You’re a remote leader—welcome to the club. You are part of a growing group of leaders tasked with managing and leading individuals across the country and around the world. That sounds like a big task, and it is. Whether you’re in the same building or not, leadership is complex. What’s critical to remember is that you’re a leader first. No matter where you are, you must connect employees to the company vision, provide direction and coaching, inspire and motivate, create strong work goals, and so on. Leadership is complicated, and as a virtual leader, you have the added challenge of needing to perform your leadership role and responsibilities by working through and with technology. The good news is there are a number of best practices and techniques you can implement to maximize the technology, thus turning a virtual work environment from a challenging environment into one that is engaging, energizing and gets work done. By completing this course, you will find out what’s unique about leading within the virtual environment. This course has been approved for 1 hour of PDU credit from PMI (Project Management Institute).

Course Result:  

Find out what’s unique about leading within the virtual environment

Duration:  10 minutes

Issues such as working with remote technology, managing various work schedules, and coordinating time zones are all part of leading a virtual team. And while each of these elements is vital to your success, it’s easy to get lost in the virtual aspects of managing your team, and thus lose sight of what’s really most important—your leadership. First and foremost you are a leader, and as a leader you are responsible for managing, directing and coaching each person to perform at the highest level. Now whether you do this from the same office building or not, is in some ways, an afterthought. Of course that doesn’t mean leading a virtual team is easy; there are certainly some unique challenges involved. However, it does mean you must always remember your leadership comes first—the virtual part comes second. By completing this course, you will know what additional leadership actions are a must when leading others remotely. This course has been approved for 1 hour of PDU credit from PMI (Project Management Institute).

Course Result:

Know what additional leadership actions are a must when leading others remotely

Duration:  10 minutes

One of the most important aspects of leading others is building trust. Trust sets the tone for any working relationship and creates the environment for great work to flow. When trust is present, leaders know their employees are working hard to achieve their goals and objectives, while at the same time employees know their leader believes in them to do the job they were hired to do—without the need to continually check in and monitor progress. When trust does not exist, leaders are weary, and are not sure if their employees are doing what they’re supposed to do. So leaders call and email, and call again. Yet constant phone calls and emails to monitor progress wear employees down. This lack of trust hurts work relationships as well as performance because employees are left to question every decision they make, and are not free to do their work in the way they think is best. By completing this course, you will learn how to shift your mindset to successfully build trust and lead others in the virtual environment. This course has been approved for 1 hour of PDU credit from PMI (Project Management Institute).

Course Result:  

Shift your mindset to successfully build trust and lead others in the virtual environment

Duration:  10 minutes

As a leader of a remote team, it is essential you make a conscious effort to create opportunities for your team to get to know each other. Without the benefit of daily face-to-face interactions, your team does not have the opportunities that would naturally occur if everyone were working together in the same location—that is, to get to know each other and build strong working relationships. Therefore, you must take the lead to create as many opportunities as possible to help your team get to know each other personally, as well as learn about each other’s work responsibilities, skills and capabilities. By completing this course, you will understand the challenges and obstacles managers face when leading remote teams. This course has been approved for 1 hour of PDU credit from PMI (Project Management Institute).

Course Result:

Understand the challenges and obstacles managers face when leading remote teams

Duration:  10 minutes

Without the benefit of being in the same location or seeing each other regularly, it can be a challenge to create the level of trust required for team success. However, with strong leadership and purposeful action, you can create the team environment required for your virtual team to deliver great results. There are three core elements impacting trust on any team, whether it’s virtual or not. However, as a virtual team, building trust remotely does create a bigger challenge. By completing this course, you will be able to identify what’s required to build trust and communication with your team. This course has been approved for 1 hour of PDU credit from PMI (Project Management Institute).

Course Result:

Identify what’s required to build trust and communication with your team

Duration:  10 minutes

Today, a majority of our communication is mediated by technology, which of course is definitely true when working within a virtual team. As you know, when you work virtually, technology is an integrated part of getting work done, including how we talk to and interact with each other. Therefore, it’s essential you and your team clearly know what technology is available to you, as well as know how to use it. Of course actually using it is helpful too. As a leader, your role in the use of technology is essential. As Wayne mentioned in the Introduction video, the number one reason technology is successfully adopted or not, is due to whether the team’s leader actively uses the technology. So what you do matters, and it matters a lot. By completing this course, you will increase your ability to use the tools available to manage others remotely. This course has been approved for 1 hour of PDU credit from PMI (Project Management Institute).

Course Result:

Increase your ability to use the tools available to manage others remotely

Duration:  10 minutes

Two of the biggest factors impacting meeting effectiveness are expectations and accountability. That is people must know what they are required to do in meetings, and they must be held accountable to perform these actions. The good news is there are a few simple actions you can take to create meeting expectations for your entire team, as well as to hold them accountable to deliver on those expectations. For this course you will work with your team to create a set of meeting expectations that will apply to any meeting happening within your team. In addition, you will learn to implement a simple method that builds accountability for performing those expectations. By completing this course, you will understand why web-based meetings are sometimes painful and ineffective. This course has been approved for 1 hour of PDU credit from PMI (Project Management Institute).

Course Result:

Find out why web-based meetings are sometimes painful and ineffective

Duration:  10 minutes

While there are a number of components required for successful meetings, planning in advance is definitely one of the most critical. Getting clear on why you’re meeting, knowing what you want to accomplish, and selecting the web meeting tools you’ll use, are all essential planning components that will impact your ability to facilitate a successful meeting. Therefore, when you take the time to plan your meeting and share a detailed agenda with participants, you’ll find your meetings are more effective, efficient and engaging for everyone involved. For this course, you will build your capability to plan for meetings and create a meaningful agenda. As a result, everyone will know what to expect and what to prepare for before the meeting even begins. By completing this course, you will know what is required to lead successful virtual meetings. This course has been approved for 1 hour of PDU credit from PMI (Project Management Institute).

Course Result:

Know what is required to plan an effective virtual meeting

Duration:  10 minutes

There is a difference between running and leading a meeting. People who “run” meetings tend to focus on individual agenda items and be more concerned about keeping track of time, and it’s not uncommon for them to look to others to help guide the group along. As a result, these meetings tend to get off track, not be engaging, and experience various levels of participation and diminished quality. On the other hand, when a person moves from “running” a meeting to “leading” a meeting, a whole new experience is created. When a person decides to take control and lead a meeting, participants are prepared for the meeting, are actively engaged, and as a result contribute at a higher level. When meetings are “led” versus “run” they stay on track and things get done. For this course you will work on building your skills to lead effective and productive virtual meetings. By using a simple process you can be sure you are doing the right things to increase collaboration and participation, while making sure great work gets done. By completing this course, you will have the skills required to lead successful virtual meetings. This course has been approved for 1 hour of PDU credit from PMI (Project Management Institute).

Course Result:

Build the skills required to lead successful virtual meetings

Duration:  10 minutes

Giving virtual presentations creates a number of challenges. The technology can be difficult, we can’t see the audience, and it’s difficult to engage the participants for the entire presentation. As a result, virtual presentations can be intimidating, yet more and more web-based presentations are becoming an integrated part of how works gets done—all over the world. The good news is there are a few things we can to do deliver effective and engaging presentations, even when they are virtual. We just need to be willing to learn a few new skills, as well as add a few simple presentation techniques to our toolkit. If we can do this, we’ll find our web-based presentations are engaging, enjoyable and accomplish the desired results. By completing this course, you will understand the challenges of presenting remotely and what’s required for success. This course has been approved for 1 hour of PDU credit from PMI (Project Management Institute).

Course Result:

Understand the challenges of presenting remotely and what’s required for success

Duration:  10 minutes

When it comes to delivering web-based presentations, implementing a few best practices can make the difference between an average presentation and a truly impactful presentation. This course will teach you essential techniques you can use to deliver great web-based presentations each and every time. By completing this course, you will be able to integrate proven practices to ensure great web-based presentations each and every time. This course has been approved for 1 hour of PDU credit from PMI (Project Management Institute).

Course Result:

Integrate proven practices to ensure great web-based presentations each and every time

Duration:  10 minutes

There are three key communication components we all must use when presenting virtually. While these techniques are great for any presentation. In person or remote, a web-based presentation requires a few extra elements to engage and capture the audience’s attention. For this course, you will get to know the three important components of communication: Vocal, Verbal and Visual, and identify how you will integrate these elements into any presentation you give. By completing this course, you will be able to deliver successful web-based presentations with the three essential communication techniques. This course has been approved for 1 hour of PDU credit from PMI (Project Management Institute).

Course Result:

Deliver successful web-based presentations with three essential communication techniques

Duration:  10 minutes

Accountability is essential for success. When we know what must be done, when it must be done, and the level of quality that is required, we can be accountable. When we’re accountable we know what we’re responsible to deliver and understand what will happen if we don’t. When we’re accountable we take ownership for our work and feel responsible for our performance. While many have negative feelings about the word, in truth, accountability is good for everyone. This course will help you create greater accountability even when leading remotely. In the following steps you will learn what you can do to successfully create accountability with each person on your team. By completing this course, you will know what’s required to overcome the challenges of holding people accountable remotely. This course has been approved for 1 hour of PDU credit from PMI (Project Management Institute).

Course Result:

Build the capabilities to overcome the challenges of holding people accountable remotely

Duration:  10 minutes

Setting goals improves results. When we have clear goals and direction, we know what we must do, when, and to what level of quality. Goals provide clarity. They create a connection to the company, and provide purpose and meaning in our work. Without goals, we may still be busy, yet our accomplishments are not connected to the big picture or the organization’s overall success. As a result, we don’t have the level of direction, focus, and motivation needed to help us be successful and inspire us to be our best. In this course you will work on collaborating with your team members to create individual goals. As discussed in the Introduction video, collaboration in goal setting is essential because it creates higher levels of understanding, ownership and agreement—all of which will drive greater success and results. By completing this course, you will know the keys to setting goals with people who aren’t located with you. This course has been approved for 1 hour of PDU credit from PMI (Project Management Institute).

Course Result:

Learn the keys to setting goals with people who aren’t located with you

Duraton:  10 minutes

A big part of a leader’s job is to help people achieve their goals—it helps the individual succeed, it helps the organization succeed, and it is pretty good for you as the leader too! It doesn’t matter if you’re in the same building, or if you’re on the other side of the world—a leader’s role will always be to coach and guide each person to perform at his or her best (which certainly includes helping individuals achieve and deliver individual goals). As a leader, it is essential to create a plan for how you will follow-up and support your employees as they work to achieve their goals. Without a plan, the days and weeks tend to fly by (especially without seeing people in the hallways each day), and soon you may find you don’t know how your employees are doing, and even worse, they may be struggling and in jeopardy of missing their goals. By completing this course, you will know how to support people in reaching their short and long term goals. This course has been approved for 1 hour of PDU credit from PMI (Project Management Institute).

Course Result:

Learn ways to support people in reaching their short and long term goals

Duration:  10 minutes

Leadership is one of the most important assets an organization can possess—and you, no matter what your leadership level may be, are a part of that asset. One of the critical skills needed of leaders is to effectively coach others. Without great coaching, an organization will never be able to achieve its potential and reach its goals. In this course we will focus on applying the six step Coaching Model. Broken down into six parts, this coaching model gives you a framework to effectively coach and support others. By completing this course, you will know how to apply the coaching model to your interactions with others. This course has been approved for 1 hour of PDU credit from PMI (Project Management Institute).

Course Result:

Learn how to apply the coaching model to your interactions with others

Duration:  10 minutes

There are some common challenges associated with coaching others remotely. Without the benefit of being in the same location, we don’t always know what is happening at any given time. We wonder how the team is getting their work done, and we experience a level of trust that may be less than if we worked in closer proximity. Yet it is very possible for remote coaching to be very effective. What it takes from you, the leader, is a conscious effort to make the time and do the things required to be a great coach—regardless of your location. By completing this course, you will know what’s required to coach others remotely. This course has been approved for 1 hour of PDU credit from PMI (Project Management Institute).

Course Result:  

Discover what’s required to coach others remotely

Duration:  10 minutes

Giving feedback can be difficult, but it doesn’t need to be as difficult as most make it out to be. Yet this mindset is understandable when feedback is only viewed as something negative, thus making it easier to procrastinate, be incomplete in providing the feedback needed, or avoid it all together. When coaching remotely, we don’t have as much direct contact and information, and thus the discomfort with feedback often becomes even more prevalent. Making the time to give feedback is a conscious decision. As a leader you must decide that feedback is important, and you must decide you want to improve the frequency of your coaching conversations. Without this critical decision, your actions won’t change, and thus your employees won’t get the support and feedback they need to be successful. By completing this course, you will have the skills required to provide feedback remotely. This course has been approved for 1 hour of PDU credit from PMI (Project Management Institute).

Course Result:

Build the skills required to provide feedback remotely

Duration:  10 minutes