Leading remote teams

There are numerous descriptions for what the new ways of working for many are. These include working from home, working from anywhere, working remotely, distributed teams and flexible working. There has been a lot of discussion regarding the benefits of remote working, both for individual wellbeing and for business. Although this has not been the case for all businesses, many have noticed increased productivity and creativity along with reduced costs. For many individuals, being able to ‘design their own life’ has fantastic benefits. For example, the ability to have a much longed for pet, fitting in gym classes, managing work around school runs, caring responsibilities or hobbies and being present at important family/friend commitments.

As I write this, I must laugh as I sit on the sofa with a large box of Maltesers, fire on and tv in the background – cosy, comfortable and having a productive morning. At 1pm I am meeting a friend for a long dog walk (to compensate for the Maltesers!) as she takes a break from her laptop too. Being able to work from anywhere helps in all areas of life, both mentally and physically.

Along with the benefits come new challenges, so how do you build a leadership climate that people need when you are all in different locations? One of the models often shared in leadership development is the Support and Challenge Matrix.

This explores how to achieve the right level of support and challenge for people in your team in order to create the best leadership climate. This is always a difficult thing to achieve because every individual is different, but now there are also extra challenges.

How do you achieve this? Start with listening! Really listen. It is so easy to make assumptions and they can either be right or potentially wrong. What things are working for them and what would be an improvement? How can you provide support and how can you create or offer challenge?

There are many ways to provide the right level of support and challenge for people which will in turn influence the overall leadership climate:

Support

• People may feel technically included but do they feel a sense of belonging? What would achieve that for them?
• There may be regular Zoom meeting/scrums/catch ups etc, but do they miss the one-to-one contact that may have happened on an ad hoc basis in the office. How could you replace that?
• They now have flexibility but may miss the structure and routine, what may help? They could be feeling isolated and lonely. Although lonely is an emotion, a practical solution to the isolation could combat the loneliness.
• They may thrive on recognition. For example, the “well done” that is not as frequent when you are not face to face, that helps you feel valued and know that you are appreciated.
• They may be finding it difficult working at home due to space and other household members, can you support in any way?

Challenge

• How stretched are people feeling?
• Are they getting constructive feedback?
• Is the workload at the right level?
• Are the deadlines realistic?
• Are the tasks too difficult or indeed too easy?
• What new or different tasks are they ready to take on

These are only a few examples and so much has changed for people so watch out for those assumptions, however well intentioned. Ask the questions and listen with skill and without judgement. That in itself will achieve so much.