The Keys to Showing Your Value When Working Remotely
You know you’re a badass. Make sure everyone else knows it, too.
Hi,
Welcome to Remotely Inclined, a newsletter about running a business remotely. If you’d like to sign up, you can do so here. Want to share your feedback? Respond to this email (or send me one). Or just read on…
Today: I’m digging into a touchy subject: showing your value at work (remotely).
Remember when we were all in the office pre-COVID and a few folks would ask to work from home occasionally? Maybe they were “almost sick” or had a personal thing going on like a plumber coming. The manager, not wanting to seem like a total heartless tool, begrudgingly agreed to let that person work from home / remotely. However, there was this unspoken tension - you knew the manager saw that WFH day as a zero-productivity day for that employee.
To combat a nasty assumption that remote = not productive, the employee in question would work extra hard to be visible. They’d be online ALL the time. They’d respond to emails so fast you wonder if they even had time to read it first. Anything to be present, just like you’d be in the office. This, of course, was a ruse. They probably weren’t getting anything done - between the reason they needed to work from home and the pressure of acting present all the time, they probably got nothing done. Self-fulfilling manager prophecy… check.
It doesn’t have to be this way. The assumption that remote means unproductive is an old hat way of thinking. It’s something that Clearbanc founder Andrew D’Souza used to believe - until he actually tried remote work in earnest. But it’s not just managerial assumptions that need to change. The way we show our value has to change as well. Even months into the COVID-fueled grand remote work experiment, things are not humming along as they should.
The paradox of showing value
As I outlined this edition, I thought about if showing value actually matters for remote workers. After all, remote work heralds the end of the performative-based work and instead talks about putting delivery first, right? While that’s true, human recognition is not going away anytime soon. Even the most intrinsically motivated people occasionally like to be thanked (quietly) for their work. We are hard-wired to want compliments. On the flip side, showing value implies a flashiness that is, frankly, a bit teacher’s pet-y. No one likes the person who takes all the credit. So let me be clear: showing value =/= taking all the credit.
Different roles require different tactics
I’m going to dig a bit deeper into three categories of worker:
Founder / leader / executive
Individual contributor employees
Contractors / freelancers
Hey leaders - make it tangible
One of the biggest myths, in my humble opinion, about leadership is that there has to be a mythology around it. We took this process from early monarchies. Irony aside that corporations in many ways mirror the fiefdoms and small kingdoms of the past, the reality is we don’t live in a world where mystique is a good leadership tactic (though it’s still a good marketing tactic, it seems).
Instead, here are a few tips:
Every time you announce a new project, explain clearly how it supports a business goal (not just a vision or value - something concrete and tied to customers or revenue).
Create a communications triage system so remote workers aren’t left in the dark on important topics.
Spend your time focusing on your team’s humanity.
Don’t negate the value of in-person experiences (just don’t use them as a default).
Employees - speak up and write it down
A lot of remote communication is documented by default, but employees can’t rest on this laurel. Much like an office environment, not being recognized for the value you create is usually a function of visibility, not work quality. Since it’s even easier to be “invisible” when working remotely, try these tips:
Verify outcomes of a task before starting work (or shortly after starting) so there’s communication throughout the process.
Research on your own before asking for help - and when asking for help, explain what research you’ve done.
Contractors and freelancers - remember you’re not an employee, and that’s a good thing
I’m speaking a lot from personal experience here, as I’ve run my freelance business since 2017. These tips are also documented in more detail in my book, The 50 Laws of Freelancing, for any curious freelancers or solopreneurs! The gist of the tips, though, is to understand that being a freelancer or contractor may at times feel like being an employee, but it’s fundamentally not.
You are at once an entrepreneur, your own manager, your own employee, and a “hired gun” for a client. It’s a weird balance - here’s how to make sure you’re showing value.
Get clear on scope before you start work to avoid any misunderstandings later.
Know your real job - alleviating concern, fear, and anxiety… all while making your client seem like a badass (it’s ironic - you get recognized by making sure your client gets all the credit).
Follow client workflows wherever possible.
“Digitally surround” your client to become more visible to them in a non-threatening way.
The ask at the end
One of my favourite things is helping people run businesses remotely - it’s why I started Remotely Inclined. If you know any freelancers / team leaders / entrepreneurs giving remote a shot, be their hero and forward this newsletter along to them (I’d be incredibly grateful!).