How to Lead a Remote Team Effectively

Over the past year, many businesses have had to shift to remote work. This definitely takes some getting used to for both you and your workers. However, there are things you can do to make the transition easier and to succeed while working virtually.

Get to Know Your Team

If you don’t know your team, it can be very difficult to lead them. Knowing your team well helps you understand their strengths and weaknesses. You can understand what’s going on in their life and what other responsibilities they have. While it may seem hard, there are several ways to get to know your team virtually. Instead of simply using communication channels to talk about work, provide a space for people to share photos or discuss their interests. You can also have time during video calls to chat and engage in small talk. Other options include having a regular newsletter that highlights employees or optional activities employees can “attend.”

Communicate Clearly

Clear communication makes a huge difference, especially when you don’t have a chance to talk face to face. In a virtual setting, it can be easy for information to get lost, miscommunication to occur, or for individuals to miss out on important information. Clear communication starts with having a designated form of communication. If you use too many modes of communication, it can lead to confusion. Have a central place where you will distribute information and where your employees can communicate with you and with each other. Lastly, make sure you are very direct in your communication and that you explain everything fully. When working virtually, everything needs to be fully explained the first time.

Focus On Outcomes

When working remotely, it can be difficult to monitor your employees and efforts to do so can actually make the process harder. Since you can’t be fully involved throughout the whole process, you should prioritize the outcomes. Are people performing their jobs? Are the results what you expected? Are the products of their work done well? Don’t be too concerned with how things get done, just focus on whether or not they do get done. Besides, people are actually more productive when they are self-guided. Let your employees work in their own way and trust that they will get done what they need to.

Remote work can be very challenging. Everyone is in a different place with different expectations and it can be hard to all work cohesively. As hard as it is, there are still ways you can ease everyone’s experience.

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