The last few weeks have seen major changes in the way we work. Conversations are shifting from fear, to opportunity, to settling into the new normal of working from home.
As we move from offices to the current reality of working from home, tech leaders are centre stage with an incredible opportunity to shine. At this point, you’ve likely completed the logistics stage-- ensuring monitors and other hardware were shipped to colleagues’ homes and systems are set in place to continue business as usual.
However, this is the bare minimum. The current work situation is not normal for the majority of your peers. Meanwhile, you mastered remote working with offshore teams years ago. While you can continue as normal (to an extent), the other parts of your organisation are in very uncharted territory.
Your tech team can whip up their workstation, download software, upgrade their wifi, hop on and off Zoom calls, and check progress on Slack as easily as picking up a pen. What about everyone else?
While many businesses in the tech ecosystem are used to this style of work, consider the energy levels of colleagues now that they don’t meet face to face. Everyone gets their energy from different places, either recharging alone or with other people. The group that likes to brainstorm, collaborate, and pop by your desk 50 times a day (usually your CEO)-- just to see what you are up to and run a new idea past you-- are going to be struggling.
CTOs, this is your opportunity to stand up, speak up, and take charge. Your squads, pods, and stand-ups run like clockwork, you ship product regularly with teams dispersed across different time zones and cultures, and you're an expert at utilizing software like Google Drawing and Zoom to simulate white boarding exercises.
Your organisation needs you to lead right now and roll out the blueprint for effective remote working, not just across tech but across finance, marketing, and especially sales. Teach your colleagues how to utilise online platforms to fulfill their need for connection and collaboration in the workplace.
This is your chance to teach and inspire and we want to be a resource and support to you. If you have any questions, comment below and let’s start a conversation on how to equip our businesses to improve morale and increase productivity.