Leading virtual organisations – managing complexity through dynamic thinking and action

An extension of the home office period currently seems likely due to the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, attempts are being made to motivate service units – at least in part – to return to the office. The challenges are great, as are the uncertainties: What will a permanent hybrid working environment look like? How can this be prepared and organised in the best possible way? How can and should we deal with the current situation in service organisations?

Challenges for managers in times of the coronavirus pandemic

Managers are facing additional professional challenges as a result of the pandemic: For example, the shortage of raw materials means that production plans have to be changed and new arrangements made with suppliers and business customers, hygiene measures (especially in the case of acute infections) mean that staff scheduling has to be regularly adjusted, and labour-intensive new tools are also being introduced to keep the company competitive in the digital world. In short: the tasks feel like an avalanche, the overall situation is confusing, predictions are almost impossible – the famous VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) surrounds us like a dense cloud of fog.

Particularly in the current situation, management is a communicator, team leader and psychologist for employees in order to provide orientation and confidence even during the crisis with its complex challenges. In addition, it is important to promote talent and develop potential despite the difficult conditions, as well as to reach people in remote mode and support them in solving problems.

In addition, managers are also physically and mentally exposed to the stress drivers of the lack of human interaction, that they also suffer from the strong objectification of online meetings and have an increased need for concentration due to often poor technical connections.

The often uninterrupted succession of virtual meetings leads to increasingly passive participation, with emails being processed or other work being done on the side. You’re there and yet somehow you’re not, which at the end of the day leads to the feeling of not having achieved anything productive. True to the motto “multitasking is nothing more than the opportunity to mess up several things at the same time”.

Recommendations for successful virtual leadership

There is no single solution, but it is important to observe, relativise and practise dynamic thinking and action. This means, for example, regularly asking yourself what you are for instead of what you are against. This helps to constructively manage the dynamics of the participants, especially when facilitating meetings. The prerequisite for this is the awareness that every single person present is in their own “experience cocoon” and that there is a risk of mentally falling into certain frustration loops again and again during certain processes. This is where courageous game-changing impulses can help to steer everyone’s focus in a new direction. The aim is to create real resonance between individuals by breaking out of the established patterns and creating opportunities for changing combinations of the puzzle pieces.

It is also about defining new and inclusive groups in which people who previously seemed less compatible work on challenges, thereby establishing new (success) stories in the organisation. Here, it is important to formulate the unifying intention in advance in order to generate inspiring energy through the common cause and thus have a clear compass for success. Experiences of this kind (including failures) should be publicised internally, successes celebrated, achievements honoured and new best-practice ideas recognised. It is about involving employees genuinely and emotionally; making it clear to them that they are an important part of the joint transformation by giving them the freedom to share their own experiences.

When participating in online meetings, “nudging” a constructive meeting culture in your own company is one way of making meetings more engaging, creative and, above all, more productive. This can be achieved, for example, by setting and publicising an agenda and a target focus. Good preparation and a maximum time limit of one hour also make online meetings more effective.

Certain rituals can be used to actively involve the participants in internal team meetings. Icebreakers or mood barometers at the beginning, improvisation methods, active requests for a movement unit during the break or stimulating interactions after the breaks (e.g. small brain-gym exercises or puzzles) make meetings more varied and dynamic as they motivate those present to get involved. On the internet, for example, you can find free sites with opening and closing questions (checkin-generator.de), which you can activate for everyone and then – with a surprise effect – click on a new question for each participant. A classic from Applied Impro, for example before an idea collection phase, is the activity “Yes, and…” (as a counter-thesis to “Yes, but…”). The facilitator starts with a statement (which does not have to be true), for example: “Do you remember how the six of us used to sit in an office and blow cotton wools at each other?” The task of all subsequent contributions (one statement each, determine the order beforehand) is to begin your own sentence with “Yes, exactly, and then…” and to continue “painting the picture” (also likewise with whimsical embellishments), whereby what was said before is always considered to have been said: “Yes, exactly, and then we were totally out of breath, tore open the windows and hung ourselves out panting” and so on. The humorous nature of this exercise is desirable and contributes to relaxation and thus to finding more creative solutions.

The involvement of the participants is also supported by language and rhetoric. The dynamics in the facilitator’s voice strengthen cohesion and motivation, as do team-related phrases (we, together, energy…). In general, good communication is essential: showing real interest, genuinely listening, asking in-depth questions and not letting up, even if generalities are expressed at first. However, the willingness and ability to gain distance from what is happening, to keep an eye on the “big picture”, to cultivate a healthy error culture overall, as well as not to take oneself too seriously and to be able to laugh heartily at one’s own lapses is also always required. Employees should not feel forced to take part in team and meeting activities, but on the contrary should be invited, inspired and encouraged to actively think along and make their very own contributions.

Conclusion

The pandemic and the resulting situation of working from home and interacting on a virtual, sometimes seemingly passive level can lead to a paralysis that is not easy to overcome – both physically and mentally. It is important to realise that it is ultimately your own attitude that counts. Complexity cannot be solved, only managed. The more complex and contradictory our world becomes, the more important it is for managers to be able to think from multiple perspectives, to scrutinise themselves to a high degree and to take into account the needs of a wide variety of groups. The good news is that you are not alone and you can continue to develop. Self-observation and exchanging ideas with others help here – it’s even fun when it becomes increasingly easy to deal better with yourself and the conditions and thus become more approachable for others.