Liz Wiseman

LEADING REMOTE TEAMS: HOW TO HARNESS THE FULL CAPABILITY OF A SCATTERED (AND FRAZZLED) TEAM
Suddenly people everywhere are working from home (WFH) in an attempt to contain COVID-19. We find ourselves working in makeshift office spaces, straining to maintain focus at work while juggling additional family responsibilities (like becoming headmaster, IT support, and recess supervisor for the homeschooling program you don’t remember enrolling in). Remote teams working in crisis conditions can create breeding grounds for diminishing leadership where suffocating micromanagers create disengagement and disconnection or absentee managers leave people in the dark and unsure of their next steps. 

When leading remote teams, it is essential for leaders to be intentional about bringing out the best in others and creating these four essential conditions: Context, Clarity, Co-Creation, and Connection.

At The Wiseman Group we’ve been WFH for the last eight years and have become savvy at virtual collaboration. And, we try to practice the Multiplier leadership that we preach, so we’ve put our heads together to offer ten tips for leading like a Multiplier, while WFH.

LEADING THROUGH UNCERTAINTY: CREATING CONDITIONS FOR YOUR TEAM TO THRIVE IN TURBULENT TIMES.
People everywhere are experiencing the effects of the global pandemic and economic downturn: feelings of instability, anxiety, general unrest and sadness for the way things were. In an instant the world drastically changed. Suddenly work is no longer a place we go, but a new virtual landscape full of uncertainty. If you are feeling like your well-ingrained leadership habits aren’t effective in this new setting, you’re not alone. Leaders globally are struggling with our collective new reality.

Traditional leadership focuses followers on grand visions of “new” and "better”….picture Gandhi leading the successful campaign for India’s independence from British Rule, Martin Luther King, Jr. leading the American civil rights movement, or President John F. Kennedy setting the United States on a course to the moon. In each of these examples, leaders challenged the status quo but did so by painting a compelling vision for others to follow. Leading in times of uncertainty requires a very different type of leadership because you aren’t necessarily leading people to a known “better future.”

Leaders may be challenging teams to leave somewhere comfortable and find a new destination altogether, which requires an abundance of trust and a willingness to learn. Learn about the Multiplier strategies that will help you Develop Deeper Trust and Cultivate Learning as you lead teams into the unknown.

ARE YOU A GENIUS OR A GENIUS-MAKER?
We’ve all had experience with two dramatically different types of leaders. The first type drains intelligence, energy, and capability from the people around them and always needs to be the smartest person in the room. These are the idea killers, the energy sappers, the diminishers of talent and commitment. On the other side of the spectrum are leaders who use their intelligence to amplify the smarts and capabilities of the people around them. When these leaders walk into a room, light bulbs go off over people’s heads; ideas flow and problems get solved. These are the leaders who inspire employees to stretch themselves and get more from other people. These are the Multipliers. And the world needs more of them, especially now when leaders are expected to do more with less.

In this highly engaging talk, Liz Wiseman will share the research behind Multipliers and illustrate the resoundingly positive and profitable effect these Multipliers have on organizations – how they get more done with fewer resources, develop and attract talent, and cultivate new ideas and energy to drive organizational change and innovation. She’ll introduce the five disciplines that distinguish Multipliers from Diminishers and provide practice tips for leading like a Multiplier.

What could your organization accomplish with access to all the intelligence that sits inside it?

ROOKIE SMARTS: WHY LEARNING BEATS KNOWING IN THE NEW GAME OF WORK
Is it possible to be at your best even when you are underqualified or doing something for the first time? Is it still possible, even after decades of experience, to recapture the enthusiasm, curiosity, and fearlessness of youth to take on new challenges? With the right mindset—with Rookie Smarts—you can.

In a rapidly changing world, experience can be a curse. Careers stall, innovation stops, and strategies grow stale. Being new, naïve, and even clueless can be an asset. For today’s knowledge workers, constant learning is more valuable than mastery.

In this essential keynote, leadership expert Liz Wiseman explains how to reclaim and cultivate this curious, flexible, youthful mindset called Rookie Smarts. She argues that the most successful rookies are hunter-gatherers—alert and seeking, cautious but quick like firewalkers, and hungry and relentless like pioneers. Most importantly, she identifies a breed of leaders she refers to as “perpetual rookies.” Despite years of experience, they retain their rookie smarts, thinking and operating with the mindsets and practices of these high-performing rookies.

Rookie Smarts addresses the questions every experienced professional faces: “Will my knowledge and skills become obsolete and irrelevant? Will a young, inexperienced newcomer upend my company or me? How can I keep up?” The answer is to stay fresh, keep learning, and know when to think like a rookie.

Rookie Smarts isn’t just for professionals seeking personal renewal; it is an indispensable resource for all leaders who must ensure their workforces remains vital and competitive.