How To Be a Great Leader for Remote Teams
Remote work is here, and it doesn’t seem to be going anytime soon. Many top-tier companies actively share their success stories of cultivating a collaborative remote working culture. Even it’s very common for universities worldwide now to have modules that can be taught remotely.
With this new way of working, we've transitioned to a culture of work that requires lots of trust, empathy, self-organisation, and motivation. These types of culture is not optional, but serve as the main ingredient needed to help your teams perform as a unit to reach common goals, even when they’re far away from each other.
As remote teams become the norm around the world, leaders must also be well-equipped to support their remote teams in reaching success. The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated this shift, bringing even the unprepared leaders into the realm of distributed teams.
In this article, I’ll be sharing the benefits as well as the challenges of remote teams. From there, I’ll also share some practical tips on you on how you can enhance the performance of your remote teams as a leader.
Benefits of Remote Work
Obviously, not all work can be done remotely. But for the ones that can, this new ways of working has opened a new world of possibilities and benefits:
World-Class Talents: With no geographical constraints, you can be connected with top-talents from anywhere in the world.
Better Work-Life Balance: With less commute, you now have more time to focus on things that are important for you, such as spending time with your family.
Flexible Over Fixed Work Hours: With the shift to global talents, more flexible working hours is preferred the traditional set office hours. This gives people the flexibility to schedule their day to fit their lifestyle, allowing a more rewarding work experience.
Results Over Attendance: There’s more focus on results rather than the hours put in. This leads to more engaged, driven teams that takes more ownership to achieve their goals.
Top Challenges for Remote Teams
As remote work brings huge benefits, it also brings new challenges to the teams, specifically when it comes to collaborating. Here are some of the top challenges.
Confusion and Unclear Goals: Without face-to-face interactions, goals can easily get lost, causing your teams to struggle for directions and doing low-value work.
Miscommunication: The lack of non-verbal cues often leads to misunderstandings which lead to errors being made.
Poor Planning and Collaboration: Organising tasks and collaborating effectively requires extra effort remotely.
Communication Barriers and Cultural Differences: Diverse teams can face hurdles in understanding each other's communication styles.
Disengagement from Isolation: The absence of a physical workspace can sometimes lead to feelings of isolation and disconnection.
Enhancing the Performance of Remote Teams
Here are some practical ways you can boost the performance of your remote teams.
1. Clearly Share Priorities and Goals
Working remotely without clear goals is like driving aimlessly without a destination. Teams with goal-less initiatives usually run out of time/money/motivation before they even see results. This means your first step is to provide a strong direction.
This means clearly defining your goals and break them down into smaller, prioritised pieces. Use video conferences to discuss your goals with your teams, where everyone can contributes their ideas. Keep an updated list of these goals, accessible to all team members at any time, to ensure everyone stays on the same path.
2. Build an Effective Onboarding Experience
Onboarding is done to help a new member of your company get familiar with the people, processes, and tools within your company that can help them do great work. Without a good onboarding process, the new person can easily get lost and cannot perform as well as they can.
In a traditional workplace, you’ll be taken on office tours, be introduced to people in the office, and you’ll gradually be familiar with how things work by sitting close to your peers, observing their work. Now imagine this in a remote setting.
When there’s no office and people to sit next to, you need to build an effective onboarding experience. GitLab recommends to produce onboarding materials and activities that cover these aspect:
Organisational: Logistical questions, how to seek information and help, career progression, and performance expectations.
Technical: Setting up all the accounts and tools they need to do work properly.
Social: Company culture, behavioural norms, communication styles, and team dynamics.
This approach ensures your new team members feel welcomed and equipped to start contributing effectively.
3. Create a Working Agreement
When your team members don’t sit next to each other, you really need a good working agreement. A working agreement is more than just a document, it's the foundation of how your team will work together from a distance.
This agreement should be a team effort, with everyone chipping in. It's all about setting out the specific behaviours and practices you all agree to stick to. For instance, you might decide how often you'll meet, whether you'll use video or just audio for those meetings, how you'll make decisions, and even how often you'll have social catch-ups.
Having a clear and well-thought-out working agreement can really boost how well you all work together. It cuts down on confusion and helps everyone feel more connected and happier in their roles. It's like a promise of working together in harmony.
4. Embrace Automation
Efficiency is a foundation of successful remote work. It's worth taking a good look at your team’s daily tasks and seeing if there are any repetitive bits that you could automate. Automation not only frees up valuable time for your team members to focus on critical, high-impact tasks but also reduces the monotony of their work.
Think about automating things like taking meeting notes or sharing documents across different platforms. This proactive approach not only streamlines operations but also minimises the potential for human error, ensuring a smoother workflow.
By automating these tasks, team members can dedicate more energy to creative problem-solving and strategic thinking, enhancing their job satisfaction and overall productivity.
5. Make Your Team Feel Seen and Valued
The remote work environment can sometimes lead to feelings of isolation or disconnection. That's why it’s super important to regularly show your team that you see and appreciate what they're doing. Whether it's through a simple shout-out in a team meeting, a personal thank you note, or even small rewards, every gesture counts.
Encouraging peer-to-peer recognition can also foster a supportive team culture. This not only boosts morale but also strengthens each member's sense of belonging and significance within the team.
An atmosphere of appreciation and inclusivity ensures that everyone feels valued and motivated, which in turn enhances team cohesion and overall performance.
6. Choose the Right Collaboration Tools
Good collaboration tools are vital for remote teamwork. Go for tools that’s easy for everyone to use, where you can keep all your information in order and make it easy for the whole team to access.
These tools should cater to a variety of needs, including work management, real-time communication, file sharing, and collaborative brainstorming. A platform that offers a combination of features like task tracking, audio/video conferencing, and instant messaging can significantly improve efficiency and ensure that your team members are aligned and informed.
The right tool becomes the go-to place for everything work-related. It makes sure everyone is on the same page, tasks are tracked, and communication is smooth and easy.
7. Keep Your Team Connected
Regular team gatherings are important, not just for work updates, but for nurturing a sense of community and collaboration in a remote setting. These meetings should be a blend of formal progress checks and informal social interactions.
Encourage open discussions where team members can share their thoughts, ideas, and feedback. This not only helps in problem-solving and innovation but also strengthens team bonds. Creating opportunities for virtual social activities like coffee breaks, team-building exercises, or casual hangouts can also help in mitigating the feeling of isolation.
Such interactions are essential in maintaining a connected, engaged, and cohesive team, fostering a strong team spirit that transcends physical distances.
Conclusion
In short, remote work, while challenging, presents an opportunity to reshape the way we work. By understanding its challenges and implementing effective strategies, leaders can foster high-performing remote teams that are not just productive but also connected and cohesive.
The future of work might be remote, but it's filled with possibilities for growth, innovation, and stronger team dynamics. As leaders, you can help make this happen by embracing the change, understanding its nuances, and guiding your teams through this evolving landscape with empathy, clarity, and a shared sense of purpose.
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