Books

The Quick Guide to Interaction Styles and Working Remotely

Now available at www.radiancehouse. com.

Overview

When working remotely (in different offices, on different floors, at home, etc.), we can't see the body language or facial expressions of those with whom we are communicating. We also can't count on informal interactions as a means to get to know remote people in the way we can get to know those who are co-located with us. The Quick Guide to Interaction Styles and Working Remotely helps people in organizations work together more effectively when they aren't co-located.

Successful remote leaders and workers have learned that relationship building and understanding the styles of those they work with are keys to working remotely. Our pace of interactions varies as does the language we use to communicate. This booklet can be used to help you understand others better and then use that understanding to:

• build good working relationships
• effectively empower people
• set clear objectives
• give useful feedback and evaluations

Whether you are a leader trying to measure the performance of remote workers or a team member trying to figure out how to get teammates to help you complete a project, this guide is full of tips and approaches for working remotely.

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What People Are Saying About the Book

Review by Dave Carey - Speaker, Consultant, Coach
Author, The Ways We Choose

The Quick Guide to Interaction Styles and Working Remotely: Strategies for Leading and Working in Virtual Teams by Susan Gerke and Linda Berens is a straight forward, no-nonsense guide to thinking about one's own, or another's, preferential Interaction Style. The book's strength is in connecting Interaction Style to leadership, management, or membership in teams or groups which are not physically co-located.

Three aspects of this work are of particularly high value and great interest. The first is that the authors have strategically embedded throughout the booklet brief exercises and thought provoking questions, along with the space to respond to them. Thus the reader is encouraged to actively apply the information presented to their own personal situation.

Second is the application of the information presented to teams and work groups that are not geographically collocated. The demand for leaders, managers and team members to work effectively while being separated by buildings, time zones, and often countries or continents continues to grow as the twenty-first century progresses. The authors have a wealth of experience in these "virtual" arenas and share those experiences throughout the book.

The third aspect is the wide variety of very practical suggestions for increasing the effectiveness of "virtual teams." These tips cover a wide range of topics from trust building, performance appraisal and feedback, to effective uses of e-mail, instant messaging, voice mail, etc.

If more effective team leadership is your objective this will be a very worthwhile book.

Beverly Kaye - Founder, CEO, Career Systems International
Author, Up Is Not the Only Way: A Guide to Developing Workforce Talent

"In a brilliantly simple and straighforward way, Susan and Linda give us the secrets of working together remotely. They answer an obvious but often ignored question for today's workforce. 'How in the world do we work together if we never (or almost never) get to see each other.' Bravo and thank you. A must for any remote team manager.

Richard K. Warren - IBM VP & Senior Location Executive, International Business Machines

"Thank you for an insightful consolidation of ideas on one of the industries significant challenges of this decade. You have begun to bring focus to a topic that affects us all as we continue to strive to make our new workforce more effective."

Randy Mysliviec - President, Telecom Solutions Group, Convergys

"This book will quickly help any business leader more effectively manage people in today's dynamic virtual work environment. Finally we have a simple guide to help us understand how to adapt our behaviors to get the most out of people and truly unlock the power of virtual work teams."

Brian Robertson - President & CEO, Ternary Software, Inc.

"A deeply insightful look at the challenges of working remotely, and a powerful practical tool for improving productivity of remotre workgroups!"

Richard Kam - President, Lascaux, LLC

"Communication and trust was rapidly declining and our remote management team was becoming ineffective. The information in this quick guide helped us understand why we were struggling to work as a virtual team. It helped us understand how to improve communication and rebuild trust. It is a valuable tool for anyone who leads or works in a virtual team."

David Hutchens
Author, Outlearning the Wolves: Surviving and Thriving in a Learning Organization

"I read this smart resource on a short flight between locations in my remote world. In my next cell-phone discussions with distant colleagues, I was already adopting my interaction styles in effective ways. I can't think of a higher compliment I could offer to the authors!"

Karen L. Hendricks - Trustee, Board of Directors, The Ohio State University

"This book could not have come at a better time. Managers at all levels would benefit greatly from these down-to-earth observations, tools, and techniques unique in addressing relationships, style, performance, and results with others who work remotely."