The ability to lead a remote team has become an indispensable management skill in 2021. The shift in the past year to a more prevalent remote working phenomenon has changed the way leaders manage teams and their entire organizations. It is no longer enough to know how to run a business, it is important to understand how to run a business when working in a completely remote setup.

It can be a pretty stressful situation to find your way around the remote work culture and make sure that your people are not just working but are successful. Running an entire company remotely is easier said than done. Without proper processes and protocols, keeping up with all of your teams can be a daunting task.

Let’s take a look at some of the things you need to know to run your business successfully when working remotely.

Build your remote teams to be hyper-organized for maximum success

When working with remote teams, sometimes larger team sizes can limit performance and efficiency. Start by creating teams within your teams. This enables coherent work. You can segregate teams based on projects being worked on, the type of work being done, or any other suitable parameter that works for that team (and your company).

Each of these sub-teams has a person in charge and is responsible for the work they do. This helps with delegation of work and gives them a degree of independence. They can then be executed without having to wait for reverts and approvals.

This ultimately ends with removing bottlenecks, speeding up workflows, and getting tasks done. Teams are better organized and can work with fewer dependencies, which leads to more productivity.

Communicate the expected results from the start

A big factor influencing employee performance is their understanding of what is expected of them. When working with remote teams, there is sometimes a communication gap. If left unchecked, they create issues that directly affect the performance of employees, teams, and companies.

It is always recommended that the employee’s expectations be communicated to them very clearly. Be it at the daily / weekly catch-up appointments, at the beginning of a new task or in a one-on-one conversation, make it crystal clear what you expect from them or the task.

Once that is done, employees become more responsible as they know what needs to happen and what the results need to be. Regular reminders of expectations and results help keep track of things and keep distractions to a minimum.

Be easily accessible and available when your teams need you

Burnouts, disorientation, getting stuck in a feedback loop are some of the problems that arise when working with remote teams. But there is an easy way to avoid this – just stay available for your teams when they need you.

In most cases, when you have a remote worker, feedback and responses aren’t instant. If the team cannot reach you as a leader, you will feel lost. It also affects their work and performance as they get stuck waiting to hear from you.

Create a framework that defines the proper protocols, channels, and etiquette for team communication. Once that’s established, make sure everyone, including you, adheres to this framework.

Running a remote team is about being there when the team needs you. They cannot assign tasks and are then unavailable. Your remote workers will need regular guidance from you.

Avoid micromanagement at all costs

It’s not difficult to slide into a culture of micromanaging when leading remote teams, even if that wasn’t your leadership style before. It is very natural that you are concerned about how well your team is doing and that you want to keep checking it out.

But that’s the worst thing you can do other than tell them openly that you don’t trust them. The need for micromanagement depends on trust in the teams and usually has nothing to do with whether you are working remotely or in the office.

You’ve managed to hire the right people for your company based on a number of criteria. If they’re qualified and doing their job well, let them do what works best for them. Unless they have shown that they cannot function without constant supervision, there is no reason to be suspicious of them.

Provide your remote teams with the right tools to help them work efficiently. If you show that you trust them, they will return that trust with their best performance.

Constantly review short term + long term plans to ensure goal alignment

Running a remote team requires you to constantly talk to your teams about the short- and long-term goals they want to achieve. It’s not something you set and forget – it needs to be addressed regularly and revised as needed.

Regular team-wide meetings or town halls help to remind everyone of the common goal that everyone is working towards. If there are teams or team members that are misaligned, this would be a good time to get them back on track.

This also serves as a constant reminder and helps them stay focused. Repetition of goals goes a long way in helping everyone remember them and work to achieve them.

Final remark

Running a remote team is not that different from running a team from an office. It just requires certain subtle changes in the way you interact with your teams. If you manage remote teams efficiently, you will see a positive and almost immediate impact on your company’s productivity and performance.

Proper leadership is at the heart of any remote team or worker and will lead them to success.