How To Extract Value And Have A Positive Impact When Leading Remote Teams

Leaders of remote teams are scrambling to deal with the rapidly-imposed transition induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, just as much as their teams are. After an initial steep and bumpy takeoff, the working world seems to have reached cruising altitude, with seatbelt signs turned off. But the world we took off from is not the world we will land in.

Initially, there was a general belief that things would return to normal. However, as the second half of 2020 is ushered in, there seems to be a broader realization that the mainstream has itself transformed. It is no surprise that the fast-moving big tech companies sent their workers home first, and are still keeping them there. Mark Zuckerberg has already said that Facebook could have 50% of its people working remotely over the next five to 10 years.

Even leaders in longer-established industries like mining are also now acknowledging the permanency of the COVID-induced changes. Leaders of global gold mining companies and members of the International Council on Mining & Metals are acknowledging that the current global situation has activated changes that should have started years ago.

For long-time proponents of workplace transformation, acceptance of practices like remote work may seem like vindication. However, even for them, the changes happened so quickly that proper preparations for a broad mainstreaming of remote work and distributed teams were not always possible. The question for leaders is no longer how to make this work, but rather, how to get maximum value since many of these work methods are going to stay in place as embedded features?

Leaders must understand each of their team members' fitness for remote work, while keeping in mind that the first phase of lockdown incorporated other emergency arrangements related to schooling, cleaning, and shopping, among others. These will most likely not be as severe when the doors open again. Judgement of fitness should not simply be based on this first stage but through genuine individual engagement and honest discussions.

Some team members will need more support than others. Remote working for extended periods might require adjustments to be made by leaders and teams. Without this support, it can get lonely and potentially impact performance.

Leaders must understand that physical loneliness is not as important in this instance as perceptions of being alone. While some team members will need chunks of “me time” to recharge their energy levels, others prefer to crack on by keeping as busy as possible, for as long as possible. Leadership approaches must be tailored to individual needs and circumstances.

Respecting the boundaries of team members starts with defining what those boundaries are. While flexibility of accessibility is important, one of the major mindset shifts, a natural consequence of remote work, is working for results or output, and not simply working for the hours.

Spare a thought for some leaders themselves. In the blink of an eye they have had to change their management style to accommodate the absence of physical cues to guide them. Again, while many leaders familiar with remote work will smoothly re-adjust, others will require deliberate recalibration and coaching. These should be done to achieve a measure of balance since any extreme shifts, towards either overly hands-off or micromanagement, will not serve the team best and could end up impacting productivity. Advice from neuroscience experts to leaders of remote teams include staying tuned in to how their team is doing emotionally and to check in with the human beings, not just the human doings.

Almost every facet of working style carried over into the new mainstream requires a pause and the questions: How does this work for the new normal? Can an email replace a chat? Should this be a text instead, or a quick voice call? Taking the extra few seconds for this could have a positive impact and create the type of natural working style that best fits teams.