Episode 2: Remote But Not Distant
Can remote work truly foster deeper connections and exceptional leadership?
There continues to be a significant shift in how workers view their relationship with work, while at the same time, companies are making deliberate choices about post-pandemic organizational norms and culture.
As the role of remote work evolves, and we assess how to create more flexibility as our relationship with work changes, it is fitting that the next More Elephant conversation in the series on the changing nature of work is with Melissa Romo, author of "Your Resource Is Human: How Empathetic Leadership Can Help Remote Teams Rise Above."
In our conversation, Melissa outlines the secrets of empathetic leadership, unveiling a roadmap for building thriving cultures and forging genuine connections in today's remote and hybrid workplaces. Melissa’s book has been lauded by workplace and leadership experts as “the book 21st century leaders and followers have been pining for.”
APPLE | SPOTIFY | GOOGLE | AMAZON
Show Notes
Melissa is a veteran of global business management, having held executive roles in Warsaw, Paris, London and New York for some of the world’s most recognized companies. Across her three decades in marketing and advertising, she has been recognized as a global advertising and marketing “40 over 40,” “Inspirational Woman of the Year,” an “Inclusive Leader,” and her team’s work has received numerous awards and accolades. She is proud to speak, teach and mentor other businesspeople in a range of industries.
Melissa has built and managed high-performing teams around the world in office-based, hybrid and fully remote settings. Melissa holds an M.B.A. from the Yale School of Management, where she studied organizational behavior and leadership. She also holds a B.A. in History from the University of Virginia and earned a Post-Graduate Certificate in Business Sustainability Management from the University of Cambridge. Her clients and employers have included American Express, Grey Advertising, SAPConcur, Sage, and Procter & Gamble.
Talking points in this Episode:
Melissa discusses her experience with remote work, the emotional challenges that it created for her and how finding a lack of resources to help, she decided to write the book.
Melissa outlines “The "Remote Leadership Wheel TM," a practical solution to assessing five emotional pitfalls and five corresponding empathetic responses to help leaders and individuals rise above the challenges of remote work.
We discuss the return to office movement, the need for remote work to be a valid option for some, the impact of “corporate trauma” and need for connection, meaning, and belonging.
We highlight the importance of TRUST as a foundation for effective remote leadership, the Pygmalion effect on team performance and Melissa's call for reflective evaluation of individual readiness for remote work and its benefits.
More About Melissa Romo:
LinkedIn: Melissa T. Romo | Instagram: romowriter
Subscribe to Melissa's newsletter for remote and hybrid teams: Showing Up
Conversation References:
Suggested Reading
As an Amazon Associate, we may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through our affiliate links.
Transcript
[00:00:00] More Elephant Intro
[00:00:38] Jason Rudman: Welcome to the latest edition of the More Elephant podcast, where we look to listen, learn, and live better. I'm excited for today's guest, Melissa Romo. We're going to talk about her latest book, Your Resource is Human, and how empathetic leadership can help remote teams rise above. And I think this is particularly important in a series of conversations we're having about the changing nature of work. We've just come through the pandemic. As Melissa reminds me in many conversations, she's been a leader of remote and hybrid teams for many years. We're going to get into a conversation about how Melissa felt it was the right time to write this book and what it can teach us as leaders and employees about the new way of working that is not going away and will continue to evolve post-pandemic. So Melissa, welcome. Thrilled you're here.
[00:01:36] Melissa Romo: Thank you, Jason, for inviting me. I'm glad to be here.
Read more…
