Pushing the Right Buttons: Guiding Remote Teams

12.06.18 | Kendrea Williams |

Open space offices, remote workers, and innovative video conference systems are more and more becoming the norm within modern workspaces.

Looking to secure a leadership position? You should first understand that today’s innovative work environments include many non-traditional ways of getting work done.

Minding the Proximity Gap

So how do we quantify an “innovative” workplace? It means learning how to manage teams remotely by developing crucial soft skills that will help you get there. In addition, you must possess the right combination of digital tools and resources. Building a culture of trust, consistency, and responsiveness will minimize the challenges that come with individuals lacking physical proximity to one another.

The Biggest Challenges

I recently completed a four-week online webinar series, courtesy of Chris Daily and the beLithe team, on managing remote teams, using the principles of Work Together Anywhere. We discussed our own experiences regarding challenges we’ve witnessed with leading groups remotely.

I was surprised at the consensus from the group of common challenges:

1. A lack of communication or transparency, which results in a lack of trust
2. A lack of focus as online meetings are being conducted, as participants are sometimes focused on other things
3. A lack of consistency, as some teams use an incredible variety of communicative/task platforms, resulting in team members becoming overwhelmed

Developing a Plan

Do you find that your team has some of the same challenges? Or, even worse, are you currently managing your remote unit with a fireman’s mindset? Meaning: do you only address issues as they arise?

Creating a plan to address and correct fundamental challenges is the first step in bringing consistency and value to remote team culture.

First, gather the team. As a group, discuss the current existing challenges when it comes to working, and or meeting, as a team. Allow the team to decide as a group the time of the meeting. While you are at it, identify what technology platforms they are most familiar and works best for them.

Finally, and most importantly, determine what method of communication works best. Whatever you decide, doing it as a team. By documenting the group’s decision, you and your team can confidently move forward with a document of reference.

This process is instrumental in developing the best remote team culture upfront.

Technologies Worth Noting

Below are some of my favorite tools for effectively working remotely.

Hopefully, some of these platforms can help you and your team work together seamlessly, anywhere.

• Slack is a collaboration hub that connects organizations so you can get things done. Slack can help you cut down on unproductive meetings.
• Trello is a collaboration tool that organizes projects onto boards. It allows you to track the progress of outstanding tasks in one simple platform. It is essentially an online whiteboard with sticky notes that lets you easily visualize the status of your team’s work.
• Zoom is a reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing. Zoom provides organizations with a mechanism to host face to face meetings, regardless of their geographical location.

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