The Art of Remote Leadership

The unexpected outbreak of coronavirus across the globe has thrown many businesses into turmoil, bringing with it widespread monetary repercussions.

In this article, we take a look at how business leaders can lead teams remotely and adapt to these constantly evolving circumstances to ensure your business remains profitable.

With a set of healthy team communication strategies, it is possible to maintain levels of motivation and productivity – possibly even seeing an increase:

Communication is key

It is of course vital that you communicate with your employees. They will be especially concerned about their health and possible financial constraints during this time. Allay their fears as much as you can by remaining transparent.

Choose a form of technology to create a Team Communication Support Channel. Whether it’s by email, Skype, Zoom,  Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Slack or Trello, keep the lines of communication open. Offer encouraging words and share updates. Let your team know that you are also there if anyone needs to talk one-to-one.

The added benefit of a support channel is that it keeps the ongoing barrage of news – separate from work. Your employees will be able to share news during their break or out of work hours while keeping focused on their job during working hours.

It is also important that you avoid using too many communication channels. Vital communication may get missed. Discuss which channels work best for you and your team and stick to these.

Empower Your Employees

In today’s changing business environment – ask for your team’s suggestions. By asking for their input, you will be empowering them in a situation that can cause considerable anxiety. Your team can then brainstorm on an individual/group level and possibly come up with ideas you hadn’t thought of yet.

 Maintain productivity and motivation

 As an employer, you may be afraid that going remote equals a lack of control over your business and less productivity. There are healthy strategies that you can use to manage your team’s performance remotely:

•  Create a structure of scheduled meetings to ensure enough time is dedicated to all team members
•  Support team members in planning out tasks within certain timeframes. Go over what progress has been made since previous meetings and discuss what should be achieved within the next designated timeframe
• Understand what motivates employees to feel accountable and therefore more productive. There are potential benefits to working remotely when understood can potentially increase productivity
•  Understand the soft skills of remote leading combined with the tech skills involved. You will then be able to widen your range of services and safeguard yourself against any further eventualities

Covid-prescribed social distancing does not equate to lower levels of employee productivity. This could be the best time yet to learn smarter ways of leading employees to higher performance.

 ThinkTalent offers a short online course on The Art of Remote Leadership. Our upcoming course covers:

• How to embrace the change – turn the situation into an opportunity for greater productivity
• How motivation works – specifically when people are working remotely
• How to nourish balanced levels of autonomy, mastery, and purpose to ensure consistent levels of engagement and efficiency
• The art of leading cross-cultural remote teams
• Tips from 1000 top managers leading teams remotely

If you are interested in taking part, follow the link above to register. If you have any questions regarding this course, please feel free to contact us.