What do you do if you're struggling to adapt to remote work and virtual collaboration?

Executive Coaching is an exciting profession with high social respect. Working remotely to practice this profession can be very challenging. You need to chalk out what are all expected of your role while working remotely. Without face-to-interaction, effective communication is difficult. There maybe time differences between your place and that of your Client. You need to adopt different methods and techniques than the conventional ones, while working remotely. You need make detailed plans for your success in your profession.

In this demanding profession, remote working may take away more of your time and energy, causing you exhaustion and even burnout situations. You need to devise a suitable Work-Life balance and set well spelt boundaries defining your work hours and your schedules. You need to communicate effectively your set boundaries to your Team and to your Client and other stakeholders, seeking their cooperation and support.

Establishing clear boundaries is important however sticking to these boundaries is the challenge# ensure you take actionable measures to keep the balance as this requires major effort and dedication 👍

Setting boundaries in a working from home setup can be difficult because you are sharing the same space. Find ways to differentiate the space if possible. You can also use mental boundaries like a virtual commute going for a walk before and after work, or move to another room, or take some deep breaths to transition your thinking and disconnecting. When setting boundaries, make sure that you respect and implement them. It is difficult to ask others to respect the boundaries when you don't honor them yourself.

As mentioned earlier, you may need different methods and techniques different from conventional ones, while working remotely. You need to acquire needed skillsets and keep yourself continuously updated. You can attend in-person classes, workshops, conferences and seminars to enhance your knowledge and skillsets. With the new skills acquired, you will feel more confident to better perform in your role.

Working from home situations require a different set of tools to communicate. Identify how your ability to communicate and connect is being hurt by working remotely and address those needs through training, practice or asking for feedback. Pay attention to those in your organization that are more effective working remotely and learn from them. And remember that new tools are created everyday. Keep learning about the new tools and new capabilities for the tools you already use.

Remote working invariably causes you isolation from your professional network and from your family. To overcome this problem, you need to foster connections to stay connected with your team, clients and peers and family using one or more of video conferencing, WhatsApp chats, phone calls, email and through social and professional media like the LinkedIn. Effective communication is essential to build rapport and sustain relationships.

While working remotely, there could be unexpected challenges like poor quality of WiFy and communication networks, making you feel miserable. You need to be flexible in your approach adjusting your schedules and your routines. You can communicate your difficulties to your Team, Clients and to other stakeholders of the project and seek their suggestions and support. With better collaboration with project stakeholders, you can enhance your performance.

With massive massive changes in work setups and a combination of sub-optimal situations emerging for all three settings (below) or any combinations of them, the first step is to acknoweldge that you are not alone. 1. Work from Home 2. Work from Office 3. Co Working Space Everyone is struggling in one way or another. Also each person's struggle is different and emerging from different situations. Hence important to explore and understand with the client what is causing the challenges rather than rushing to any standard solutions.

Not every position or role can be equally executed remotely. Be mindful of when some in person time might be needed if possible. Be also realistic that even if remotely, work might require extra effort depending on timezones, network connectivity, computer equipment, etc. The main drivers of success in remote work are communication, coordination and connection. Find the ways to address the needs for each of the requirements.