Is Remote Work Really a Leadership Killer?

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Podcast Summary - Is Remote Work Really a Leadership Killer?

Host:

Dennis Guzik, retired Marine officer and career advice expert

Key Points:

• Podcast Inspiration:
• Inspired by a Wall Street Journal article by Louis Gerstner, retired chairman and CEO of IBM.
• The article asserts that remote work hinders leadership development.
• Main Argument:
• Observation and Mentorship:
  • Essential for aspiring leaders to watch others lead and manage.
  • Physical presence is critical, especially during mentorship.
  • Human Connection:
  • Leadership involves human connection and motivation, making remote work challenging.
  • Personal Experience:
  • Dennis shares his own positive experiences with in-person mentorship and learning.
  • Contrary Viewpoints:
  • Some jobs, like coding and writing, can be performed remotely without leadership detriment.
  • Mention of exceptional remote leaders in globally dispersed companies.
• Dennis' Perspective:
  • Agrees with Gerstner's view; physical presence is crucial for leadership development.
  • Differentiates between leadership (motivating, setting examples) and management (execution, operations).
  • Cites the Marine Corps' extensive leadership training as an example.
  • Leadership Steps for Remote Workers:
  • Be Present:
  • Observe and learn from others, noting both good and bad practices.
  • Get a Mentor:
  • Preferably someone you can meet with in person.
  • Pursue Education:
  • Continually learn about leadership, read about great leaders, and seek formal training.
  • Remote Work Challenges:
  • Connection and Observation:
  • Remote workers must make extra efforts to connect with colleagues and mentors.
  • Opportunities for In-person Interaction:
  • Utilize opportunities like quarterly reviews and social events to meet colleagues.
• Final Thoughts:
  • Remote work presents significant challenges for leadership development.
  • Extra effort and dedication are required to overcome these challenges.
  • Contact Dennis at [e-mail] for more leadership advice and training.
• Call to Action:
  • If you're transitioning into a leadership role and need guidance, reach out to Dennis for expert advice and training programs.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hello folks.
Well, I'm back, dennis Guzik,the old jarhead who's here to
give you some great careeradvice.
So let's get to it.
So the title of this podcast isIs Remote Work a Leadership
Killer?
It was prompted by a recentWall Street Journal article with

(00:25):
the same similar title as thepodcast.
It was Remote Work is aLeadership Killer.
It was written by Louis Gertzner, a retired chairman and CEO of
IBM Corporation.
So what he says here is thatremote work is highly
detrimental to employees whoaspire to lead others.
Why is that?

(00:45):
Because people learn how tolead or manage principally by
watching how, or how not, othersdo it.
And he gives some good examples.
Having a mentor, for example,you really need to be there at
least at the start of thatmentoring relationship, and I
kind of agree with that.
I had a mentor at my lastcompany and it was easy for me

(01:06):
to just at the end of the day,knock on his door and say, hey,
you got a minute, can youexplain to me?
And then he would say sure, andgo on and explain things right.
So that's a good example.
And then motivating othersMotivating people is a very
human connection endeavor andit's kind of important that you
watch others to learn how to dothis.

(01:28):
So he says it's a leadershipkiller.
What do I think about it?
Well, I think for the most parthe's spot on Yep.
There are some jobs that can bedone completely remotely, like
coding and being a writer, andthere are exceptions to this
rule.
I know of several people whoare exceptional leaders, but
because of their corporatestructure, that is, the entire

(01:50):
company consists of peoplegeographically spread throughout
the world, and I know somepeople in that situation who are
exceptional leaders.
Joe, if you're listening,talking specifically about you,
buddy but when I look backthrough my career and think
about all of the otherleadership and management skills
I learned I learned by beingpresent and watching others.

(02:13):
I don't know how I would havegotten where I am without that
in-personal experience.
So let's talk a little aboutlearning leadership, but first
let's define the difference inmy world between leadership and
management.
So leadership involvesmotivating people, being in
front, setting an example.

(02:34):
Management involves runningthings, being behind and getting
things done, say for thecorporation.
Being behind and getting thingsdone, say for the corporation.
Now you can be taught thebasics of leadership.
The Marine Corps does thatextremely well.
All Marine officers get sixmonths of leadership training
before they ever go in front ofthe Marines they will lead.

(02:56):
The instructors and staffprovide the foundational
information as well as settingan example.
In my case, I took that basicleadership training and made the
study of leadership a lifelongpursuit.
But few people get thatopportunity.
And what you should do in thatcase I will discuss later in the
podcast.

(03:18):
But I've also observed manypeople put into leadership and
management positions who lackany even the most basic
leadership and managementtraining and they fail, and I
consider that a failure by thosewho put them into that position
without training.
Now I've watched some peopleexcel and do pretty well, even

(03:40):
though I don't have formaltraining.
But most of that's because Ihave years of experience
watching others, observingothers lead and manage and
thinking about it when they'redone right.
What did he do?
How did she do it?
I'm not sure they would havedone as well if they had not had
that experience.
Now I've watched others, eventhough they've had lots of

(04:01):
experience, completely fail whenput into leadership training,
leadership and managementpositions without any training.
So I think watching others isan essential part of your
leadership development, but itis not all so if you aspire to
become a leader in your careerand job.
I think there are threeessential steps you should take

(04:24):
to get there.
First, be present as much asyou can and, when you're present
, observe and learn from others,and that means the good and the
bad.
Learning what to do is asessential as learning what not
to do, and take the time tothink about your observations
and even talk with your peersabout them.
Second, get a mentor someonewho you can learn from and ask

(04:47):
questions of.
I've talked about mentoring inpast podcasts and I'm a fan.
Go back and listen to some ofmy Be a Mentor and Get a Mentor
podcasts, but getting a mentoris much easier and productive
when you're not working remotely.
A mentor that you can meet withand ask questions is a huge
advantage in learning how tomanage and lead.

(05:07):
And then, third, get educationon the basics of leadership.
Then make that leadershipeducation a lifelong pursuit.
Keep learning about humans andhow to motivate them.
Read about other great leadersand what made them great.
I offer training to people whowant to become leaders and their

(05:28):
feedback to me is that thetraining I offered was
instrumental in theirperformance as a leader.
Others offer leadershiptraining as well, but I would
recommend to you, if you wantthis sort of training, then you
get it from somebody who hasactually led people and not just
someone who has made leadershiptheir academic career.
But what happens if you findyourself in a remote job, not

(05:49):
because you have a strong desireto work from home, but because
that's what your employer'spolicy is?
During COVID, there were manycompanies that shut their
offices and had employees go to100% remote work.
Some even sold their propertiesor canceled their leases, so a
return is very difficult In thiscase.
If you aspire to be a leader,then you have to put in the

(06:10):
extra effort to connect withthose who work for you, your
colleagues and those above you.
Make the extra effort to get toknow them and to observe how
your boss handles things, andthat means handles well or
handles poorly.
Again, try to get a mentor thatyou can speak with periodically.
That person does not have to befrom the company you're working

(06:30):
with, although that helps, butit could be somebody who's in
the area, somebody you canactually get together and meet
with.
And if there are periodicopportunities to meet with the
people you work with, do that.
Some things have quarterlyreviews and social events and
study leadership and managementand, if possible, get some

(06:51):
leadership training.
Okay, so that's a lot.
That is what I think about thearticle.
Remote Work is a LeadershipKiller.
I would say that it presentssignificant leadership training
challenges that require extraeffort on your part.
If you put in that extra effort, though, I think you can become
a good leader.
So thanks for listening, and ifyou're interested in learning

(07:17):
more about how to lead,especially if you've been
selected to your firstleadership position, then send
me an email at Dennis, at DennisGuzik dot com.
Again, thanks for listening andbye, thank you, thank you.