Remote Career Development: Sarah McLellan of SHL On How To Advance and Enhance Your Career When You Are Working Remotely
Be genuinely kind — Understanding, tailoring approaches and suggestions will build a strong foundation. Being kind is also about being honest and realistic. Provide individuals with fair and objective feedback on what they’re doing well and where the gaps are. Try not to give people false hope or misaligned expectations — if an opportunity is unlikely to materialize, or you feel they have multiple skills gaps to close before being considered for a new role, share this, and support them in the path forward.
Career development is the ongoing process of choosing, improving, developing and advancing your career. This involves learning, making decisions, collaboration with others and knowing yourself well enough to be able to continually assess your strengths and weaknesses. This can be challenging enough when you work in an office, but what if you work remotely? How does remote work affect your career development? How do you nurture and advance your career when you are working from home and away from other colleagues? How can you help your employees do this? To address these questions, we started an interview series called “How To Advance and Enhance Your Career When You Are Working Remotely”. As a part of this interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sarah McLellan.
Sarah is a business psychologist who is passionate about using people science to build organizations where people and businesses flourish. As director of European professional services at SHL, she’s responsible for an international team who combine science, data and technology to design impactful talent solutions for companies around the world. Sarah has been a strategic partner to leaders for over 15 years, advising across both talent acquisition and talent management.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. What is your “backstory”?
I grew up near the south coast of England. I’m the eldest of four girls and, looking back, the experience of growing up in a loud, busy household likely started my interest in psychology. That included testing group dynamics (who will crumble first and clear the dining table?), understanding personality differences (finding activities to accommodate one sister’s need for constant activity with another’s desire to exert as little effort as possible) and developing leadership skills (picking up my youngest sister from school and sourcing something for her tea).
At school, I gravitated towards the subjects combining writing and understanding others — history, English literature, sociology. I loved learning about what shapes us — socialization, norms, groups, societal expectations. This led me to study psychology at college, and I continued this at university. The people elements — how we make decisions, why we perceive and attribute behavior in different ways, the impact of authority (and some scary but enlightening experiments in the 60s!), how we decode information and remember things, the amazing components of being human we draw upon and experience every day — are what kept me interested. Alongside studying, I had several part-time jobs: delivering the local paper, stacking shelves in a supermarket, working in a pharmacy, stuffing envelopes on a factory line and even teaching PE to primary school children. This gave me insight into multiple organizations and fed my appetite for understanding people and organizations.
When I finished my Masters in Occupational Psychology, I joined a startup, working with one of the founders of the business psychology industry — professor Peter Saville. Although perhaps I hadn’t quite realized it at the time, this was a phenomenal opportunity, and it delivered. I worked with many leaders in the field of psychometric design, cutting my teeth with personality and cognitive ability, item writing, analyzing and validating large data sets to develop predictive models of job performance, and training HR professionals and managers in how to objectively assess people at work. I got a taste for using people science to enable a fairer, more fulfilling and sustainable working world, and I was just getting started!
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
The work I do provides an opportunity to understand and engage with a huge variety of businesses and individuals. For example, I have helped TV executives in Australia better understand their leadership styles, designed company-wide competency frameworks for global banks and technology companies, and implemented volume hiring solutions for healthcare assistants and contact center operations. One of the most interesting aspects of my job is helping organizations drive transformation through their people. As a leader, I have delivered change through my own teams on multiple occasions. More recently, I led the creation of a combined European professional services team at SHL. This involved bringing together a team of around 100 people across six key regions (and multiple languages) to build a scaled, aligned and enhanced client experience. The transformation journey itself took about a year — building the vision, gathering feedback, sharing structural plans, before rolling out a phased approach to our new model. We’re now two years in and while there have been challenges along the way (including delivering change while working remotely through Covid), the benefits for customers, the team and our business are shining through. The learnings I have taken with me from this experience are primarily about the importance of investing time in understanding people (What’s important to them? What are they worried about?) and to over-communicate (messages are interpreted differently and easily forgotten). Creating meaningful connection, demonstrating empathy, and bringing transparency around business objectives helps achieve balance between company and individual objectives.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Very early into my career in a client-facing consulting role, I had an in-person meeting with a leading law firm in London. We were discussing its high-profile graduate program with the head of HR and a partner sponsoring the initiative. I needed to head into the office before catching the train into London to join the meeting. It was summer and a particularly warm day, and I had chosen something I would often wear into the office — smart, but not overly formal, and a little cooler considering the weather. When a colleague I knew well saw me, she kindly pulled me aside, and said ‘I assume you’re going to get changed on the way to the client meeting later!’ I gulped — the penny dropping — and said ‘Yes, I think something a little more formal might be better?’ I managed a quick detour to get changed before heading into the meeting — which went very well. I was grateful for the friendly intervention, as first impressions really count, and sometimes we all need supportive nudges and reminders from those around. I think this is one aspect we risk losing in hybrid or remote work environments — the feedback gathered day to day, through overhearing others, and having peer-to-peer conversations. As I learned in sociology classes, this is how our behaviors and expectations are nurtured.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
One piece of advice that has stayed with me is ‘people remember how you make them feel’. I have drawn on this across multiple scenarios. For example, when overcoming nerves at presenting in front of large audiences — learning that people will only take in small amounts of what you say and the use of emotion, storytelling, helping people feel meaning and connection — is more important than getting the details exactly right. I have also used this when communicating changes or new strategies with teams. At times these are difficult messages because they have individual impact. I’ve learned to prepare individuals and teams for what might come next and to gather feedback constantly. People are individuals and will hear different things from the same message — communicating is just the start, creating meaning and understanding is a continuous journey
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees thrive and avoid burnout?
The first thing I suggest is to reflect on your own behavior and habits and how this helps you thrive. As a leader, teams are always watching and analyzing your every move. Are you sending online messages late at night? Are you role-modeling a balanced approach to work and life? Preaching one thing and doing something else is the best way to confuse and undermine your intentions. Secondly, look at your culture. This is deeply related to the first step (the behaviors you role model) and is the living, breathing ecosystem influencing how employees think and feel on a daily basis. Which behaviors and contributions are valued and rewarded? Do team members feel they can ask for help or flag when they’re feeling overwhelmed? What’s the real purpose and mission — is it about hours worked or actual contribution and impact made? Building and maintaining a culture with a clear and galvanizing mission, underpinned by psychological safety, will provide a great foundation for two-way dialogue and sustainable growth. Finally, it’s important to empower managers to really know and understand their employees. Everyone is different, and often managers hold the key (if enabled) to craft jobs, teams and experiences in such a way that meets both company and individual needs. Reaching a state of ‘flow’ achieving the optimal mix between challenge and skill — not too challenging so we feel overly-anxious and not too easy so we get bored. This varies from person to person, so equipping managers to objectively understand their teams — what motivates them, what doesn’t, what are they great at, where are their development needs — provides the means to help more people feel energized, able to engage in meaningful work and valued in their workplace.
Ok, let’s jump to the core of our interview. Working remotely can be very different than working with a team that is in front of you. This provides great opportunities, but it can also create unique challenges. To begin, can you articulate for our readers a few of the main benefits and opportunities of working remotely?
The main benefits of remote work are:
1. Flexibility & balance to manage work and life interchangeably, e.g. to be at home for deliveries or household appointments, to get ahead of the washing while working from home. In many cases, it also provides more flex around when we work — perhaps popping out in the middle of the day to a school event and making the time back in the evening. It can enable a more trusting, empowered working experience.
2. More opportunities for both employees and employers. A remote workforce suddenly expands the search criteria. Theoretically, individuals could be employed by companies thousands of miles away, not within a reasonable commute. In some respects, this has given employees more choice and power — especially as job vacancies continue to rocket and skills appear scarce.
3. Diversity — A dispersed but connected organization could also, if facilitated well, offer benefits in terms of diversity. Wider talent pools help build more diverse teams and incorporate new and different perspectives. This could bring improvements in inclusion and innovation.
Can you articulate for our readers what the five main challenges are regarding working remotely?
1. Blurred boundaries for those working remotely or in hybrid routines. For many years now, we have grown accustomed to different or varied work environments. The great advantage of working remotely is flexibility. However, the risk presented through loss of natural cues to trigger a change in activity or end of a working day are often now absent or different. Physically leaving a work space to go home helps create definition and space between work and life. Now, we are often working at home and living at work. This continues to create challenges around balance, space, burnout and employer expectations (you’re online, so you’re working).
2. Virtual reality — I am hearing this talked about more and more among management populations, especially for those with teams who have only experienced knowledge-based work since the pandemic re-shaped how, when and where we work. If work is often remote, colleagues accessed via chats or video calls, work sent electronically — people and impact rarely seen in ‘live’ environments — there is a risk that work feels like virtual reality: a computer game started each morning and continued sporadically throughout the day. Longer term this could harbor risks in terms of accountability — individuals forgetting there is a real, live person on the other side of the screen, a customer really waiting for an answer, and a business planning its finances based on a sales team’s forecasted performance. All of that can be switched off at the touch of a button and the virtual working world left for someone else to pick up the pieces. If we don’t see how our actions impact others, does it feel real?
3. In groups and out groups — This isn’t a new challenge for organizations. In fact, every community has these elements. Remote working adds another dynamic — those in the room and those on Zoom. Leaders are learning how to more effectively communicate and engage when teams are virtual and in person. However, it doesn’t stop the interactions we have in person, the people we physically see delivering great work, being front of mind. As humans we are biased, and our brains work to simplify and categorize information to ease cognitive processing. The risk is further divide — in communities, creating a sense of belonging, enabling opportunities for all — fairly assessing and interrupting our biases so that everyone’s performance and potential can be considered equally when identifying future stars, making hiring decisions, and building critical project teams. Unmanaged, there is a risk this could further exacerbate differences we were already seeing by group (e.g gender, ethnicity, sexuality, etc.).
4. Lack of live learning — I mentioned previously how my peers shaped my behavior in particular when I was just starting out in a consulting career. Millions of people have started a career, joined a new company and entered a virtual world across the last three years. Walk into an office today, and it will look very different to pre-pandemic work — sparsely populated, some people working in open plan spaces (with headphones in), some in rooms joining virtual meetings. The opportunities to overhear colleagues interacting with customers and managing difficult calls, to access advice on the fly while preparing a presentation, or completing some analysis — asking a colleague for some top tips — used to be frequent. Now, these moments have to be planned and orchestrated. I think this is particularly risky for those at earlier stages of their careers or starting new ones. How will they access the friendly nudges, advice, guidance that is often ‘unsaid’? The result could be gaps in skills, knowledge, loss of time efficiency and ultimately, lack of connection and future talent.
5. Loneliness — The final one is a big one: loneliness. The biggest gamble of remote work could be this. The flexibility, convenience, broadened opportunities (working for companies on the other side of the world!) could come at the expense of true, meaningful human connections and friendships. Many articles have pointed to this becoming a bigger issue in recent years. Workforces are becoming lonely, cold, and disparate. The bonds we create at work are so often when we tackle problems together — preparing for an event, delivering a challenging client project, spending time with colleagues, sharing learnings, asking questions, having a laugh. For many, the friends we make at work stay with us for years to come. Missing this outcome could have sad, wide-reaching consequences for generations to come.
Based on your experience, what can one do to address or redress each of those challenges? Can you give a story or example for each?
1. Blurred boundaries — There are steps we can all take as individuals — separate work spaces, getting outside every day, practicing good habits to maintain clear boundaries. In organizations, it’s multi-faceted — examining the behavior leaders are role-modeling and committing to as a team to sustainable approaches; valuing inputs over outputs — companies will always have goals to achieve, but ensuring the right behaviors are celebrated to enable this is critical to ensuring longevity; and lifting the aim of the game to something broader and meaningful. A galvanizing purpose will do more to unite and align people and encourage discretionary effort (e.g. creative ideas, knowledge sharing, contributing to community groups, etc.).
Good examples of striking the balance well can often be found in Nordic companies. Denmark, Sweden and Norway are consistently rated well within the OECD’s Top 10 for best work life balance and life satisfaction. Many companies in these countries focus on providing balance, encouraging interests and passions outside of work, enabling flexible work contracts and valuing taking time off for rest.
2. Virtual reality — The remedy here is about providing in-person, real life experiences at key intervals. For those working in customer-facing roles, meeting with a customer to understand their needs and perspectives and seeing their own environment is invaluable. Managers leading remote teams can leverage this approach to spend time with their team members, actually see what they need to do each day, build trust, and understand and identify ways to continuously improve. It’s also about bringing teams together for learning and knowledge sharing opportunities and to brainstorm and collaborate on challenging issues. This takes a focused effort — to purposefully design work based on the task and outcomes required. Many organizations are beginning to lead the way here, and settling into new routines enabling a blend of focused work time (from home), collaborative problem solving (in small groups) and connection and purpose building (at larger functional or company level get togethers).
3. In groups and out groups — At the core, we need to interrupt decision-making to remove biases as much as possible. Our brains process information using shortcuts to help us get to answers faster. Biases such as confirmation bias (seeking evidence to support an already held belief) and optimism bias (overstating the likelihood of success) are reasonably well-known, and biases such as proximity and presenteeism could become common parlance if we fail to initiate healthy adoption of hybrid working. Awareness of these is a good first step, but commitment to embedding objective data-led approaches to talent decisions, supported by technology-enabled, intuitive systems and processes is critical. Organizations leading the way here are making steps to objectively understand the capabilities and future potential of their entire workforces — providing personalized feedback and development advice (in scalable ways) — and enabling the business to match individuals and teams with emerging opportunities to optimize the success and sustainability of the organization.
4. Lack of live learning — Nothing can really substitute for spending time working with other people to appreciate new knowledge, understand different perspectives and test ideas. At key intervals — i.e. onboarding a new starter, initiating a new project team, preparing someone for promotion to a more senior level role, facilitating opportunities for in-person meetings — collaboration and learning are invaluable. This can be supported through broader mentoring and buddy programs — capitalizing on the opportunity through hybrid working and technology to create connections across cultures and time zones and enable sharing of knowledge and experience on the job. In my own consulting team, we have introduced a practice runs concept, which involves a small group coming together to help an individual prepare for an important interaction through live feedback and advice. This works both for the individual and the broader team — bringing in new ideas and suggestions and helping everyone improve the skill of giving constructive feedback.
5. Loneliness — A famous experiment in the 1920s and 30s called The Hawthorne Studies illustrated the power of social connection. What started as a productivity experiment mysteriously discovered people worked harder whatever change (positive or negative) was made. In essence, Hawthorne had stumbled upon the power of belonging — being observed, feeling important and part of something drove people to deliver more. Being observed will only have an impact for so long. Friendship, however, has the power to influence and shape behavior across the longer term. If you’re lucky enough to have friends at work, then you will be familiar with the great benefit this can bring. Personally, I know the huge value that going for a walk or having a coffee with a friend can bring. Accessing warm, supportive advice, having a laugh, or simply venting in a safe place can change a gloomy perspective and inform more balanced decisions. Unfortunately, recent research has shown that 22% of people don’t have even one friend at work and that those with low social connection experience higher levels of anxiety, burnout and stress. We all — as individuals, managers, leaders — have a role to play here. Work is more than a list of tasks. At its best, it’s about making connections, building understanding, solving problems, feeling part of something. The decisions we make — when to come into an office, who to call for help, when to offer support — will genuinely shape our own and others’ experiences and outcomes (making friends over completing a to-do list) we take with us for years to come.
Let’s talk about career development. Can you share a few ideas about how you can nurture and advance your career when you are working from home and away from other colleagues?
1. Build a broader profile — Sharing what you’re interested in and offering to share your expertise and support others are great ways to grow your network and improve visibility. Don’t make this all one way. Find ways to demonstrate humility — that you are learning and growing too. So, ask for support, attend learning and enablement sessions, and proactively engage in the content and discussion. These actions can help position you as a hub in the business, connecting and bringing together people and knowledge and driving your own and others’ learning.
2. Bring the outside in — Keeping an eye on what’s happening externally in your market or profession can also provide a great value-add. Keep up to speed on some of the big trends and changes by following influencers on social media and regularly reading industry and news content. This helps in two ways: boosting your credibility through future-focused ideas and questions, and building your network so those externally can support you in your career development and growth.
3. Don’t forget to deliver well in the job you have today! — This is the biggest and best way to show your capability and commitment to the company. Sometimes I see people let this go, focusing instead on getting to the next position or trying to craft the projects in which they want to be involved. The skill is striking the balance well. You need to be able to use your current role and achievements as a launchpad to the next thing, so be sure you give this the attention it requires.
Can you share a few ideas about how employers or managers can help their teams with career development?
In this new area of work, managers have a pivotal role to play. Many are now leading large, dispersed, matrixed teams across time zones, nationalities and often in emerging disciplines in which they have limited expertise. The role, therefore, of a manager as all-knowing, supervising tasks, setting deadlines, reporting numbers, won’t work. Career development is also not linear — organizations evolve daily (new roles and functions appearing, new skills being prioritized), so the path could be very varied for different team members. Managers now need to focus on empowering others, showing empathy, creating environments where teams feel connection and belonging, can learn in the flow of work, but also take accountability to deliver. This is a big transition for many, and something I believe organizations should be prioritizing to drive success in our new world of work. Here are some suggestions on how managers can help their teams with career development in this new world of work:
1. Understand team members as individuals — Have broader conversations about team members’ ambitions and what motivates them. SHL conducted some research exploring how the pandemic impacted us as people and discovered some of our personality preferences and motivational drivers have changed. It’s important, therefore, to build regular understanding of individuals to enable genuine connection and tailor facilitation of learning and growth opportunities.
2. Be the coach, not the player — As a manager, you can’t take responsibility for your team’s career development. Make sure this rests firmly in their hands. Encourage individuals to develop a SMART plan and to update this regularly. Help them to make this focused and realistic through conversations — sharing your own experiences and making practical suggestions on steps they could take. Offer to make introductions and suggest resources they could access. Remember, it is up to the individual to decide whether they act on this.
3. Be genuinely kind — Understanding, tailoring approaches and suggestions will build a strong foundation. Being kind is also about being honest and realistic. Provide individuals with fair and objective feedback on what they’re doing well and where the gaps are. Try not to give people false hope or misaligned expectations — if an opportunity is unlikely to materialize, or you feel they have multiple skills gaps to close before being considered for a new role, share this, and support them in the path forward.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
In today’s world, many of us will live for 100 years or more. As science and technology advances, life expectancy increases. To support ourselves and our families, working for 50–60 years is a reality. The objective has changed to longevity, sustaining our health, minds and the world around us to feel fulfillment. We need to retrain ourselves, our priorities, models and systems to enable the human assets that will provide endurance for ourselves and generations to come. Change starts with small actions. Shift focus from productivity, outputs, to-do lists, climbing the corporate ladder to enjoying the journey and human aspects along the way — making friends, learning new skills, appreciating differences, finding meaningful work. Value the journey; don’t wait for the destination.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can follow SHL through all social media platforms and online at www.shl.com and access more content from me via Linkedin and my newsletter series ‘Make it Human’ https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/make-it-human-6960912375969390592
Thank you for these great insights! We wish you continued success.
