With most of us still in lockdown and our offices empty due to the remote work set-up, leading a team and managing tasks has become a different type of exhausting. Serial entrepreneur and Volley CEO, Josh Little, refers to this as “Meeting Fatigue.”
As the tech boss points out, there is no substitute for the human connection of being in the same place with your co-workers. Being in a group huddle or any project meeting has become this tiring task of listening to words rather than a sharing of ideas, and connecting. Little sees this as an obstacle to productivity and good leadership, but how can we get around this inescapable part of remote work?
Josh says that we need these online conversations due to the current circumstances and leadership itself that needs to change.
“The answer is not in talking less, but in talking differently.”
With his fourth company Volley, they hope to create asynchronous conversations, similar to texting. As the name suggests, people will take turns in conversation, unlike in zoom where words are being thrown real-time while everyone else is on mute, Josh notes that this non-real time meeting provides a different environment and leadership.
“This will let me take time to think about my response,” Josh explains “and allow me to skip back to what you said 2 or 3 times to really [understand] what you were trying to get across.”
“By breaking the turns, it will also allow to be more inclusive and ultimately free-up your calendar,” Josh emphasizes, “and living beyond the calendar is what an asynchronous conversation can enable.”
Having experience in different fields of business—including pickles—Josh notes that today’s environment requires “continuous leadership” where you can check in on demand.
“The lightning-strike-eureka moment doesn’t happen when the calendar says it should,” he stresses, and that in this time when teammates are so distant from one another, is when leaders need to be exceptionally flexible.
More from Josh
Volley: https://www.volleyapp.com/
Josh’s Pickles: https://www.joshspickles.com/
Giveaway
To a lucky listener hoping for that new leadership experience, Josh will be upgrading your Volley subscription to Premium.
