Given the extremely short time frame between when many supervisors, managers, and leaders learned they and their teams would be working remotely and when they actually began working remotely, most individuals overseeing small or large teams received no training, coaching or advise about how to be an effective remote leader. Basically, they were thrown into the water, and it was a “sink or swim” situation.
Perhaps, you’re one of those managers we referenced above and you’ve been feeling like you’ve been treading water for weeks now vs. demonstrating your ability to swim well in any tide or rough waters — the way you believe you did when you were managing employees at your joint physical work location.
10 Tips to Succeed At Managing Remotely
For many years, we’ve had the pleasure of coaching and training individuals to become talented leaders. Ones who feel as confident and effective as possible in their roles. It hurts to see so many managers and supervisors struggling right now because of being thrown into a situation for which they weren’t prepared. But, we’re here to help. So, grab on to our life preserver, and read on for tips, tools, and techniques to smoothly manage your team remotely.
- Demonstrate Empathy. We kicked our list off with this skillset/tactic because we believe, during these challenging times, if leaders do not demonstrate their ability to be empathetic, they’ve lost their team before any work-related discussion gets started. Read all about how to be an empathetic leader in our most recent blog post.
- Recognize Differences. Each of your direct reports/team members deserves and needs to be managed differently. You’ve likely already noticed that some of your employees are still as — or almost as — productive and effective when working from home as they were working at your physical offices. Others aren’t. Provide the opportunity to employees to work more autonomously, based on what they’ve demonstrated to be their ability to work independently since they began working remotely during our pandemic.
- Provide a Routine. Research has shown that we all tend to do better mentally/emotionally – which ultimately impacts our work performance – when we have a routine to follow, particularly during uncertain times. Schedule standing, recurring team and one-on-one meetings to create a sense of stability and promote accountability. Let’s face it, if an employee knows they are going have to report in on work progress or deliverables at a certain meeting, they are more likely to move work forward on a timely basis.
- Make Time for Face Time. In this case, we don’t mean “face time,” in the way it tended to be used prior to our current world scenario, i.e., staying late at work just to demonstrate your commitment to your employer, even if one wasn’t being productive. We’re referring to making sure many, if not all, of your team and one-on-one meetings with team members are video chats to keep that important human connection going that thrives on visual and body language cues, such as smiles.
- Look and Act Positive. Be sure to shower and not look disheveled prior to video chats. Wear a professional looking shirt or blouse for your video chat meetings. Think business casual vs. weekend casual. You’ll find it’s good for your morale and you’ll feel more in “professional/work mode.”
Right now, after so many weeks of staying at home and practicing social distancing, so many individuals are finding it hard to “hold it together.” We totally get that the challenges and unknowns of our time have even the strongest leaders feeling a bit frazzled and fearing and feeling like they might come “unglued.” It’s okay to share your fears and concerns with family and friends, but it’s critical that during your team meetings and one-on-ones you don’t:
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- Voice your fears about the future of the company or your own employment situation, or that of team members
- Complain about local, state, or federal mandates that may be keeping you and your team from returning to your offices
- Complain about new restrictions/requirements that will be in place when you and your team do return to the office
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6. Avoid Political Discussions. It’s never been cool to discuss politics at work, and given our turbulent times and differing views regarding how our country’s administration has handled the crisis, it’s more important than ever to not broach, encourage, or participate in such conversations with your staff.
7. Stay on the Grid. There will be times when you and your team members need to be out of communication, but as much as possible, as a leader, you should make yourself available to employees during business hours.
Maybe you or your employees have children at home who need attention, or an elderly parent or neighbor who needs assistance. If you need to be “off the grid,” for an extended period of time during normal work hours, let your direct reports/team members know in advance, so they won’t worry about your absence, or associate it with some imagined difficulties that might be occurring at your mutual employer. Ask your team members to communicate with you and each other blocks of an hour or more when they won’t be available during their assigned remote work hours.
8. Be Present While Recognizing That Your Staff Might Not Always Be. There may be times you’ll be interrupted by a family member or their needs while on a video chat with your team; make every effort to minimize those. Show employees you are present by avoiding checking your e-mail or phone or attending to other distractions while facilitating or attending a team meeting. But, don’t lose sight of the fact that team members are dealing with many distractions at home as well as the stress of the pandemic, and they may not always be listening to or reading important information, whether it’s shared via a call, video chat, or e-mail.
Without seeming like you are beating it into the ground, repeat/reinforce key deliverables and deadlines and who on your team is responsible for what. Even if you’ve never used them before, this may be the perfect and critical time to introduce project plans that outline tasks, due dates, and ownership.
You’ll also want to make sure that you hit home with your team any important upcoming changes or changes in expectations regarding their work, work schedule, or process for completing work.
9. Be Perceptive. If you notice any ongoing changes in a team member’s attitude, personality, or mood over a series of video chats or phone calls, consider broaching the topic via a one-on-one discussion with the individual to see if they are in need of some kind of support or help that you, your employer, or their insurance company can provide.
10. Recognize Hard Work and Sacrifices. Given that each team member’s home life circumstances are likely different, and some may be better positioned than others to “go that extra mile,” recognition shared during a team meeting regarding the hard work and/or sacrifices made by a particular team member may not sit well with fellow team members right now. However, be sure to reach out by phone or e-mail to let the hard-working team-member in-question know you’ve noticed and truly appreciate their efforts.
Whether it be through one of our many virtual training sessions and webinars, or via individual coaching, we are always here to discuss your needs or the needs of other leaders at your organizations related to managing remotely effectively. While the waters remain rough, we’ll keep you from flailing or one of your leaders from going under, so please reach out.