So many people are working from home right now, and for many, this is their first time working in a remote setting: First time using Zoom, first time managing a flexible schedule, first time leading a remote team.
I have extensive experience managing remote teams. During the last few years of my corporate career, I was often the only member of my manager’s staff in my location, which meant I had to work to create and maintain relationships not only with my manager, but with the rest of the staff as well.
I managed a team that had a significant presence in Costa Rica while I was in California, and, with limited travel allowed, I had to build and facilitate remote relationships with people I rarely, if ever, saw in person and create a sense of team across the miles.
More recently, I have been an entrepreneur working out of my home and, for the past several years, coordinating with teammates and other entrepreneurs all over the world.
Here’s what I’ve learned
While leading a remote team appears at first to be completely different from managing a team that’s co-located, there’s actually a lot that’s not changed.
At the end of the day, good leadership is good leadership.
The practices of good leaders are still necessary in quarantine—perhaps even more so. They just require a slightly increased intentionality to translate those practices to the remote setting.
1. Demonstrate that you care
In a “normal” office setting, you’d interact with your team by walking around the office or chatting in the hall. In a very natural and seamless way, you’re able to connect on a personal level and check in with folks, even and especially on non-work things.
With a remote team, it’s just as important to make the time to get to know your team members on a personal level.
The difference is that talking about non-business-related things comes up organically when we’re all working in the same space, and with a remote team it’s something we need to make intentional space for.
My recommendation: schedule one-on-one time with your teammates by grabbing a “virtual coffee” or just calling to check in on how they’re doing.
You can also establish a practice of creating what I would call “structured unstructured time” at the beginning of team meetings, making time for non-work discussion that would normally happen as people were filing into a conference room.
2. Recognize when a job is well done
One of the important tasks of a team leader is recognizing when your team has done something well and identifying the individuals who contributed to the team’s success.
Being specific in giving positive feedback is a great leadership habit, and that hasn’t gone anywhere.
The only thing that is different now is that you may need to communicate that feedback in more than one way in order to make sure that the message doesn’t get lost.
My recommendation: recognize the team and team members verbally during team meetings, and additionally include the recognition in email messages for those who couldn’t attend the meeting. Since so much can get missed in electronic communication, it’s important to over-communicate the positive recognition.
3. Encourage the removal of barriers
In a co-located space, it’s relatively easy to encourage someone to go down the hallway to collaborate or communicate with team members, implement policies across organizations, and make sure actions are coordinated.
In the case of remote teamwork, it may be necessary to be more hands-on (so to speak).
My recommendation: to encourage collaboration and communication, you may find it helpful to get involved virtually by facilitating or setting up meetings between people in your team or organization.
This way, you can also hold folks accountable for maintaining effective communication, even while we are physically isolated.
4. Make sure everyone is heard
The people who tend to hide during in-person meetings are likely just as (if not more) able to hide during virtual ones.
As a leader, it’s important that everyone on the team is heard.
For introverts who tend to stay in the corner in both co-located and virtual ones, be sure to encourage them to participate.
You can of course call on them directly, but there are also advantages to virtual meetings that don’t exist in an office setting.
For example, you can create polls in some virtual meeting platforms, like Zoom, where people can respond anonymously. This encourages more honest participation across the board.
Furthermore, introverts may be more inclined to respond in the chat than out loud and on camera. Try encouraging use of the chat space during meetings, in addition to verbal communication, and see how that affects participation. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Good leadership is good leadership
The qualities of a good leader still apply during quarantine. In fact, they may be more important now than ever before.
It’s crucial to lean on our good leadership practices in the current climate—we just have to be intentional with those practices so we can bring out the best in our team, no matter where they are.
How are you finding your leadership practices changing due to remote work?
