Hi there, Remote Work Tribe! Thank you for joining us for another Weekly Roundup, the place where we dish all the latest news and trending threads surrounding remote work, management, and team-building. Last week, we broke lucky Roundup No. 50 and celebrated a year of Weekly Roundups the best way we knew how — by revisiting our favorite and most helpful threads! This week, we want to dive into our latest thread about why we avoid conversations remotely.
Now, we’re not talking about avoiding your average conversation about the weather or upcoming projects. Rather, we’re talking about those difficult conversations that could feel awkward in-person, but downright uncomfortable to navigate remotely. Most commonly, these conversations center around terminating an employee, providing constructive criticism, or other situations in which a lack of face-to-face interaction feels like a barrier.
Fortunately, these conversations don’t need to feel like the end-all, be-all of your remote career. And better yet, you don’t need to avoid conversations at all. Here’s what you need to know.
Why Do We Avoid Conversations Remotely?
So, why do we avoid conversations remotely? Steering clear of awkward or difficult conversations while working remotely is a lot more common than you may think.
1/ In our experience, managers primarily avoid conversations for four reasons:
— RemoteWorkTribe (@RemoteWorkTribe) June 10, 2021
⏰ Lack of time
😱 Fearful of the outcome
🐍 Jaded by past experiences
👊 A measure of self-defense
Let’s dive into each reason — and provide some guidance for more difficult remote communication.
P.S. Click through to read the entire thread and hit that like button!
Normalize Difficult Conversations
There’s only one way to not avoid conversations remotely, and that’s to approach them head-on. The best way to tackle these conversations? Let’s normalize them!
We often wait to give feedback when it’s only negative instead of normalising feedback as part of an ongoing process.
— The-Remoter (@RemoterThe) June 11, 2021
As the above tweet points out, many of us automatically associate feedback or similar types of conversations as inherently negative, when they absolutely do not need to be. Instead, we need to begin normalizing these discussions as a normal part of our workflow.
Face Your Fear Head On
Here’s another piece of useful advice if you often avoid conversations remotely:
6/ Next time you find yourself holding off on that all too important remote communication, ask yourself where the fear is coming from.
— RemoteWorkTribe (@RemoteWorkTribe) June 10, 2021
Then, ask yourself if the fear is truly warranted. 🤔
Chances are, it probably isn’t.
Key words: Your fear or anxiety about your upcoming conversation is probably not warranted. Chances are, you’ve spent so long hyping up that conversation in your head, that you’ve blown it way out of proportion. The best plan of action is to simply face that fear head on.
Want to learn more about how to navigate those conversations you’re avoiding? Check out our latest post, The Intricacies of Team-Wide Communication, today! But before you go, check out what else Twitter was up to this week!
The Tribe’s Weekly Vibes
1. This list of golden rules for community-building.
2. This radical idea to create a healthy and happy workday.
3. This reminder that customer engagement is key to success.
4. This lesson that sometimes we should follow the advice we give others.
5. This proof that growth takes time.
6. This prediction for a remote hiring boom.
7. This thread of fantastic community builders.
8. This LOL-worthy thread of how to *not* grow your Twitter account.
9. This refreshing remote work experience after all those months in the house.
10. This incredible thread of mental health tips.
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Thank you for hanging with us for more than 50 Weekly Roundups, Remote Work Tribe! We want to hear from you now more than ever. Tag us over on Instagram, @TheRemoteWorkTribe, or on Twitter, @RemoteWorkTribe, for a chance to be featured on our next weekly thread!
