Recently I had the pleasure of co-chairing the 5^th Annual Advancing Women’s Leadership Skills and Opportunities in Pharma and Healthcare - East.  The three-day event was filled to the brim with great speakers, learning opportunities, and activities—like dancing! I loved the energy of the event, and the passion of both the speakers and the very engaged audience, despite it being a virtual event.

“How do I know my remote team is just as productive as when I was able to see them in the office?”

“How do I know they are doing the right things in the right way? Are there metrics I can use?”

“How can I be sure my remote employees are fully engaged, even though I’m not around?”

I’m hearing these questions a lot as remote work has become the “new way of work.” As a leader, what can you do? Do you use keystroke counters and always-on cameras to see them—because you can’t fully trust them? Or, maybe you should “trust but verify?” Or, “trust and hope for the best?”

Virtual conferences, in some form, are here to stay. And they come with unique challenges and benefits. With that in mind, ALULA developed a checklist of how best to prepare for—and engage in—virtual conference activities. These will ensure you get the most out of the experience—and hopefully you avoid some common pitfalls that may occur with this new way of engaging in virtual events.

Culture can make or break your digital strategy. At ALULA, we define culture as patterns of behavior that have been either reinforced or discouraged by people, systems, and processes over time. No two cultures are the same, and an organization’s digital culture can be best defined by the people within it.

The cost of a failed transformation to a company can be astronomical.  Not just in invested resources, but in man hours and opportunities lost. Why then do so many company transformations fail?

Danielle Geissler, Ph.D., shares two of the most important things that can make or break your transformation.

In this two-minute video learn what can most often get in your way, as well as why leaders are in the best position to create and sustain an environment for successful transformation.

The advent and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting need for many people to work remotely has accelerated the use of new, fast and frequently changing digital technology to solve business problems. Whether it has been the use of ever advancing technology like ZOOM^SM or Microsoft® TEAMS or the fast-tracking of more complex technological processes like Telehealth, businesses are radically re-thinking how they are using technology, people and processes to survive and thrive in the current economy.

Recently I had the pleasure of moderating the first-ever virtual Women in Leadership panel at the American Biomanufacturing Summit. The panel consisted of senior female leaders of Allakos Inc, Amgen, bluebird bio, Roche, and Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. Each of them brought a different and rich set of experiences and knowledge to the virtual table.

When I coach leaders, I often discuss how to keep people motivated. But COVID-19 has added a twist: “How can I motivate my teams—both in-office and remotely?” How do you keep people motivated when you’re not in the same building?

Much has been written about life during COVID, including the endless Zoom conferences, challenges with work/life balance and homeschooling, and the unusual work-from-home situation that forced family members to spend more time than usual together. On the work front, people describe how working from home has muddied the waters on roles and responsibilities. Communication and decision-making have become much more complicated.

A client recently asked: How do I lead my team effectively when we’re never in the same space, and many things can’t be done the way we used to do them? How do I consider each team member’s personal challenges, while still creating an environment for high performance? What does high performance even mean right now?

With COVID-19 restrictions and work-from-home orders lifting, executives are working toward shared workplace reentry. Some organizations are planning a phased return to the workplace, starting with senior leadership. Others are focused on critical functions, like R&D. Still others feel it’s a bad idea to shift people who can work from home back to the office before a vaccine is in place.

While organizations are diligently addressing systemic and process requirements, leaders are thinking about how they will lead to achieve a smooth transition.