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The Virtual Leader

How to Manage a Remote Workplace

By Takako Hirata
Published by Matt Holt Books
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book
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By 2025, an estimated 70 percent of the workforce will work remotely at least five days each month. In The Virtual Leader, Takako Hirata, an experienced leader of large international virtual teams, shares her proven methods for thriving in the remote workplace with the help of new leadership principles.

Remote work is here to stay.



As a result, remote leadership is now a core competency for most executives and managers.



Leaders cannot simply transfer what they’ve been doing in the office to the remote context. While the goals remain the same—efficiency, engagement, community—the means of achieving those are very different.



In The Virtual Leader, Takako Hirata shares the proven leadership methods she has developed over nearly a decade coordinating teams across the globe as the head of international business development at ROHTO Pharmaceutical.



Hirata has seen firsthand that while the remote environment presents its own set of obstacles, the opportunities for innovation far outweigh the challenges. Because remote work is only advantageous when it’s done right, she offers workers and leaders a comprehensive guide to making the most of the world of remote work through strategies such as:



  • Conserving office rituals in the remote environment

  • Cultivating trust

  • Enabling clear and efficient communication

  • Making your company leaner and reinvesting in your teams

  • Maintaining mental and physical health

  • Conducting productive meetings

  • Minimizing distractions and maximizing focus

  • Managing new expectations for employees



    With The Virtual Leader, learn how to evolve your leadership style to empower your teams to thrive wherever they work.

    • About The Author
    Takako Hirata

    Takako Hirata is Head of International Business Development at ROHTO Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. By working to bridge the information gap between Japan and the U.S., she’s also building an online technology-focused media hub called InTech Media. And as a Board Member of Mentholatum, she works at the frontier of healthcare and technology. Previously she was at Proctor & Gamble, where she oversaw major product lines such as Febreze, before becoming a Marketing Design Manager and leading branding strategy in P&G's US and China markets. She later took on a role as Director of Brand Strategy at Aeon. Currently, she is an Executive MBA candidate at UCLA-NUS and the only Japanese certificate holder of the MIT-Harvard Medical School Healthcare Innovation Bootcamp. She lives in Tokyo, Japan. She leads everywhere.

    Product Details
    • Publisher: Matt Holt Books (April 26, 2022)
    • Length: 208 pages
    • ISBN13: 9781637741245

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    Raves and Reviews

    """While the pandemic is still redefining what modern working space looks like, this is the time to care for—and trust—the digital employee experience . . . Takako shares her best practices for how to be a successful virtual leader. From the workplace setup to meeting logistics to mental health, Takako gives you a total package to excel in this new world.""
    —Alex Chiang, Principal Software Engineering Manager, Microsoft

    ""The Virtual Leader is mandatory reading for any remote leader seeking to evolve their leadership style. Based on real-world experience and proven methods, the book is full of practical and actionable advice and strategies for remote leadership.""
    —Michael Vermillion, Senior Managing Director, Global Business Intelligence, J.D. Power

    ""Get in-depth insights from an experienced facilitator of 24/7 engagements with colleagues dispersed across time zones, countries, and continents. The Virtual Leader provides hope and a guidebook on how to thrive in the midst of the most significant work development of our time.""
    —Diane Chen, former Senior Global Brand Design Manager, Procter & Gamble, and former Creative Director, Worldwide Brand Experience, Lenovo

    ""Building a great remote culture is critical to the success of all remote teams. Takako's insights in this space and her overall expertise in managing remote teams are beneficial to all managers making the transition.""
    —Andy Tryba, CEO, Gigster

    ""The Virtual Leader serves as a ‘best practices' reference for navigating the virtual hybrid environment in our professional, personal, academic, and social lives . . . Takako's personal anecdotes give the reader unique insights and lessons learned, as she has developed a framework and a leadership style that can successfully motivate and empower virtual and decentralized teams.""
    —Nicky Agahari, HealthTech Fellow, Harvard Medical School

    ""Takako, the author of The Virtual Leader, has managed remote work from an early stage across national borders. The experience and knowledge she gained led her to develop the virtual workplace techniques she covers in the book, which will be of great value to managers everywhere.""
    —Akihiko Morisawa, President and CEO, The Morisawa Inc."

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    The Virtual Leader

    How to Manage a Remote Workplace

    By Takako Hirata
    Published by Matt Holt Books
    Distributed by Simon & Schuster