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Skills 360 – Managing Virtual Teams (1)

Business English, Business Skills 360, Management English /

Business English Skills 360 - Managing Virtual or Remote Teams (1)

Welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 podcast for today’s lesson on managing virtual teams.

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed how and where we work. When the pandemic hit, many white-collar workplaces went virtual, and more people than ever found themselves working from home. Now, as most countries move into the endgame and lift restrictions, companies are faced with the choice about whether, and how, to head back to the office. Many are choosing not to return to in-person operations, or taking a hybrid approach, combining remote and in-person work.

Clearly, remote work in some form is here to stay. And as a manager, you shouldn’t be thinking about the virtual team as purely a stopgap measure. You need to consider ongoing management of virtual teams. And you need to figure out approaches that will ensure not only productivity and effectiveness but also employee wellness and job satisfaction.

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Skills 360 – Time Management 3: How to Delegate Effectively

Business English, Business Skills 360, Management English /

Management English - Time Management 3 - Delegating

Welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 podcast for today’s lesson on time management and how to delegate effectively.

As a manager, have you ever felt bad about adding tasks to an employee’s workload? Or have you ever thought that it’s easier to do something yourself than explain how to do it? Or do you like the feeling of being indispensable because you’re the only one who knows how to do something?

If any of these things are true, then I’m sorry to say you’re setting yourself up for failure. And you need to check your ego. Great managers on great teams don’t try to do everything themselves. They build their team’s skills and confidence through effective delegation. And this frees up time for more strategic work.

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Skills 360 – Time Management 2: Learning to Say No

Business English, Business Skills 360, Management English /

Management English - Time Management 2: Learning to Say No

Welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 podcast for today’s lesson on time management and the importance of saying “no.”

“No” is one of the most powerful words in the English language, and it’s one of the keys to good time management. It might be odd to think that saying “no” is a skill, since it sounds so simple. But it is a skill. Some people seem to have been born with it. Other people learn it. Either way, it’s a critical ability when it comes to managing a business and managing yourself.

Just to be clear, when I talk about saying “no,” I’m talking generally about not taking on something new. When we do this, we don’t simply say “no” to someone. In fact, we’ve done a two-part series just on how to say “no” the right way! And if you want some tips on how to say “no” effectively, those lessons are worth a look. Today, however, I want to focus on why we need to say “no.”

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Skills 360 – Time Management 1: Prioritizing and Scheduling

Business English, Business Skills 360, Management English /

Business English Skills 360 - Time Management (1)

Welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 podcast for today’s lesson on time management.

When we talk about “management” and “managers,” we’re usually thinking about managing people. And that involves many different skills. But all these skills are useless if the manager can’t manage his or her own self. So good management starts with good self-management. And an essential part of self-management is managing your time effectively, which in turn depends on effective scheduling.

So, as a manager, how do you set a schedule that works? Well, that starts with prioritizing. You can think of tasks on two dimensions: importance and urgency. The first key to good time management is avoiding things that are neither urgent nor important. That includes daily distractions, trivial tasks, and anything minor that simply wastes time. The second key is to minimize things that seem urgent but are not important. A lot of meetings, emails, phone calls, and interruptions fall into this category.

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BEP 371 – English for Startups 5: Demonstrating Leadership

Business English, IT and Tech, Management English /

English for Startups 5 - BEP 371 - Demonstrating Leadership

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English for startups and demonstrating leadership.

In the early stages, startup companies are built on the ideas and energy of their founders. These are often smart, creative people with great technical knowledge and skills. And this creativity and technical know-how is crucial to bringing great ideas to life.

But very quickly, a startup becomes more than just one or two individuals. As it grows, it becomes a team of people. And as it changes, or pivots, the original founders need more than just creativity and technical skills. They need to be able to lead their team with passion.

Leading a team might not come naturally to every founder. Or to any manager in any type of company, tech startup or not. But you can learn and practice the skills of a being a great leader.

For starters, you’ll want to know how to be positive and show compassion for your team members. Taking care of your team will also involve responding decisively to needs. And people are depending on you to show them the vision behind all the hard work, and to underline the shared purpose of everyone on the team.

In today’s dialog, we’ll listen to a startup founder named Quinn, who has recently pivoted his online payments company to focus on business customers. He’s talking with lead developer Jill, and a new marketing manager named Colin. To execute this pivot well, Quinn will have to call on all his leadership abilities to guide his team to success.

Listening Questions

1. How does Quinn set a positive tone at the start of the conversation?
2. What is the big vision, or change, the company wants to make?
3. How does Quinn respond to Jill’s request for help with infrastructure needs?

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