The Five Basic Problems with Virtual Communication: The Lack of Connection and Commitment

Imagine this scene: You have basically the same routine each work day. You get up, get ready for work, drop the kids at school and arrive at work about the same time every day you are in the office. You park in roughly the same place, walk into the same entrance into the building and take the same elevator every day. Most days you see the same people who arrive at the same time as you. You may start out with a smile or a greeting, but over time your relationship develops and you exchange greetings on the way in. One Friday night you worked late and so did a few coworkers that you see in the morning. You talk about working late and about the weekend and say goodbye. This is what is called a minimal personal relationship. And the minimal personal relationship alone is not enough to establish the level of trust needed to build a strong foundation. Without a handshake to seal the deal (or in current times an elbow bump) trust is more difficult, if not impossible, to build and keep. Trust comes after connection and credibility and before commitment. So what can you do to in a virtual environment to create the right atmosphere so that you can establish trust? 1. Be authentic. 2. Be consistent. 3. Honor reciprocity. 4. Use culturally appropriate humor, and 5. Don’t try to hard. In tomorrow’s post, I will wrap up. Nick Morgan/2018