How To Manage A Remote Team [3 Key Activities]

Opportunities for remote work have been on the rise for quite some time now, but 2020 gave extra acceleration to it. Almost every company and almost every team leader was forced into remote work experiments that have lasted for months, and many are still ongoing. 

More and more leaders ask, “When are we returning to the office?”

We’re not. 

At least not all of us, all of the time.

How to Manage a Remote Team?

It’s unrealistic to expect everybody (having sampled a massive work-from-home movement) will willingly return to the same eight-hours-a-day, five-days-a-week office life. 

At the same time, we can’t deny that we crave in-person interaction, and part of us wants to see our coworkers again. On top of that, an interesting finding by Gallup suggests that people are most engaged when they have an office to go to but still get to stay away from that office and work from anywhere for two to three days a week.

So, leaders will also have to adjust to leading their teams from anywhere.

In this article, we’ll discuss three activities to focus on when managing a remote team. But before we do that, let’s first discuss what they all have in common: the focus on the outcome, not the activity.

Many organizations are installing spy software on employees’ computers to track and manage their time spent on various apps or snap regular photos using their webcams to ensure they’re at their desks. 

These might yield some productivity gains in the short term, but they are almost guaranteed to lead to distrust and disengagement in the long run.

So, focus on the outcome, not the activity. Then, learn to master the following three activities.

1. Set Objectives Mutually

The first thing you need to do is to set objectives mutually. There might have been a time when everyone was in the office, and looking over their shoulder was the easiest way to track productivity. 

There might have been a time when you could just give orders and tell people what to do and exactly how to do it. But those times are over. 

Today’s best bet is to work with your team to set mutual objectives.

Set Objectives Together.

Look at the broader goals or deliverables your team needs to accomplish, then develop smaller objectives weekly, biweekly, or monthly. The idea is to find goals everyone feels serve the larger purpose but are also realistic in the minds of the people taking on those tasks.

In addition, make sure you agree on the intent behind those objectives. As people start working largely by themselves, without the ability to just check in down the hall when things have changed, they’ll need to understand the objective so they can make changes on their own as and when needed. 

Ensure you’re also shortening the time frames, as we covered above. A lot of research shows people work better in short time frames. Still, because you plan on making those corrections, it’s easier to coordinate the work when people are hitting shorter objectives and regularly checking back with their team.

2. Track Progress Regularly

In line with shortening time frames, the second main activity is regularly tracking progress. Decades of research have shown that progress is a potent human motivator. 

However, the important thing to note about progress in remote work is that it’s much harder to see. You’re not seeing people daily, and those quick conversations and celebrations don’t happen as easily. 

So, as a leader, you need to find other ways to demonstrate that your team is progressing toward the objective and that individuals are progressing in their own larger career growth.

Especially in remote work, tracking progress and checking in means different things to different people. When many people first begin to work remotely or begin to manage a team remotely, they double down on check-ins, and that’s great. 

However, over time, leaders have learned that different people need different frequencies of check-ins, so doubling down doesn’t work for everyone. They also want different communication mediums for checking in and tracking progress. 

Some people want to video call every Friday afternoon, and others want to email you a daily summary of what they worked on and where they’re at. It’s up to you to learn who wants what and whether or not the chosen frequency and medium works.

In the same vein, use these check-in and progress conversations to communicate back to the team so that everyone knows how each other is doing and where the team is on the path toward accomplishing their objectives. High-performing remote teams work out loud, with each individual communicating with everyone on the team to keep them informed. 

As the team leader, you’re the one coordinating that communication.

3. Give Feedback Collaboratively

The third and final activity you need to master is giving feedback collaboratively. This means that feedback is not just about you telling them how well they are doing. Instead, it’s a broader conversation that goes both ways. 

When teammates are underperforming and need help to improve, the first thing you need to uncover is whether it’s a people problem or a process problem blocking their performance. Too often, we ascribe poor performance as a lack of skills or motivation when, in reality, it’s a lack of resources or coordination with another department that keeps highly skilled, highly motivated people from finishing the task well.

So, to discern the people’s problems from the process problems, don’t just talk—listen. Listen to their explanations of what is happening and consider what you can to provide support. Listening even means being receptive to your team’s feedback about you and how you’re supporting them.

If you have to give constructive feedback to teammates, include how you’re asking them to improve and why it’s so important. Make sure you focus on the impact of their actions, not necessarily the actions themselves. 

People don’t want to feel micromanaged, especially when working remotely. Even well-intentioned leaders can be labeled micromanagers if all they do is focus on the specific actions people need to change.

But if you outline those changes and give extra weight to how it will help the team, people better understand why you’re giving them a specific prescription instead of continuing to let them work as they desire.

Great remote leaders set objectives mutually, track progress regularly, and give feedback collaboratively. All these methods focus on the outcome, not the activity. 

If you set objectives mutually, you are focused on the outcomes. If you track progress regularly, you are focused on how close we are to achieving them. If you give feedback collaboratively, even when you mention specific activities, you still tie it back to achieving those outcomes.

If you combine all of it and focus on the outcome, not the activity, you’ll find something amazing. You’ll find that people willfully engage in the activities without you needing to track them and bring the whole team closer to those outcomes than you ever thought possible.

4 Strategies to Build a Strong Remote Work Culture

A strong remote work culture is the key to achieving high performance even when the team is working remotely. Although culture will not be built via face-to-face interactions, deliberate efforts will be required to create a sense of connection and shared purpose among the diverse team.

Here are four strategies to build a strong remote work culture:

1. Celebrate Milestones and Achievements

No matter how big or small an accomplishment on a team or individual level, it should be celebrated and acknowledged. These little gestures help maintain morale and motivation virtually. 

Moreover, virtual celebrations are also quite cheap. You only need to send a personalized thank you card or host an online award ceremony. You can even email a small token of appreciation to show your recognition for individual team members’ contributions, efforts, or accomplishments.

2. Encourage Informal Interactions

Of course, there is less opportunity to build relationships in the virtual space. However, leaders can still create a space for casual chats or conversations, such as dedicated Slack channels, to discuss topics other than work.

You can also host virtual coffee breaks for informal interactions that deepen trust and collaboration among remote employees.

3. Leverage Technology for Collaboration

Collaboration is very important for successful remote work. Fortunately, we have the right tools and technology to break the gaps of physical distance today.

Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Slack, etc., are all platforms to keep your teams connected throughout.

You can have video calls that work like face-to-face interactions. Instant messaging platforms are also good for quick updates, casual conversations, and immediate feedback. 

However, leaders should still monitor these tools to avoid over or miscommunication. 

Other platforms, like Asana and Trello, help organizations track progress and manage their deadlines. They give an overview of the teams’ workload, progress, etc., so everyone knows which parts of the work are complete and can manage their timelines.

4. Maintain Work-Life Balance

The best thing about remote work that also makes it quite successful today is that it offers flexibility. Still, it also blurs the line between personal and professional life, which can lead to burnout. 

However, leaders can play a key role here by setting clear work hours and availability expectations so the team members can develop boundaries. They can also set timelines for responding to emails or messages and avoid sending messages after hours or requesting immediate responses.

They should also offer flexible schedules, such as allowing employees to pick up children from school or attend medical appointments. 

Wrap-Up

If you want to create a culture of trust and accountability with your remote team, focus on the outcome rather than the activities. 

Set mutually agreeable objectives and give them the flexibility to work on their work-life balance, strengthening the team dynamic and ensuring long-term success and collaboration.

Keep in mind that this shift to remote work is no longer temporary. It’s a fundamental change that requires a change in teamwork and leadership strategies. We need to embrace it and change our traditional approach to management if we want to be successful leaders of tomorrow.