Very rapid changes, unpredictable situations, constantly new challenges, adapting to unfamiliar environments… 2020 started and ended like this, and 2021 is on the same path; but we are no longer caught so unprepared. It must be clear that the changes are not only at the corporate level. On a personal level, each employee has his or her own struggle and adaptation process, and even more so if overnight you have to learn to lead a remote team: not an easy task that we will try to help you with in this article.
Faced with one of the greatest historical changes in the social and work environment, it is necessary to know how to deal with certain situations that may surprise you or, at least, make your day-to-day life difficult. So, we want to share with you some of the keys to lead a remote team.
6 points to lead a remote team
- Using technology. Undoubtedly, the basic point of your strategy is this. You must be open to new ways of communicating and working. Slack, Teams, Trello, Loomio, Toggl, Google Meet… you have plenty of options to optimize your team’s communication and organization.
- Facilitate feedback channels. Telecommuting is not the end of communication, far from it! There are many tools that can make life easier, even at a face-to-face level, to generate channels that allow employees to give feedback at any time and on any topic. This aspect is very important for leading a remote team. If you cannot deal with them or see them on a day-to-day basis, you must be aware of their needs and opinions.
- Clear and fluent communication. Linked to the previous point, this aspect consists of taking advantage of the spaces that have been provided, but also in generating constant and transparent communication with all the necessary tools. Depending on the type of formality or fluidity you are looking for in each case, you can use email, send messages via Slack or call a meeting with Google Meet. You decide, but do it!
- Individual and collective spaces. It is important that there are channels to receive and share feedback in order to lead a remote team, but we must also make it clear that we are open to both group and individual communication channels. It will be important for the team to feel that they can count on us at a multichannel level according to the needs of each moment. Not only that, but they must feel comfortable to do so; in other words: create bonds with your team.
- Build trust and delegate. It is clear that we need to build trust with the team. Employees should know that they can talk to you openly without holding back any concerns. However, one aspect that is not always taken into account is the motivation it gives the employee to notice that trust is bidirectional. Delegating responsibilities is also a great confidence builder. You should not only tell them “you can count on me”, but also “I am counting on you”. This is the moment when you will start to consolidate your team.
- Empathy. As the person in charge of a work team, you must know how to put yourself in the shoes of each of your team members. The current situation is a direct cause of many emotional instabilities, frustrations and changes to which not everyone adapts at the same pace. That is why, in order to start leading a remote team, you must be clear that the emotional aspects are NOT outside the workday.
And you, do you already apply these actions in your team? Do you think it is difficult to lead a remote team or are you not finding it as hard as you expected? We are listening!
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