, Patti Malott, Michael Martin, Phill Martin, Darrell Roland, Jonathan Smith, Elaine Sommerville, Frank Sommerville, and Glenn Wood.
These 10 experts add their wisdom and practical methodologies to the very complicated task of bringing effectiveness to a less-than-effective work paradigm. Plus, Nicholaou adds his 35 years of consulting to two chapters, including an often-overlooked tech issue: “BYOD: Bring Your Own Device.”
The book—literally—gives away the store with six invaluable documents (available online):
• Appendix A - Policy & Procedure Manual Outline
• Appendix B - Remote Work Agreement
• Appendix C - Remote Work Policy
• Appendix D - Remote Workforce Solution Considerations
• Appendix E - Video Conferencing Security Questions
• Appendix F - Sample BYOD Policies
Many of the remote work strategies have been field-tested already in organizations and churches in recent years—but now those blue sky theories quickly became reality! Nicholaou writes, “Like all things work-related, there are risks associated with staff working remotely. In this book you’ll learn about the legal, HR, finance, and technology risks, and practical strategies to overcome them.”
I especially appreciated these chapters:
• Chapter 4: Accountability & Measurements (Three cheers for SMART Goals!)
• Chapter 6: Oversight (Must-read: “What to do when an employee isn’t working out.”)
• Chapter 8: Staff Meetings: Building a Cohesive Team (Learn how Patti Malott leveraged 14 copies of Zig Ziglar’s book, Secrets of Closing the Sale.)
• Chapter 10: Transitioning from “On-the-Clock to Getting-Work-Done” (Malott loves humor—so read how her team pranked her on a Zoom call!)
• Chapter 11: Hiring and Onboarding a Remote Workforce (Three cheers for mistake-making! Interview question: “Share with me your biggest failure.” Look for lessons learned.)
• Chapter 15: Tools That Empower (Before your team members download their favorite tools and apps indiscriminately, read the section “Oops! We Already Had That Option?”)
As you already know, there are numerous and complicated upsides and downsides when staff work remotely. This expert-loaded book is a must-read. (And check out Nicholaou’s 2019 book, Church IT: Using Information Technology for the Mission of the Church.)
To order from Amazon, click on the title for Strategic Reset on Staff Working Remotely: A Framework for Success, by Nick B. Nicholaou, General Editor.
3 BONUS BOOKS! Delegate your reading to team members and ask for three volunteers who will read my reviews of Remote, Inc., Next Job, Best Job, and Anxiety at Work—and then ask each person to read and report on one book at a future staff meeting.
YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:
1) The authors of Strategic Reset on Staff Working Remotely highlight a consistent theme: results. In Chapter 4, Glenn Wood lists examples of two SMART goals and two not-so-SMART goals. Do our remote workers have written SMART goals—and do they report on them weekly and monthly? (See The Results Bucket and The Meetings Bucket for more resources.)
2) Yikes! How confident are we that our current definitions of exempt and non-exempt employees (and who qualifies for a ministerial exemption) are up-to-date and legal under 2021 state and federal regulations? Read Chapter 12, “The Remote Worker and the FLSA,” by Elaine Sommerville, CPA, and Frank Sommerville, JD, CPA.
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John on the Influence Podcast #259
“How to Make Mistakes Well”
Insights from Mastering Mistake-Making: My 25 Memorable Mistakes—And What I Learned, by John Pearson with Jason Pearson
Listen to this 30-minute podcast as George P. Wood interviews John Pearson, author of Mastering Mistake-Making.
Listen to this 30-minute podcast as George P. Wood interviews John Pearson, author of Mastering Mistake-Making. George poses a dozen questions to John including, “You’ve worked with a lot of ministry leaders over the course of your career, both internationally and nationally. What are the top two or three professional mistakes you see pastors and other ministry leaders make on a regular basis?”
Click here to listen to the podcast on “How to Make Mistakes Well” and how John tries to avoid answering George’s very tough questions!
Click here to view the list of all 25 mistakes and read the introduction to Mastering Mistake Making. To order this book from Amazon, click on the title for Mastering Mistake-Making: My 25 Memorable Mistakes—And What I Learned (10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning Workbook), by John Pearson with Jason Pearson.
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JASON PEARSON: UNEXPECTED CREATIVE. Is your communication team working remotely, but not communicating effectively? Jason has some pointers for you. Contact Pearpod Media (branding, digital, print, and video).
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