Managing a team is always a challenging task, but doing it remotely can introduce another level of complexities into the mix. To keep them well-motivated, organized, and productive, it’s important to foster the key skills and qualities that will help them to perform at their best and collaborate well together. Read on for some useful pointers on how to help manage a remote team in the most effective way.
Communication can happen in many different ways, and when running a team that is working remotely, it can be helpful to offer a variety of channels to allow everyone to find the right medium for them. Depending on the message, subject, and urgency of the topic, you may want to explore a variety of methods to open up better communication.
A collaboration tool that is an alternative to slack can be a great place to start. This can help everyone involved to keep track of project progression, share messages instantly to the relevant person, and follow what is going on in one place. You may also want to include regular video calls or occasional in-person meetings, if possible, to retain a sense of personal connection between people too.
Collaboration can be a great way of exploring and discovering new and unexpected ideas and can make problem-solving a much more effective and faster process. However, to make the most of it, it’s best to encourage a spirit of open-mindedness amongst the whole team, to allow all kinds of creative solutions to come forward.
While you may operate best with a particular structure or approach to tasks, it’s useful to remember that other individuals may have a different take or way to tackle things. By creating an environment where they can feel comfortable voicing other possibilities, you may be able to encourage a better range of solutions to address things and develop more innovative answers. It’s also important to embrace mistakes and failures along the way.
Having a clear goal in mind can be enormously helpful when motivating a team that is working together. These goals may include a variety of subjects – from overall goals for the project they are working on, goals for the team itself, and personal development goals that may be more focused on each individual’s skill or career progression.
Using specific and measurable ways to establish each goal, you can then plan the steps needed to achieve it and have a clear focus on progress. This can help every team member see how their contribution has made a difference and help them feel more motivated and connected with your work’s overall objectives. It can also be helpful to spend time as a team to establish and discuss goals, especially group ones, to help them understand what is required of them, as well as allowing space for them to ask questions and clarify what may be involved. This discussion can also help others figure out what others like to help get the best out of their peers.