The mere suggestion of employees working from home is enough to make many managers sweat. Faced with the prospect of managing an employee they can’t see, many discover their managerial style just doesn’t work anymore. As an increasing number of jobs can be executed from home, managers must learn how to adapt their leadership style to cater to remote employees.

Based on years of research, The Virtual Manager provides any manager with the tools he or she needs to successfully work with virtual employees. Trust us: it’s not like managing office-bound employees! This book is a tell-all user manual for a new generation of managers.

To stay competitive in a global marketplace, incorporating virtual employees into your organization’s talent management strategy is essential. The Virtual Manager arms managers with the knowledge they need to become effective virtual leaders, including actionable advice on how to:

• Leverage the top engagement drivers for virtual employees
• Develop or alter policies and procedures to fit virtual employees’ needs
• Impact business outcomes through a flexible work strategy

Organizations featured in this book include:

Cisco • NASA • LinkedIn • American Fidelity Assurance Company • Teach For America • Holland & Knight • Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide • Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. • FlexPaths • Fairfax County Police Department • Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department

What people are saying:

“The Virtual Manager is a useful guide to uncharted territory: how to manage people you can’t see while encouraging their self-sufficiency. Whether managing customer service reps or astronauts (the ultimate virtual workers) this book will help you master the new world of work.”
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School professor and bestselling author of Confidence and SuperCorp

“The Virtual Manager chronicles the reality of the mobile employee. It offers managers and employees concrete tips and insightful case studies for how to help employees be productive from remote locations. For employees working virtually and for managers managing across boundaries, the book will be a source of both inspiration and advice.”

Dave Ulrich, Professor, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan and Partner, The RBL Group

“This lucid and concise book contains much common sense about the realities of managing colleagues you cannot see. Sheridan reminds us that some timeless human virtues – the ability to listen, to empathize, to communicate clearly – are needed in the modern globalised corporation as much – perhaps more – than ever. A useful handbook for any manager today.”

Stefan Stern, Director of Strategy at Edelman in London, Visiting Professor of Management Practice at Cass Business School

“This insightful book contains actionable advice and fascinating case studies that will help managers effectively manage, empower, and engage their virtual workers. Kevin Sheridan’s best practices for motivating and engaging the virtual workforce are both thought-provoking and illuminating.”

David Shadovitz, Editor of Human Resource Executive^® since its founding in 1987

“A passionate evidence-based argument for why virtual working not only improves performance through active employee engagement but also makes better use of time, reduces absence levels and is also good for the environment.”

Mick Marchington, Professor of Human Resource Management at Manchester Business School and co-author of “Fragmenting Work: Blurring Organisational Boundaries and Disordering Hierarchies”

“This insightful book recognizes that “work” is not a place, but instead it’s the act of value creation that can happen anytime and anywhere. With this shift comes the need for a new set of guidelines, skills, and resources, not just for individuals and teams, but for their managers too. The Virtual Manager is packed full of smart ideas that leaders can use to build an effective and engaged virtual workforce, and leverage all the benefits that remote working has to offer.”

Jennifer Rosenzweig, Research Director, The Forum: Business Results Through People, affiliated with Northwestern University

Click here to buy this book directly from the author.