Innovation in Virtual Classrooms

Like Jason, and Nicole from my class, I find the last couple of years to be incredibly interesting in terms of remote leadership and management. I look forward to seeing the world and the business culture adapt. 

We've seen lots of organizations embrace remote work, but now that there is a contraction and we see people coming back to the offices, I wonder if those who have excelled and do well in remote environments won't be missing out on aspects of the face-to-face business world. I like the way you described your situation, especially in terms of how to organize work to ensure that you get the most out of time together. 

I was talking today to a remote workgroup/committee that I work with and we were discussing getting together in person to move further along in our work. We all agreed that we could get more out of a live face-to-face meeting than a remote one, but then when we started organizing and discussing the opportunity to meet again, we discussed how important it would be to have pre-work assigned and completed before meeting up in order to get the most out of the live face-to-face meeting. 

The same could have been said about our remote work. I guess my point is that the same things that are successful in one arena might be as successful in the other. Additionally, I don't think we should settle on a binary choice. I find a mixture is worthwhile. Being face-to-face has advantages, but remote work has other advantages. 

What I have found interesting is the evolution of virtual teams over time. As I mentioned above, I set up a virtual training network with about 50 sites back in 2012 and I was working virtually for many years. Not 100% but as needed. Then when Covid hit, our organization found we had to go from as needed to immediate necessity. 

For me the change was not stark. For my team members, it was a new experience. I've found, having worked virtually for many years that there are aspects of virtual work well, and those that don't. I use virtual work now strategically. 

If traffic is too thick to get to work easily, I take the meetings virtually until traffic dies down and I can get into the office easier. If I have a lot of work to do on specific projects, writing scripts, reviewing courses, etc. I take it home to work it out in the home office and any questions I have that day I utilize zoom, phone and chat. 

If I have a lot of team building or departmental trust building to do, I go into the office. I have a unique situation though where there is an option, but I think the best way to use virtual work is to mix it with real-world meetings, but sympathize with those who don't have the option and must find ways to make virtual work in all situations.