Problem
A Dispersed Workplace: A Case Study
Your nonprofit organization, one concerned with stimulating and communicating innovations in local government, is headquartered in the western United States. But you have long recognized the importance of having several regional representatives in various parts of the country, people who can help identify innovations, share information about local government practices, and, perhaps most important, stimulate new memberships among local governments in their areas. While you communicate with the regional representatives regularly by phone and e-mail and see them in person two or three times a year, for the most part they are out there "on their own."
Your board is highly supportive of the idea of having regional representatives but wants to be sure (i) that the regional representatives are getting what they need from the organization in terms of support, encouragement, and a sense of belonging to the organization and (ii) that the regional representatives are being properly "managed" and held accountable for their work.
1. What considerations would you take into account in developing a strategy for managing these remote employees?
2. How would you take lessons from the literature on leadership and management, such as the importance of involving employees in organizational decision-making, and apply them in this kind of situation?
3. How, for example, can you incorporate dialogue into your communications and be effective in supportive communications?
4. How would the fact that your organization is multigenerational be likely to affect its operation?