Good leaders do their best to adapt to the needs of their team. Maintaining a flexible approach as the workplace continues to evolve is as much about survival as it is about effectiveness. There is a new world order in the workplace, and leaders must stay abreast of trends, expectations, and needs.
I was invited as an external speaker recently to online team call. It was the first time I've ever presented to a team where everyone had their cameras off. At the beginning I asked if people would turn their cameras on and only 3 or 4 did. Once I was speaking the cameras were slowly turned off. Since I was a guest I felt it would be rude to ask again, but after the session the organiser said that it's a cultural thing - everyone is used to having meetings with cameras off.
I like to interact and engage with people if I'm presenting and found the complete lack of social dynamics really odd. My presentation was about the importance of relationships and effective communication, I wasn't anticipating the need to go right back to basics and emphasise the need to be able to see each other. In the future I will pre-warn an organiser that I'll be expecting cameras on by default. I think that having 'cameras off' by default is a red-flag that there are unaddressed issues that are being avoided.
It would be interesting to hear what you might say or do if this situation repeats itself?
You did ask... a handful accommodated your request for a few minutes. So if that is blamed on a cultural conditioning, even insisting on 'cameras on' ahead of time with the organiser won't make that much difference unless you have a phrase or behavior that will break people out of their "cultural thing" once you start presenting.
Good opportunity to lead by example. I always have my camera on and so does my team. But when we jump on other calls with our cameras on, other participants who have their cameras off are more willing to turn them on.
You'll appreciate the 15 minute discussion we hosted today to unpack this entry:
https://twitter.com/AdmiredLeaders/status/1684200130784772096
I was invited as an external speaker recently to online team call. It was the first time I've ever presented to a team where everyone had their cameras off. At the beginning I asked if people would turn their cameras on and only 3 or 4 did. Once I was speaking the cameras were slowly turned off. Since I was a guest I felt it would be rude to ask again, but after the session the organiser said that it's a cultural thing - everyone is used to having meetings with cameras off.
I like to interact and engage with people if I'm presenting and found the complete lack of social dynamics really odd. My presentation was about the importance of relationships and effective communication, I wasn't anticipating the need to go right back to basics and emphasise the need to be able to see each other. In the future I will pre-warn an organiser that I'll be expecting cameras on by default. I think that having 'cameras off' by default is a red-flag that there are unaddressed issues that are being avoided.
Thanks for sharing this experience, John.
It would be interesting to hear what you might say or do if this situation repeats itself?
You did ask... a handful accommodated your request for a few minutes. So if that is blamed on a cultural conditioning, even insisting on 'cameras on' ahead of time with the organiser won't make that much difference unless you have a phrase or behavior that will break people out of their "cultural thing" once you start presenting.
Good opportunity to lead by example. I always have my camera on and so does my team. But when we jump on other calls with our cameras on, other participants who have their cameras off are more willing to turn them on.
Is it a routine for you to set camera expectations at the top of every call?
Not for the teams I lead. I set camera-on expectations early on. We do set expectations for all our live virtual instructor-led training - Cameras-on.
This is the kind of note that gets quietly forwarded to regular offenders.