Six strategies for learning to lead remote workforces in challenging times.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve read some fantastic articles about remote working. Excellent advice and insight about health and safety, routines, protocols, tips and tactics for keeping your workforce engaged. These will no doubt be invaluable for leaders in the coming weeks and months.

However, during a conversation I recently had with a valued colleague, she pointed out that many leaders have never managed a remote workforce before. Which got me thinking. Many leaders are adept at managing distance workers, or teams, but what about those who aren’t? 

With little or no notice, leaders will have their teams spread out over suburbia. While on one hand, they will know this is driven by necessity in the current climate, they could also be forgiven for wondering where this is highlighted in their job description!

I have managed remote teams for over twenty years across different geographies and more recently, (as a result of both crisis and opportunity) workforces that are spread across suburbs, as well as cities and countries.

Here are some things I have learned along the way and also some issues I think we all need to be mindful of as we are compelled to lead our workforces through unprecedented and challenging conditions:

Productivity is likely to suffer, at least in the short term. Working from home is no longer a nice-to-have that employers offer as a workplace benefit. There is a major difference between working from home because you want to, and working from home because you have to. 

Organisational psychologist @Joanne Fitzgerald, Director of #ManagedInterventions says:

“Usually in workplaces where I consult, the capacity to ‘work from home’ is experienced as a privilege, in recognition of one’s hard work, quality work, and genuine commitment to their role.

What happens when that privilege is in now enforced? When the absence of a choice is replaced by the requirement to work from home? ....

What we lose – through this sudden loss of choice – might be our sense of belonging, friendship and connection with others, power over others, our sense of being part of a broader effort, and of course the fun of having others nearby working on similar goals with similar energy.

So our challenge right now, greater than ever before, is to remain conscious of the choices we can make that we satisfy our needs to contribute meaningfully, keep us connected to work, and keep us focused on thinking and feeling a valuable part of a whole system, not an isolated being with a laptop on the lounge.”

Jo makes a number of really important points around our workforce and individual team members, and how they may be feeling right now.

So here’s the thing. You can train leaders on protocols and policies, but you cannot give them the experiential knowledge they need overnight - so your leaders will need both support and acknowledgement that this is very different.

More traditional leaders may struggle with not having ‘eyes on’ their employees. I have had many conversations over the years where managers have assumed or delivered judgement on who are the ‘right’ candidates for working from home, and who should be ‘allowed or not allowed’. They have a belief that people will be hanging the washing out (heaven forbid) or watching tv. They also don’t inherently understand that your ability to measure productivity because you can see someone sitting at a desk is just perception, not reality. So if you are in this position right now, here are a few tips for making the transition to leading a remote workforce more effective.

1. Be open and vulnerable with your teams. Tell them that you are also learning to do things differently and will make mistakes. Let them know that you are very open to feedback about how you can be more effective leading them from a distance.

2. Accept a short term drop in productivity. While some team members will already be used to working from home, others won’t. They may well find themselves wandering around like lost socks. It is likely to take time for them to adjust to a different way of working, and to adapt to the loss of face-to-face social contact with their work colleagues. Some companies have the ability through systems and processes in place, to measure productivity, no matter where their team members are located. Others don’t, but will still have agreed deliverables for team members . Make sure your team members don’t feel that they will be penalised if their productivity is a bit lower to start with.

3. Do set clear expectations. Do hold daily virtual stand-ups to ensure focus on work deliverables, but also allow time to focus on how people are feeling. Allow opportunities for team members to share stories and feelings if that’s what they want. Extroverts may be feeling almost physical pain from being separated from their work buddies, and introverts may be secretly delighted about not having to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with Chatty Cathy or Carl. What is certain is that everybody is different. Your ability to understand and empathise will be invaluable.

4. Accept that water-cooler conversation will be replaced with group chat via social media. And accept that these conversations may not include you . This will happen with our without your endorsement. It is important to remind them that text and talk are different so they do need to be mindful that their conversations are kept within the scope of your agreed code of conduct.

5. Understand that not everyone has a home office and so flexibility on your part is going to be key. Say for example, one of your team members, lives in a small house or apartment and has an unwell baby or toddler, trying to hold a conversation with them when you had it scheduled may simply not be practical. Remember that WFH was not necessarily their decision, so be flexible where you can in the interests of a better outcome.

6. Trust your teams rather than thinking trust must be earned. You don’t really have a choice, so by trying to micro-manage or check up on teams from a distance you will undermine any chance you have of building or re-building an engaged team.

Strong leadership has never been more important than it is today. Your people need you, even if you are in trackies and bare feet hanging out the washing (heaven forbid) instead of having a coffee catch up in the city.

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