Whether your team is beside you in the office or split across multiple locations, the core skills and focus areas for leading them effectively are the same.
The Non-Negotiables Required
For the team to function well, there are a few non-negotiables that you need to focus on. These hold true irrespective of the team location. You should:
- Ensure that goals and roles within the team are explicitly defined and understood by all members.
- Maintain a clear focus on the team’s priorities at all times.
- Promote a culture where team members are encouraged to be available and supportive of one another. This includes you being easily accessible also.
- Develop and maintain a strong sense of identity and unity within the team.
- Create an environment where open and honest communication is not only encouraged but actively supported.
While the basics of team management don’t change, leading a remote team does call for putting a bit more oomph into certain areas though.
Oomph Area 1 – Communication
Information flows differently when people are separated. When teams are remote, there is a tendency for communication lines to become more rigid, more formal and less frequent.
To overcome this, focus on setting up communication flows that work well – formal and informal ones.
Keep the team informed about what’s happening across the company, even if it doesn’t impact them.
Ensure there are enough touchpoints in the week for the team to share progress, obstacles encountered, ask questions, etc. These dont always need to be meetings. Teams/Slack channels can be leveraged also – and they can be used to keep “smalltalk” chats ticking over.
Setup at least one team touchpoint each week (or fortnight) which is not focussed on work priorities. Something casual. Don’t do this outside of regular work hours though. Be willing to invest some company time on this task.
Prioritise the 1:1s you have with your team. Use these as much as possible to identify how best to support each team member. The signals you might pick up in the office (ones which might trigger you to act) may be different when your team works remote. You may need to identify additional ones to rely on.
Oomph Area 2 – Empowering with Trust
You shouldn’t be micro-managing your team members. If you are, you wont be able to do this when your team is remote.
You need to treat your team members as adults.
This doesn’t mean that its a free-for all and they can do whatever they want when they want to do it.
If you have the non-negotiables above in place – then give your team some flexibility to figure out the best way to get things done. Focus on the outputs they deliver, the outcomes they drive, the impact they make – not on how they structure their day to achieve those.
(I’m coming from a software/product delivery background where there is more importance on what is delivered than when you start/end your day – within reason. I appreciate that in certain roles – customer support, etc – these might have a greater priority)
If someone on the team isn’t delivering, then absolutely hold them accountable. Don’t shy away from tough, honest conversations if they are needed.
Make Remote work for you
Remote work sometimes gets a bad rap as being a step down from the traditional office setup. It’s true that there are times when it can be more effective to be in the same room with people to achieve a specific goal.
But here’s the thing remote working can be just as good, if not better in some aspects. It can drive you to step up your management game, provide your company with access to a wider pool of talent, offer your team members additional flexibility to delivery their work and, in some cases, can even boost productivity.
If your concern is that people might be “stealing time” when working remote I hate to burst your bubble but that happens in offices all the time. Its not a new thing. You need to ask yourself how much does it matter if the team are getting the job done well? What’s really important? Its one of the issues with “time working” being a key metric to be relied upon rather than other metrics which might be harder to assess but which are better indicators of performance.
Whether you are a fan of remote working, or are firmly against it – managing a remote team is about fine-tuning the skills you already have to fit a virtual setting. Keep a strong focus on the essentials of good team management. Pay a little extra attention to how you communicate and empower your team, and don’t shy aware from difficult conversations. Do this and you’ll be set to lead effectively, no matter where your team plugs in their laptops.