It's Okay To Be An Introverted Nerd, BUT You'll Need These 3 Steps To Lead In A Human Cloud World
This Week In Startups #41
Important Updates
๐ to Entrepreneur for their stance against the PRO Act.
๐ Thereโs more job openings than job seekers right now.
Happy National Independent Worker Day! The Human Cloud wouldnโt be possible without the grit, innovation and discipline of over 100m independent freelancers around the world.
โLi Jin posted an article on the Creator Economy becoming the Gig Economy. While great in direction, it follows the common โtechโ and elite narratives focusing on influencers instead of the over 100m skill based freelancers adding over $1.2t worth of value to the US economy a year.
Enjoy our recent podcast on Work Unlocked talking about how enterprise leaders can hire freelancers to have the speed of a startup.
Freelancer Highlight: Ryan Mellinger, Audio Engineer
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Todays Topic TL;DR: Being a strong leader in the Human Cloud comes down to three things.
Master scoping
Master progress updates
Master precise communication
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Introverts unite, separately in your own homes
Can you relate?
The Human Cloud is great for us introverts. It enables:
Choosing our time (thank you a-sync)
Choosing our environment (thank you remote)
Best of allโฆchoosing our co-workers (thank you independence)
BUT it can also lead to utter chaos.
Working on the wrong things
Missing out on the important news
Neglecting relationships that get you promoted
This isnโt unique to us introverts, but our introversion significantly increase the chances for chaos.
So how do we be a good leader in the Human Cloud leader while embracing our introversion?
Step 1: Master Scoping
In a remote environment, what can go wrong will.
Whether a new product, a new feature, or just planning a retirement party, outline the below 3 variables before you start.
What needs to get done
Who will do it
By when
Advanced Level: List all conditions and use a Gantt chart or Roadmap to visualize these dependencies.
Examples:
To start design, brand guidelines need to be completed.
To start brand guidelines, leadership needs to sign off.
Etc
Step 2: Master Proactive Communication
Honestly status updates are the death of me, but there are three main reasons they are a must.
Keeps everyone aligned
Keeps leadership bought in
Keeps momentum up and to the right
No matter how decentralized we get, one person will always be accountable for success (or failure), and as a leader that should be YOU.
Advanced Level: Create an infrastructure that tracks status, aligns direction, and you can turn to in seconds.
Make sure to have:
Running Project Plan
Running Email Thread
Knowledge Hub (a Google folder to house files and the project planning running document)
Step 3: Master Precise Communication
Weโre not robots, but weโll always be busy as hell, and emails will probably always be a burden.
Thus keep it simple and remember to KISSS - Keep it short, simple, stupid.
Iโll admit itโฆas a leader Iโm an idiot. If you talk to me like a toddler Iโll probably be extremely appreciative (and canโt wait to pay your invoice).
Whatโs Next ๐
Next week weโll touch on remote tactics to manage your freelancers within your existing team.
Have a question? Reply directly! Weโre here to help.