How to Lead the Remote Workforce
The pandemic and the move to remote work for many employees presented a lot of challenges to workers, but especially to those who are tasked with managing and leading remote teams. The shift from working in the office to working from the home allowed everyone to see the difficulties, but also the benefits, of remote work. No doubt, the world of work will never be the same, as virtual work will become more and more common.
Drawing on research, pre- and post-pandemic, covering best practices for leading virtual teams, here are some tips for leading those teams. They are organized around the components of the well-known theory of Transformational Leadership .
Be a Positive Role Model
This is the transformational leadership component of Idealized Influence which is the leader’s ability to appear leader-like, including setting an example for team members to follow. So, what does this element of exemplary leadership suggest a leader should do in the virtual work environment?
Lead the way. Roll up your sleeves and get involved with the team’s work. Be a leader that others want to follow.
Consult regularly with team members to get their perspectives and to be better informed.
Control and regulate your emotions, particularly negative emotional outbursts. In a crisis, appear calm, cool, and collected.
Treat team members fairly; give credit where credit is due.
Demonstrate courage – the courage to do the right thing, and to take carefully calculated risks when necessary.
Inspire
Inspirational Motivation is an important element of transformational leadership, and it is what makes a leader appear charismatic. How can you use inspirational motivation in leading virtual teams?
Create a compelling vision for the team and focus on it often. Make sure that your vision for the team is aligned with theirs.
Be positive and upbeat in your communications. No one wants to follow a pessimistic leader. Hold positive expectations for your team members and what they can accomplish. (This is the concept of Pygmalion Leadership).
Constantly remind members of the team’s mission and purpose, and provide lots of feedback about performance, including constructive strategies for improvement.
Connect and Communicate
Individualized Consideration is the transformational leader’s ability to develop and nurture relationships with each individual virtual team member. An effective leader needs to understand each member’s critical needs and concerns. This is the way that leader-member trust is established and maintained (“My leader truly gets me and cares about me.”). When it comes to leader communication, it is almost impossible to over-communicate. Team members need more information, not less.
Develop active listening skills.
Check in with team members regularly and often (schedule meeting times).
Consult with team members. Pay attention to their concerns.
Challenge
How do transformational leaders get teams to perform at extraordinarily high levels? A critical component is called Intellectual Stimulation, which is used to spur team members to be creative and innovative in their work and how it is performed. In most cases, team members understand the work more than their leaders, so leverage that.
Set challenging and “stretch” goals for your team members (and include them in goal-setting).
Reframe problems to help them overcome obstacles and arrive at innovative solutions.
Question assumptions and the status quo to seek better ways to get the job done.
These are the broad strokes of successful leadership of virtual teams. Here are some specific tips derived from research on virtual team leadership:
1. Focus on the mission and purpose and refer to it often. Ask yourself, and followers, what does our shared mission/purpose mean to you? This helps in understanding one another and getting everyone committed to the purpose.
2. Keep team members informed about accomplishments, goals attained, and progress made. Ongoing feedback and clarity are important.
3. Make sure to utilize the very best and latest communication technology.
4. When it comes to virtual communication, create guidelines and do this collaboratively. Some things to consider:
Expected response times.
Timing and number of regular updates.
Agreements about who is responsible, and for what.
Preferred communication methods and channels for various interactions.
Ground rules for virtual meetings.
5. Pay attention to the size of teams so that they are optima: “too many cooks spoil the stew” but “many hands make light the work."
6. Respect cultural diversity. Pay attention to issues of equity and inclusion.
7. Implement strategies for team bonding. Be creative, but don’t overdo it.
8. Ensure the well-being of team members. Show empathy for their situations and concerns.
9. Empower team members in an effort to get things done, but also to develop their capacity to lead.
10. Have some downtime. One executive told me that during the pandemic, he instituted “Covid vacations” – days off when everyone had to unplug and not send any work-related messages.
Let me leave you with this message from a well-respected, high-level CEO: “When it comes to working remotely, people need to come first.”