Powering Up your Presence in a Virtual World

In a recent virtual "Lunch and Learn" for our Women@LinkedIn ERG, I moderated a panel of three superb woman leaders at LinkedIn. Our topic of discussion: What are the strategies and tactics for thriving as a remote employee or hybrid collaborator in this virtual world of work?

Below, I recap the takeaways from our conversation. Get ready for no less than thirty golden rules for navigating the world of remote work, hybrid projects and creative career development in 2025.

What's the biggest perk of working remote?

Being close to family (and grandparents) and having the flexibility to go to school events

Having the flexibility to move anywhere, especially if your spouse or family has a career that puts them "on the move"

Deepening that connective tissue with ones family and "coworkers" while working from home

What's the hardest part of being remote?

Missing that communal, connective tissue that's present in the office

Not being able to join those spontaneous meetings, moments or after-work connection events!

What's a recent challenge and how did you overcome it?

Feeling disconnected when you start a new job as a remote employee requires proactive investment in relationships! Set up coffee chats; get to know people's kids names

Lacking transition time and constantly being "back-to-back" in meetings can be tiring; schedule time to be in the office or hold space for breaks & talking walks

If you don't feel like you have the same baseline of relationships or community, be the change you want to see in the world! Get involved and provide feedback on the remote experience. There's a tiger team for that!

As we all consider our personal brands, how do you ensure your virtual presence stays visible?

Keep your camera on! Even if you don’t “look our best,” throw a hat on and show face

When possible if your role allows, fly up to visit the office (even if it's for a 5-minute presentation in an All Hands)

If you have a standing ritual or channel of communication, use a symbol to help your message stand out! Example: Product Leader Wendy Ginsberg uses a 🌲 green tree emoji to signal positive brand perception in her weekly newsletter and now, people associate it with her & her product when she’s not in the room! 

Say yes! Even if you're in a role where you are often sending emails or scheduling meetings and events, diversify where people see you. Chief of Staff Kiotta Reynolds recommends, (when possible) to lean into opportunities and present in new places -- such as an ERG event like this networking event!

Be available - but with boundaries. Sales leader Ashley (Viveiros) DuBois doesn’t want people to feel like they can only chat with her in a scheduled meeting, so she makes herself accessible. Reach out to say congrats; schedule a coffee chat or ask for time with people you admire (rather than only offering time for others). Make an extra effort since you’re not always the loudest person in the room -- let alone in the room at all.

How do you foster relationships to build social equity when you're not in the office?

See your colleagues as more than just the work they are doing; but the human that they are! Ask who else they work with and where they spend time! Carve out time to get to know them. Bonus: This makes us more effective in the work we do together, too 

If you see something you admire, say something! Wendy suggests to send a note that says something like "I really enjoyed your presentation in the All Hands today..." Build that inventory in your Teams chat, even if you’re never exchanged messages before, for the next time you work together in the future  

Ask if you can “stop by someone’s desk”! Call teammates directly. Consider sending a video message (60 seconds or less) in your internal chat platform.

Schedule a 10 or 15-minute meeting, doesn’t have to be a 30! One of our Employee Experience leaders Rachelle Diamond suggests we replicate what it would be like to "run into each other in the office" 

Consider how you show up. How will people talk about you when you're not in the room?

Ashley suggests this: Leave your mantras on your post-it notes. One her own former leaders always said to live by this advice if you want to thrive: "Focus on these three things: First, crush the job you’re in; then, ensure you make those around you better; then, figure out what your manager is being ask to do and make HER look better!”

How can we up-skill ourselves and specifically, how can we use AI to make ourselves better?

Use Gong to record a customer call of your own, and listen to calls led by others. Take notes and review the AI recap notes if you didn’t take your own. If you're a manager, use these features to coach your team members on what they are doing!

Use internal tools (like Sales Navigator), which contain GenAI snapshots to do quick research on customer accounts. Have you tried Account IQ?

Take a “walk and learn” and visit a platform like LinkedIn Learning to learn about something you need to brush up on. Bonus tip: Listen to a course about your own product to stay up to date on features and capabilities for customers!

Rather than thinking only about accelerating your productivity… @Kiotta says that we can use AI to accelerate our CREATIVITY! 

Try new apps (as long as they're secure and approved by your organization) such as Granola to find the AI hacks that fit best in your flow. @Wendy loves to take incessant notes, but this one fills in the gaps.

When working remotely, don't forget to think about your wellness! Back pain and carpel tunnel are challenges when sitting at the same desk all day.

As we prep for Annual Review season, how do you promote your contributions and encourage your direct reports to celebrate their contributions too?

Be vocal; let people know your intention or goals. Don’t think that having an advocate is enough; people can’t speak for you if they don’t know where you want to go!  

Loop in the people who need to know where you want to go (or ask your manager to do this!) Ashley talks with her leadership team and says, “Let’s do a skill analysis” to see where a team member is today vs. where they want to be

Being remote, you have to be more concerted in your efforts -- so get involved! You’ll flex new skills, learn new people and reenergize yourself so that you’re not simply “heads down” in your day job

If you want to make a change or take a leap, put it out into the ether. Take actions that demonstrate your interest; if you want to be a manager, apply for your company's emerging leader development program (such as our homegrown one, "EmergIn")

Think about the lenses through which you are rated at performance time, and prepare calibration notes for your manager/leader. Leader Wendy asks her team members to do the same - so prepare notes on what impact you drove that might not be “seen” in your results, quota attainment etc. 

Make it easy for your leader (manager or skip level) to speak to your contributions. Even if your Manager knew about one of your achievements, she may not realize the time or tasks spent. Document those, and focus on the impact those actions had!  

If I want to explore new roles, how can we best navigate and approach that?

If you are thinking about a new role or next play, make that interest known and ask for info in advance! There are usually many applicants by the time it is posted; make a connection ahead of time. Don't wait!

Ask if a role of interest is open to remote applicants; if the answer is no, ask "Could we keep the conversation going?" We don’t know where future needs or roles might pop up! 

Build those relationships not only with hiring managers, but with the people you want to work alongside. This will help your name come up naturally when a role becomes available.

Share the work that you're doing with more than just your manager. Seek out mentors and peer "friend-tors" with whom you can bounce ideas, share your accomplishments and learn about new roles and possibilities.