BRIDGING THE DISTANCE GAP

COVID-19 has pushed the world into a strange and unprecedented limbo and lockdown has unquestionably led to an unrivalled shift in working patterns. Many organizations and companies worldwide have heeded the advice of governments and healthcare professionals and have – begrudgingly or willingly – embraced remote working to keep their workforce safe and ensure continuity of their business. While the pandemic continues to evolve globally and some countries have begun to restart their economies by easing lockdown restrictions, some of us cannot avoid thinking that this shift in conventional working practices is here to stay and that it may even reshape the way we conceive of work and collaboration – at least for those workers who have computer-based jobs and can easily work from somewhere other than their offices. Only time will tell of the extent of this change, but it may be that a new hybrid approach to work is what’s needed, as a recent article in the New York Times suggested. One thing is certain, though: Despite all the challenges businesses have experienced thus far, which were mainly linked to the necessity of moving quickly and with little preparation in response to the outbreak of the pandemic, the lockdown has undoubtedly presented businesses with a golden opportunity to weigh up the pros and cons of this new work reality and to identify and trial various viable (mainly virtual) solutions. As a result, companies worldwide are looking into strengthening their technological support and cybersecurity capabilities in order to enable remote working in a secure and seamless fashion and many are reviewing their work-from-home policies to allow for greater flexibility. In other words, although the current outlook on employment is far from being bright, especially if we think of the recent mass layoffs that have occurred at some companies, the disruption caused by the coronavirus crisis has provided business in general with a chance to strategically adapt, transform, innovate and thrive in a new way. 

No matter what kind of new work horizons the current situation will come to reveal, it is nevertheless important to remember that moving to a completely virtual way of working will undoubtedly have a huge impact on team collaboration and productivity – it could be very easy for team members to lose touch and become disengaged. This is true for team members, but it is even more applicable to leaders. Indeed, as Julie Wilson from Harvard University points out, “Managing a virtual team requires managers to double down on the fundamentals of good management, including establishing clear goals, running great meetings, communicating clearly, and leveraging team members’ individual and collective strengths”. Most of my managerial experience so far has been characterized by a large amount of remote management – in my current position, for example, 75% of my team is not based in the same office I work in – and I cannot agree more with Ms Wilson’s statement.

Virtual is certainly not the same as physical. In this article, I explore some of the leadership principles that I have found to be crucial in building a healthy, high-performing and thriving remote team.

Provide clear direction, structure, roles and responsibilities

All teams need clear direction, structure and guidelines, but remote teams have even greater need of them. In order to improve performance and promote team engagement and successful collaboration, it is essential that, as a leader of a remote or virtual team, you provide clearly defined direction. In other words, it is important that everyone understands the overarching goal you are pursuing together as a team and how everyone’s actions contribute to the bigger or broader plan (i.e. the organization’s goal).

Once the direction of travel is clear, it is important that you clearly define the processes that will enable you and your team to achieve the aforementioned common goal. Don’t act as a single player and instead seek input from team members so that everyone is invested in developing these processes. Don’t forget to set clear boundaries in which to operate and establish exactly what is expected of each team member. At the same time, make sure your team members know that you trust their professional judgement.

Focus on eliminating ambiguity by clearly defining individual team members’ roles, responsibilities and tasks, as well as the various levels of interaction and collaboration. Ensure that everyone can access shared supporting documents detailing all of the above, including, but certainly not limited to, levels of coverage, specific agreements, handy solutions for recurrent challenges, etc.

It is also a good idea to collegially review the agreed working methods after a set period of time to make any necessary adjustments.

Get to know your team

It is key to take the time to learn about your team. Don’t just focus on work-related topics, as having both professional and personal familiarity with your team is important – always within respectful limits of cultural boundaries and individual privacy, of course. Finding out about your team members’ hobbies and interests, for example, can help you identify transferable skills that can also be applied at team level; likewise, knowing what their personal and professional goals are can give you the opportunity to help your team members make progress towards these goals and contribute to their personal development in their role. Additionally, the more you know about your team members’ cultural backgrounds, the more prepared you will be to motivate, reduce uncertainty, address and resolve conflicts and thus deal with the variety of situations that can arise in a multicultural and geographically distributed team. Relationships do take extra effort to nurture!

Communicate clearly and strategically

Communication can contemporaneously be the biggest challenge and the main success factor for geographically distributed teams. That is why a strategic approach to team communication is vital, and even more so in times of business disruption.

We often underestimate the importance of the casual discussions that occur in an office setting. When working remotely though, employees do not have access to such spontaneous exchanges, which are so crucial to establishing work relationships.

In a virtual setting, it is therefore key that you create both formal and informal communication opportunities with your team and that you do not shy away from these exchanges as, without them, you run the risk of team disengagement and misalignment. As the leader of a remote team, you need to be present.

Practice active listening in your interactions with your team members and do not forget that bi-directional communication is the most successful type of interaction.

It is also crucial that your communication is well structured and exceptionally clear in order to avoid any ambiguities or doubts. Also be clear about your availability and which channels your team members should use to contact you about urgent matters.

Choose your digital tools wisely

Nowadays, technology offers us a multitude of options for communication (e.g. email, IM, phone, chat tools, video conferencing tools, collaboration tools, etc.), which, if chosen wisely, can help you and your remote/virtual team to bridge the distance gap and meet your set goals. The first thing to bear in mind, though, is that no single tool suits all needs. As the leader of a remote/virtual team, it is not only key that you play the role of the technology advocate, but it is also crucial that you identify the best tool for each purpose and understand which tool(s) your team members feel most at ease with using. While emails are undoubtedly a useful communication tool, they are not enough and are certainly not among the best options to help reduce the sense of isolation, establish rapport and create empathy; whenever possible, opt for video technology instead.

Use not one leadership style but many

Many of you will certainly be familiar with Daniel Goleman’s famous 1995 book Emotional Intelligence, in which he identifies six types of leadership, namely authoritarian, paternalistic, democratic, laissez-faire, transactional and transformational.

The legitimate question many team leaders ask themselves is “which style do I need to use to best lead my team?”. The simple answer is that there is no simple answer.

Indeed, what I learned with both time and experience is that when leading teams, and even more so when leading geographically distributed ones, one single leadership style is simply not an option. Rather, you need to be flexible and adjust your style based on the specific goal you are after, the context and the given challenge faced in order to support your team in performing to the best of their abilities.

Power teamwork with trust

Trust is key in any relationship and it is the essential and all-encompassing ingredient for team success. Conversely, a breakdown in trust can perhaps be the greatest threat to remote and virtual teaming.

Building trust within a co-located team can be a difficult endeavour but in a virtual team setting, it becomes even more challenging, as there are fewer of the usual interactions and opportunities needed to develop trust. One thing is certain though: Building trust requires time and commitment. Do not be too discouraged, then, if trust does not grow immediately between you and your team. Instead, continue to provide opportunities for interaction and you will see trust grow over time.

What I have learned in my remote management experience so far is that there are certain elements that foster the creation of a trust-building environment and that, as a team leader, you need to ensure that you yourself consistently champion:

The first of these elements is wonderfully captured in quotation by Hemingway, “The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them”, in other words… Be the one who shows trust first.

• Put respect and integrity at the core of any relationship and interaction.
• Show openness, transparency and honesty at every stage.
• Walk your talk or, to put it another way, keep your word and practice what you preach.
• Communicate frequently, clearly and consistently to make sure everyone is exposed to the same information.
• Be consistent in your actions and fair in your decisions.
• Focus on results vs tasks and foster a culture of shared accountability.
• Celebrate and acknowledge individual team members’ contributions and successes.
• Be empathic and congenial.
• Pay attention to the social and personal aspects – work is not the only thing that matters.
• Recognise and acknowledge when you are wrong.

Make team well-being a priority

Well-being is undoubtedly the one thing that touches on all the items addressed thus far, as on top of being critical to team engagement and success, it can be easily challenged by the remote or virtual nature of your team. As the manager, you therefore need to be more alert than ever to creating the right conditions and avoiding basic mistakes such as a lack of clarity on working methods, insufficient communication, lack of empathy or flexibility, etc. You have a duty of care towards each and every one of the people who report to you and you are responsible for promoting best practice and modelling healthy behaviours.

Whilst ensuring flexibility, it is also important that you make sure to set clear boundaries that foster a healthy work-life balance (e.g. encouraging team members to take regular breaks, to stick to working hours, etc.) and support anyone in your team who struggles with achieving the agreed tasks or goals – it could be that they would benefit from a more detailed and broken-down description of their role and responsibilities, they might appreciate a chat related to a new project or task they have been allocated or they simply might not have all that they need to perform their work (e.g. office equipment, reliable connectivity, etc.).

Open, bi-directional and transparent communication is key in this case too and regular check-ins with your team members will be hugely beneficial in gauging any well-being issues. Do remember though that you are not alone in this: You also have the right to ask for support from senior management and your HR department – the burden should not rest only on your shoulders and you might need to find out about the various support services (e.g. helplines and listening services, counselling, employment support, etc.) that are available locally for your team member. Flexibility on your part is key here too.

Leading remote or virtual teams can be challenging. Yet, with the correct processes, the right tools, and clear and open communication, you can certainly bridge the distance gap and create a positive, engaging environment that is conducive to successful teamwork. 

But… what is your experience with remote teams? Which leadership principles have you found to be key in building thriving remote or virtual teams? Or, as a member of remote or virtual team, what do you value the most? Please do share your experience and insights below. I look forward to reading them all!