For three years I have run EOS® sessions with a leadership team in Christchurch, New Zealand. They are 18 hours ahead of me in Lafayette, Louisiana. When their session day starts, it is still the afternoon before on my side of the world.
That team is not an exception in my practice. In October 2026, I facilitated my 200th virtual session as a Certified EOS Implementer®. That is out of more than 270 session days in total, so virtual is not a side offering. It is most of my practice, with leadership teams spread across cities, states, and countries. So when a founder asks me whether EOS really works over video, I do not have to argue the point. I can tell them what I have seen.
I Was the Virtual Client First
Before I ever facilitated a session, I sat on the other side of the screen. For 26 years I owned and ran a digital marketing agency, and my team was never in one place. We had people in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Romania, Canada, South America, South Africa, and all across the U.S. Getting everyone in one room was never an option.
We ran on EOS anyway, entirely over video. Every weekly Level 10 Meeting®, everybody logged in. Our own implementer, Gerardo Escalona, led our sessions virtually. That is the company I built, scaled, and eventually sold, and it is a big part of why I became an implementer.
When a founder tells me their team is too spread out for EOS, I understand the worry. I just know from experience that it is not true.
The Question Behind the Question
When someone asks “does EOS work virtually?”, what they usually mean is “will my team actually show up for this, or will it turn into another video call where people nod along with their cameras off?”
That fear is fair. Most of us have sat through plenty of bad video meetings. But a bad video meeting and a virtual EOS session have about as much in common as a hallway chat and a board meeting. The format is not what makes a meeting useless. A lack of structure, a lack of decisions, and a lack of follow-through do that, and those problems show up just as often in a conference room.
What Distance Actually Changes
Less than most people expect. The cadence is the same one every Certified EOS Implementer runs: a series of full-day sessions, then three one-day quarterlies and a two-day annual each year. On average, it takes a leadership team about 10 sessions to get 80% strong on the Six Key Components®. None of that depends on everyone sitting in the same building.
What changes is the logistics. Nobody books a flight. Nobody loses a travel day on either side of the session. Leaders in different cities start the day at the same moment, in the same conversation, looking at the same screen.
And for a lot of founder-led companies today, that is simply how the leadership team already works. If your people run the business from four different cities every other day of the quarter, flying them to one room four times a year is the unusual part.
That does not mean the room does not matter. I love in-person session days. A room full of leaders working through hard issues together has an energy you can feel, and a screen does not hand you that for free. You have to build it on purpose. Here is how I do it.
The Rules in My Virtual Session Room
The rules that make any session work apply on Zoom too. A few matter even more on a screen:
- Cameras on and microphones on, all day. My own implementer made us do five jumping jacks any time we talked while muted. I do not enforce that one, but I understand the point.
- One conversation. No side texts to a colleague about what was just said. No extra tabs. An open inbox on screen is the same as a phone on the table.
- We take a lot of breaks, and they are real breaks. Cameras and microphones go off, people step away, and when everyone is back on camera, we know the team is whole again.
These sessions are an investment. Add up the salaries of everyone in the room for a full day, then add the session itself. That deserves everyone fully present, whatever the format.
How I Read a Room Through a Screen
People assume an implementer loses the room on video. Reading the room is a big part of the job, so I work at it. I put the team as large as I can on my screen, and I watch. If someone sighs or rolls their eyes when a teammate says something, I want to see it, because I am going to ask about it. Healthy conflict is how great teams get built, and it does not stop at the edge of a screen.
A few other habits help. I set the order on screen and tell people who is next, so nobody gets surprised by being called on. When the team writes quietly, everyone mutes, then unmutes when they are done, so I know we are ready without asking three times.
And we have fun. These are serious conversations, but a session day does not have to feel heavy, and laughing together is part of how a team gets healthy. When the energy dips after lunch, we do something about it: a real lunch break away from the desk (outside, if the weather allows), a 30-second dance party, or a terrible dad joke with a rim shot. A full day on Zoom should not feel like a full day on Zoom.
What Happens When the Power Goes Out
I live in Louisiana. We get storms, and my power goes out more than I would like. So I built for it. My computer is hardwired to the internet. My laptop, monitors, and internet run on battery backup, and there is a generator outside.
When the power drops in the middle of a session, I hear a click, the generator takes over, and the team never notices. I have told teams, “My power is out right now,” and they had no idea what I was talking about. That is the standard. When a leadership team gives you a full day, nothing on your end should get in the way.
What Being a Virtual EOS Implementer Is Not
A virtual EOS Implementer is not a remote employee or a fractional executive. I do not sit inside your business week to week. I teach your leadership team the system, facilitate your session days, and hold the team to what it decided. Between sessions, your own people run the company. That is the point.
It also does not have to be all or nothing. I travel to teams anywhere in the U.S., and I run sessions virtually for teams that are spread out or simply prefer it. Some of my clients mix the two, meeting in person for some session days and over video for others. The right format is whatever gets your whole leadership team fully in the room.
What a Client Halfway Around the World Says
Scott Wilson leads Digital Influence in Christchurch, the New Zealand team I opened with. After three years of running EOS with me entirely over video, here is how he put it:
“He is world-class at listening and then unpacking exactly what we need. My team absolutely love working with him.”
Across all my sessions, in person and virtual, teams rate their session days 9.5 out of 10 on average. Most of those days happened over video.
Notice what he did not say. He did not say the virtual format was fine, or good enough, or surprisingly effective. He did not mention the format at all. That is what a working virtual implementation looks like: after a while, nobody thinks about the screen.
Common Questions About Virtual EOS Implementation
Does EOS work virtually?
Yes. The tools, the cadence, and the session structure are the same as in person. I have passed 200 virtual sessions, including three years with a team in New Zealand, 18 hours ahead of me.
Is a virtual EOS Implementer as effective as an in-person one?
In my experience, yes, as long as the team commits to the day the same way it would to an offsite. Teams rate my session days 9.5 out of 10 on average, and most of my sessions are virtual. The effectiveness comes from structure and follow-through, not from the room.
Can a leadership team across time zones run on EOS?
Yes. My longest-running virtual client is 18 hours ahead of me. Time zones affect when the session day starts, not what happens during it.
Do I have to choose a local implementer?
No. Many founders assume they need someone within driving distance. If your team is distributed, choosing a virtual EOS Implementer widens your options to the implementer who fits your team best, wherever they are based.
Want the Full Picture?
I put everything about working with a virtual EOS Implementer on my own site: who it fits, how a session day runs, and a video where I walk through exactly how I run virtual sessions: lynaskin.com/virtual-eos
Ready to Take the First Step?
Every Certified EOS Implementer offers a free 90 Minute Meeting where your whole leadership team hears how the process works and decides together whether to move forward. Mine runs over video, so wherever your leaders are, they can all be in it. It costs nothing, and walking away costs nothing. You can request one through my profile as a Certified EOS Implementer in Lafayette, Louisiana