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AnnaPatrick

June 14, 2016 by AnnaPatrick

5 Quick Tips To Master Managing Remotely

In a recent Inc column I wrote about the two traits you need to master to successfully work from home: discipline and self-control, which highlighted that working from home isn’t just for small businesses anymore.

For example, I recently worked with a senior level manager at one of the Big 5 tech companies who “managed remotely,” meaning that even though he had over 250 people reporting up to him from around the globe, he almost never saw them face to face. Senior executives, business owners, and entrepreneurs in companies of all sizes are learning to work from home, manage others as they travel, and lead teams with members living in other states or even countries. As we get smarter about our use of technology in the global world of business, more and more workers will need these skills.

Leadership always has its challenges, but those challenges are multiplied when you’re managing a team from home.

 

How do you remain productive and keep the team cohesive, when you all may be on different time zones and working out of individual locations? Today, I’m sharing some of the best practices I’ve seen for setting yourself up to succeed as a leader wherever you are.

 

Work at your high-energy time. Do you have more energy for productivity in the morning, or at night? Plan your day around your high-energy zones, and you’ll get more done in less time.

 

Have regular hours. It can be tempting to work at off hours when you’re always “at the office.” But setting a schedule for yourself, whether it’s a 9-5 or a 7-3, can offer a sense of separation.

 

Make your office your office. Give yourself the chance to take a “mental commute,” even if your “commute” means just walking down the hall to your home office. Also, make sure the space you choose for your office is only used an office–that’s 100% work space, not where your kids or your spouse hang out and do their own thing. This is important in order to avoid distraction.

 

Set office hours when it comes to colleagues and clients. For example, make it known to your clients that all of your appointment hours are between 10-2, keeping 2-5 as your quiet productive hours. This allows for action planning to create a to-do list system for projects so you’re not tempted to leave the office and do other things.

 

Use the word “office.” When it comes to mentally preparing to work from home, it’s important not to neglect the rhetoric you use. When you’re working in your home office, you’re “in your office,” not “at home.” Other important vocabulary to exercise include the words “working,” “being in a meeting,” and “staying offline.” Keep all verbiage office-oriented for mental association. Not because you’re embarrassed in any way to communicate that you’re working from home, but rather to build credibility and accountability. If you think about your work the same was as you would if you are downtown, it will create a similar air of focus.

 

When you implement these practices, “managing remotely” becomes less about the “remote” status and more about simply “managing.” By optimizing your hours based on your productivity, setting your appointment hours around it, and cultivating your office environment, both you–an and the team you’re leading–have a clearer focus on the work you’re doing, no matter where on earth you may be.

 

The previous article appeared on Inc.com as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: business leaders, business leadership, inc, inc magazine, joelle jay, joelle k. jay, lead remotely, leadership, leadership coaching, leadership development, leadership strategy, personal leadership, tip tuesday, tiptuesday, work from home, work remotely

June 7, 2016 by AnnaPatrick

5 Steps To Do To Take The Summer Off From Your Job

Remember when you were back in school, and you had every summer off–the bell rings, and you run toward a summer full of fun and relaxation: The beach, camping, long days with nothing to do, laying in a hammock drinking lemonade.

What if you could recreate that as an adult? What would you do?

Imagine yourself in the hammock reading a book: What do you want to read? Would you swap 30 minutes on the treadmill for a hike? Would you take more time for higher-level thinking? You can get the time. You can even take a “semi-sabbatical” if that’s easier for you and your schedule. Taking a summer sabbatical doesn’t only have to be for professors and researchers–and I’m here to tell you that it’s not too good to be true for anyone from mid-level to CEOs, because I’ve done it, and I’m here to coach you on how to take your own summer sabbatical from your job.

Business leaders have started to catch on to the benefits of flexible summers. Some companies I’ve worked with even have a sabbatical program that you can apply for in advance, and they adjust your pay so you can be paid full time while you’re off to relieve the financial burden. European workers know this well, as the majority of European-based companies give their employees flexible summer schedules and vacation time.

 

Take these five steps to create a summer sabbatical for yourself:

 

Define the parameters. How much time do you need, and how do you want to take it? Be realistic in how much time you need to take off, and how much you can take off before catching up becomes unmanageable when you return. Next, decide if you want to take the time in one full stretch, or broken up into one-week periods through a three-month period, for example.

Define the purpose. Is your sabbatical a vacation, or a “working vacation” so you can continue to work independently on focused strategy away from your traditional working environment? Be honest with yourself on whether you’re preventing burnout, or whether you’re looking instead to shift your focus on one or two specific priorities that are work-related.

 

Communicate. As soon as you have defined the objectives mentioned above, start communicating with people you work with as early as possible to get as much lead-time as you can. This can help prevent any emergencies that may pop up during your sabbatical that would require your immediate attention, as well as give your team confidence that you have everything in order to make the break work.

 

Put milestones for achievements in place. To make sure you don’t end up spending your entire break sitting on the beach, especially if you’re taking a “working sabbatical,” pencil some deadlines on your calendar. For example, if you’ve chosen to take a three-month sabbatical, give yourself the first month for pure relaxation, but around the two-month mark start working toward a goal that you’ve set for yourself.

 

Picture yourself as a kid again, heading out the doors on the last day of school. Be sure to preserve the time you created for yourself. Other people will try to impose themselves on your time, but promise yourself that you’ll take the time you need.

Taking the summer off can be great when you’re in transition in your career or between jobs, and it can also make you a better leader. People take the summer off from their jobs for different reasons, but the outcome of being more refreshed, motivated and productive when you return is the same.

 

The previous article appeared on Inc.com as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: inc, inc magazine, joelle jay, joelle k. jay, leadership, summer sabbatical

June 7, 2016 by AnnaPatrick

2 Traits To Master To Be More Productive Working From Home

Working from home is becoming more than just a trend. More and more often, entrepreneurs are choosing to work at home, saving on office rent, rather than lose important time and money commuting and maintaining a space.

But working from home isn’t just for small businesses anymore. I recently worked with a senior level manager who took a new position at one of the Big 5 tech companies who was surprised to learn that he would be working from home, which was a big life change for him. He had grown used to the routine and conveniences of an office space. Now he had to build a new routine and create new conveniences at home. The difference was that whereas the office environment had provided that all for him, now he had to do it all for himself.

“I don’t know if I can work from home,” he said. “I feel like I’m going to be so distracted!” Plenty of home-based workers have had to overcome that same fear. Some actually embrace it and look forward to it. Either way, the commitment to working from home requires an intentional approach, as well as some new ways of.

 

Two tools that will help you succeed with working from home are familiar in any situation involving change: discipline and self-control.

  • Discipline means doing what you’re supposed to do.
  • Self-control is not doing what you’re not supposed to do.

The difference is subtle but significant. When you have discipline, you do eat your vegetables; when you have self-control you don’t eat the brownie. When you have discipline, you do focus on the person in front of you when they’re talking; when you have self-control you don’t check your email at the same time. You need both, or else one could sabotage the other.

 

Now let’s apply these two tools to working from home.

First, cultivate discipline. What do you need to do to make working from home a success?

  • Maintain consistent office hours.
  • Be obsessive about calendaring meetings with others.
  • Keep everything orderly.
  • Stay stocked up on office supplies.
  • Get dressed, get out there, and meet with clients.

When you’re doing what you need to do to run a successful business, your discipline will help you stay focused and moving forward.

Now layer in some self-control. What do you need to not do–or, what do you need to avoid – to protect your plan?

  • Don’t spend half your day puttering back and forth to the kitchen.
  • Don’t take personal calls.
  • Don’t let your office become a dumping ground for the family mail and junk that didn’t have a home.
  • Don’t get lost on Facebook or skip out early every week for the baseball game.

Without self-control, you can sabotage all of your efforts at discipline.

 

The twin tools of discipline and self-control are helpful for any kind of change or improvement. Whether you’re focused on staying healthy, spending more time with loved ones, making a bigger impact at work, improving profitability, or yes, working at home, these two important traits will make the difference between the distraction and failure that everyone fears–and the success that is yours to come.

The previous article appeared on Inc.com as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: inc, inc magazine, joelle jay, joelle k. jay, leadership, leading remotely, personal leadership, productivity, work from home, working from home, working remote, working remotely

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