Here's how you can effectively manage remote teams using emotional intelligence in software projects.

In my opinion, emotional intelligence is putting emphasis on seeing a situation from a different point of view while being open to the personal experiences of those around you. Communication is a 2-way channel, so while being aware of your role in how smoothly it goes, also be aware that each party brings pieces of external factors into daily interactions. This is where active listening, motivations, empathy and social skills come in. Take a moment to step out of task manager, to-do list mode, and step back into interacting with people as people rather than project resources.

Managing remote teams in software projects with emotional intelligence means understanding and caring about each team member's unique situation. It's about keeping communication open and clear so everyone knows what they're supposed to do and how they're doing. Recognizing and appreciating their hard work is important too, it keeps them motivated. Also, being flexible and understanding different ways of working helps everyone feel valued. When conflicts arise, addressing them calmly and finding solutions quickly keeps the project on track. All of this helps make the most of the team's skills and time, making sure the project runs smoothly even when everyone is working from different places.

Learn about emotional intelligence (EI) and its role in remote team management. EI involves recognizing and managing emotions, fostering stronger relationships and collaboration. Prioritize clear and frequent communication using various channels. Practice active listening, seek feedback, and encourage open dialogue to create a supportive and collaborative environment. Considerations, Continuously adapt and improve remote team management. Seek feedback, stay updated on collaboration tools, support work-life balance, and prioritize the team's overall well-being. Tailor strategies to your team and project needs.

Being able to see multiple viewpoints and hold them all as true and relevant is paramount when managing your projects and the teams involved. Motivations and priorities can be drastically different between projects and individuals. True understanding comes to the project when you can see beyond your own motivations and assumed project goals and listen to those communicating with you. It is also important to empathize with the end user and inquire how the goals being set meet their challenges. When mutual respect and trust is granted, creativity can flourish. When your teams and partners understand that you are truly on their side, language barriers can be much easier to work through and achieve results that benefit the entire team.

A Inteligência Emocional é muito importante, mas ela fala sobre nosso controle emocional. Ja a Inteligência Social, essa sim, tem grande influencia na gest?o de equipe, principalmente remota, pois é preciso entender que somos indivíduos vivendo em conjunto, dessa forma, um mesmo estimulo gera emo??es diferentes em cada um de nós. Quando um GP tem isso em mente ele consegue ter um discernimento maior.

I have observed that keeping the communication simple makes a lot of difference. One of the major aspect of human interaction is our body language. In remote working setup, this key aspect is missing, or very limited even with Video Conferences. Hence, keeping the communication as simple as possible avoid any miscommunication. Additionally, if the team comprises of a lot of junior members, then for me as a manager it is a must to breakdown the tasks in logical blocks, and then explain each block at a time to avoid information overload. This especially helps in further Follow-ups by the team in remote working setup. These follow-ups/clarifications will take place over MS Teams/Slack - where having small block to discuss avoids confusion.

When working with remote teams, at the beginning, I invariably discuss with the team and decide on a 7-8 hours common working 'window' for the team. This window will not be used to track them or micromanage them, of course! It is to make sure that we set clear boundaries between 'work hours' and 'personal hours'. Once this window is decided, if I have to contact them for any work related communication, I strictly make sure I contact them only within that window. In case of any unavoidable circumstances, and one-off scenarios where I must contact them, I first ask for their permission to be contacted, and then on receiving their consent I discuss further. I often receive feedback from my team that, this approach makes them feel respected.

Consider recognizing and empathizing with the unique challenges and circumstances posed by remote working. Working in a distributed setting can be isolating and demanding, particularly when team is geographically dispersed across different time zones or cultural backgrounds. By demonstrating empathy and understanding remote team members' needs, concerns and work-life balance issues, a responsible project manager can foster a supportive and inclusive culture which promotes well-being and productivity.

Trust is the base element in fostering a great culture within remote teams. One of the biggest challenges for remote teams is a lack of trust. How can we expect teams to have great bonds and warm relations when we do not meet each other in person that often. Building trust and faith is extremely hard in remote environments. The PM should 1) Encourage team members to use video connections over emails 2) Have members connect 1-1 more often in place of formal emails with too many people in cc 3) Encourage team members to work from the office as much as possible so that they can understand each other better and develop bonds among them. 4) Have team-building exercises min once in a quarter 5) Empower and delegate more, alongside SMART goal

A project may run into different types of conflicts: schedule, priorities, resources, administrative procedures, technical opinions, cost, and personalities. Leveraging emotional intelligence becomes key to addressing the conflict effectively. Irrespective of the technique you choose, be it smoothening, withdrawing, compromising, collaborating, or forcing, you will need to understand the emotional side of team members. Encourage open communications, restore trust and faith among members, respect opinions, and foster collaboration so that divergent views converge towards solutions. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure a collaborative and healthy environment in the team wherein members have bonds based on trust, faith, and mutual respect.

There is a tendency to highlight things when they are not going well and forget to celebrate successes. Celebrating successes has become a bit difficult in remote environments, especially post pandemic. The teams, being remote, do not get chances to connect and meet each other in person; the warmth of relations is not to the level desired. The managers need to figure out how to 1) Bring people together and have team-building exercises 2) Celebrate success in person more often 3) Recognize and reward stand out performers 4) Appreciate members beyond formal forums 5) Build a culture wherein team members appreciate good work, help each other to do better, collaborate, and share know-how seamlessly, thereby achieving even bigger successes.