September has always felt like a back to school month and this year even more so than normal. Perhaps you’re back from holiday, planning out a busy few months ahead, or maybe you’re going into the office for a few days each week. Either way this month marks the beginning of a new phase of how  we all work together and arguably, a fresh chapter in how we lead. 

18 months into the pandemic, many of us are pretty confident with Zoom, running remote meetings and collaborating online. You may not need support in the mechanics of managing a virtual team. Yet new challenges and opportunities may be emerging for you, and I’ve seen this through my own work and those of the social sector organisations we advise. 

Some common concerns I’m hearing about are:

• Not having time to reflect on how you’ve led your team during the pandemic, and how you might need to shift your leadership style as ways of working evolve
• Worries about burnout. According to the recent Charity Digital Skills Report Just under a third of nonprofits (31%) say their staff are burned out from the demands of intense remote working. How can you protect your team’s wellbeing and your own after more than a year of hard graft in incredibly stressful conditions? 
• With more emphasis on remote working and less on the four walls of the office, culture is at a premium. It’s the thing that will draw talented people to your team, and may also be the reason they leave. How might ‘the way we do things round here’ need to change from now? 
• How can I hire the best people and give them a running start in role remotely? 

• How might I keep finetuning the way my team and I work so we can keep improving and learning together?