Microsoft manager explains how you can strengthen the team spirit in the home office
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It is often said that the team spirit suffers particularly quickly in the home office. A Microsoft manager explains how executives can counteract this using her own example.
Microsoft’s offices have been closed for more than a year. Like many other companies, the IT group is currently facing the great challenge of leading all employees completely from the home office. Remote work was possible even before Corona, but a mix of home work and office was the rule. And for good reason, as Microsoft manager Carolin Eggers reports to t3n. “We all miss personal interaction and there is often a lack of variety in the daily routine,” she says in conversation. Establishing collegial closeness and motivation over a long distance is a demanding task for all managers.
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Strengthen team spirit through overcommunication
For some bosses this is even new territory. The Microsoft manager advises other executives not only not to let the communication with colleagues break off in the home office, but even to increase it. “As a leader, it is essential to be open, ask questions, invest time and tackle problems together. All employees have different challenges at home, so it is immensely important to listen here, ”says Eggers. Superiors are well advised to establish their own discussion formats for this. “When whole teams work remotely, overcommunication makes sense,” she explains.
“As a manager, you have to be open and ask questions.”
At Microsoft – and specifically with Carolin Eggers – it looks like this: In order to maintain the informal exchange with the teams, she has set up a weekly “CWC – Coffee with Caro” series of dates. Anyone who wants to come in here and no business-related topics are discussed. “We exchange ideas for Christmas presents or cooking tips, motivate us to do more sport or give away tips for the kids to do,” said the Microsoft manager. “Every now and then we also do small online events with our teams – from virtual pub quizzes to crime fiction dinners, escape rooms or a wine tasting; there are now many offers that can also be carried out via video conference. “
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Events like this are fun and keep the team together. The change is good, says Carolin Eggers. Above all, it is important to take a look behind the scenes. “Our management, for example, shares very personal insights from the home office every week and makes their own challenges transparent,” she says. This transparency follows the principle of Vulnerable Leadership. “It’s about courageously sharing your own weaknesses in order to create an environment in which employees can do the same.” What do colleagues have to deal with right now? How do you feel about it? Where do you need help? Those who are open get the same back.
Create a sense of togetherness
“As managers, we have the task, more than ever, of creating a sense of togetherness and giving all employees the feeling of being an important part of a meaningful whole,” says Eggers. Recognizing and resolving conflicts at an early stage, seeing the potential of colleagues, promoting it and using them in the right place – these are all tasks that have a lot to do with social skills and empathy, explains the experienced manager. “At Microsoft we have a management culture that is very much based on trust in one another,” says Carolin Eggers in conclusion. Studies have shown time and again that trust is the basic requirement for working from home.
