How can you manage a remote team while traveling for business?

I travel extensively and globally and find that managing a remote team hinges on clear communication and leveraging technology. Before traveling, I set clear expectations about my availability. I regularly check-in, through video calls if I can, to maintain team alignment. I do my best to be cognizant of time zones when sending email or setting up meetings (or at least let my team know that they’re not expected to answer outside regular business hours). I delegate tasks, empowering team members to make decisions and consistently update my team on my progress. I encourage team autonomy, fostering a sense of ownership and organize face to face meetings post-travel to gather feedback to refine strategies for future trips. Bon voyage !

Well, I usually follow the below steps: 1. Planning ahead 2. Trust the team 3. Always engage the team 4. Make the team understand the value behind what they are doing 5. Always stay connected and available for any support needed 6. No blame culture the mentioned 6 steps always keep my team ahead the schedule and the most important thing is to make them feel important, included and valuable

In my experience- Establishing proper chain of command and reviewing protocols is essential. Your team should know when you are and aren’t available and what to do when such a situation should arise. (If necessary) Upon returning, honor the team with a kind gesture such as a complimentary lunch, a public acknowledgement or even a promotion for holding down the fort.

Plan ahead, i think most team will use SMART model to point out what we need - as we will measure on Results not KPI S- Specific - detail results give you and your team the main idea M- Measurable - to quickly catch up with team A- Achievable - as you have to achieve it at the end R- Relevant - as you have to focus in planning an apple tree with an apple seed not with an orange seed T- Time - and we all need timeline on every goal/result to keep everything on track!

Plan ahead but plan for real and make it a participatory planning. Use the best tools to stay ahead of any possible issues and d do your best to mitigate risks. Try with Coda.io and your team could be successful remote team then ever before.

So our team will have boundaries and with our shared calendar. A symbol note [WFH] or [OOO] will be considered that this person is not in the office or maybe can be contacted by which time. Also we set a timezone ruler so everyone will know which time is suitable to contact. We work with teams from different region Our LittleBig team respect individual timesheet for the maximum result so i think Shared Calendar is the one of the choice you can consider

In our digital age, it's easy to mistake 'always on' for genuine connection. But true connectivity? It's about the richness of the interaction, not just the frequency. ? Check-ins: Quality over quantity. Speak to challenges, acknowledge wins, but always, always focus on the genuine exchange. ? Asynchronous Communication: Time zones? Just another puzzle to solve. Let your team thrive in their prime time, not yours. ? Connection Quality: When planning, always factor in not just when you'll connect, but how. An authentic ten-minute chat can outweigh hours of mere updates. It's not just about reaching out. It's about truly touching base. Every single time.

Scheduling call and other touch-points in advance of your time out-of-the-office is critical. If you have these in the calendar (yours and you team's) then you have a means to track progress, give direction, identify roadblocks and how to address them, etc. Regardless of the enabling technology used, the key to success is being organized and deliberate about scheduling regular check-ins.

Working remotely requires clear Key Results planning Yes, we know we have different tasks each day and meet different clients. So we agree to share openly via the communication application about our work at specific of the week or day Open discuss new issue by text and call (if needed) so we will be on the same page

Communication is important to share the ideas and opinions between teams who are working on similar or related tasks. The priority of any leader, communication ensures that each team member working on a certain project must be aware of the goals and expectations. This helps the work be managed more efficiently and improves the quality of the whole work as well.

Totally agree with this. A good leader mentors, coaches, and delegates responsibilities prior to being out. Empower the team to make decisions, because you can't always be there to decide for them. (And it makes for a much more relaxing vacation when you know your team can handle anything.)

Trust brings quality and many other hidden gems ??. Building trust among team member will help bring best from them. That will give confidence to delegate anything for their role and their development

Cheer and praise the team often. Micromanaging is not the best way to ensure trust. I believe that progress can be tracked by looking at the quality of output rather that quantity of time invested in creating an output. Quality of output can be categorized into various parameters that can be analyzed on a macro-level.

Working to a remote team while traveling for business is quiet difficult to manage,however if you assigned competent Team Supervisor that will closely monitor an individual task assignment of your team , Set a timeline and goals on your team , each of your team member must deliver thier work accomplishments in a timely manner. If they encounter delay on thier works accomplishment due to some technical problems .your supervisor will be the one to initiate to take necessary intervention in order fixed the problem .then your supervisor will be the one to communicate with you and submit a summary reports via email .

I agree, delegation and trust is essential to team management whether remotely or on-site. Getting the right people doing the right things at the right time. The hard work is done up front by managers to identify the right people and ensure all staff understand their responsibilities. That hard work pays off when everything works like clockwork without needing to consult the manager every five minutes. Personally I laugh when I hear candidates being rejected for being over-qualified. I go for the over-qualified every time as I know I will not have to do their jobs for them.

Just want to add something here. To help push the remote work more effectively, we can: - Use collaboration tools - Set clear expectations from the beginning - Schedule regular check-ins by weekly meeting - Delegate tasks and trust them to get the job done. - Stay organized: keep track of your schedule and important deadlines using a calendar or task management tool. - Communicate regularly even if it's just a quick check-in via Teams, Slack, Trello, etc.

Travel also gives a new perspective of doing the tasks. It helps in giving exposure to the best technologies around the globe that one can implement in their organization.

1. Plan it carefully to organize the team at least 1 year before travelling frequently or for a long term. I used to travel for 4 months without seeing the revenue but the team worked effectively. 2. Use Cloud environment (Googlesuite, Notion, etc) 3. Appoint 1 leader to manage the team or decide sth important. She/he must be strong and decisive. Sometimes she calls me to update or ask for advice but she will give decision based on the situations and be dominant. 4. All my members work remotely with high pressure and high passion, so it is important to choose the team members. 5. Create more infrequent incentives like bonus money, gifts to enhance their contribution and keep their fire.

Little operational tips that make a difference : 1- Share calendar blocks with your team to let them know about the time of your flights, commutes & meetings in which you are not available. Let them plan for their work accordingly. 2-Allocate some of your flight time to off-line review of documents. Ask your team members to share any documents they need input on when you are commuting. Commuting time is easily wasted when the right type of tasks is not lined up. 3-Agree on regular tentative time slots. When traveling it will be hard to stick to regular touchpoint, but it already makes a difference to know that John can potentially be reachable during 4 specific time slots Vs. not knowing when to expect him and feeling like he disappeared.

Managing a remote team while traveling for business requires effective communication and organization. Set clear expectations for work hours, availability, and priorities. Utilize collaboration and project management tools to track progress and maintain transparency. Empower team members with autonomy and trust, but stay accessible for guidance and support. Schedule regular check-ins and use video conferencing to maintain a personal connection. Lastly, delegate responsibilities and foster a culture of self-accountability. With efficient systems and a focus on communication, you can successfully manage a remote team while on the go.

In my experience, setting clear expectations and delegating effectively is crucial for managing a remote team during business travel. It ensures everyone knows their roles and responsibilities, promoting a smooth workflow and achieving your goals. Additionally, schedule check-in meetings to assess progress, address issues promptly, and maintain a sense of connection among the team members.

No matter what: do not micromanage your team. You will implicitly lose them forever and they will explicitly start to go away sooner rather then later.