Description

As we continue to work in a remote environment, the desire to eliminate ineffective remote meetings is an emotion we are all experiencing right now. Remote meetings are exhausting, lack collaboration and human connection, and waste time when done ineffectively. 

 If we want to feel like our time is being well-spent, video conferences have to change, and as the leader of your team, you have the ability to make that change.  It’s time to establish or re-establish ground rules. 

• Cameras must be on, no dialing in by phone only.
• Look at the screen, not the camera dot. You have to be able to "read the room."
• Send the presentation or document in advance so the meeting is a discussion where people look at each other, not a document. 
• Reduce the meeting time if possible. If it isn't possible, be clear and allow team members to turn their cameras off from time to time to move about the room, but remind them the cameras must come back on upon their return to the chair.
• Teach your team what you want to be presented and how they should share the information. 

These are just a few of the ground rules you can establish to make video calls a little less exhausting and a bit more productive. The challenge for today is to establish your ground rules for video conferences or reestablish them if team members have started to stray from your original rules. Everyone wants to be productive, creating the rules and holding the team to them will create the necessary environment for productivity.