If necessity is the mother of all invention, then we are living in a time where we’ll be forced to be very inventive. The global COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc throughout the world. The toll on human life has already been devastating and is showing no sign of slowing. That’s to say nothing of the economic ramifications.

Needless to say, the world of work has changed dramatically in response to the Coronavirus outbreak. Many people, myself included, are working from home so as to prevent transmission of the disease. While I’ve become very comfortable working remotely over the years, many others are new to this. Maybe even more importantly, many leaders have little-to-no experience in leading virtual teams. This lack of comfort – both on the part of leaders and individual contributors – represents a major risk to team performance as teams are forced to connect online rather than in person.

Remote work and virtual teams are the future of engineering and knowledge work in general – it’s not a temporary response to an emergent issue.

In this post, my goal is to share ideas that can help you as a leader to improve your virtual team’s performance. Remote work and virtual teams are the future of engineering and knowledge work in general – this is not simply a temporary response to an emergent issue. Those who take advantage of being thrust into this situation stand to gain important skills that will be useful for the rest of your career.

So, with that, let’s dig into the different ways you can better lead your virtual team.

Communication

Communicate more frequently – In general, it’s a good idea to increase the frequency of communication with your team. If you typically meet once a week, try moving to 2-3 times a week. If you meet 2-3 times a week, try moving to daily meetings. Meetings can be shorter because there shouldn’t be as much to talk about. This makes it easier to stay on top of things and gives the staff an outlet to escalate issues quickly so that problems don’t fester.

Get militant on meeting management – While I believe strongly in running tight meetings, it’s even more important to do so when meeting virtually. I’m not saying you shouldn’t allow small talk – that’s just fine, and even important to help team members build and maintain rapport. Rather, what I’m talking about is being clear on why you’re meeting, having an agenda, taking minutes, etc. People need to feel like they’re spending their time well, and you as a leader need to make sure you’re not wasting anyone’s time.

Use the right communications tool for the job – Many of us have a strong preference for one or two communications tools – email, phone, IM, Slack, etc. The problem is that no one tool suits all communications needs. Be deliberate about how you chose to communicate with your team. You may even decide to use more that one method to drive a point across. For example, a one-on-one phone call followed up by an email can be a powerful way to get a point across and establish accountability.

Establish a digital home for your team – There are many ways to do this – SharePoint, network folders, a common OneNote notebook… the important thing here is that everyone knows where to go to post information and to gather the latest and greatest. If your team doesn’t have a physical sense of place, then having a digital home is very important.

Make time for one-on-ones – Many managers, myself included, are overly-reliant on chance encounters at the coffee maker to check in with staff. Needless to say, you can’t do that if everyone is making their coffee at home. It’s important to make time for one-on-one chats with your staff on a regular basis. This affords you the opportunity to better connect with staff and to surface issues that staff might not be comfortable bringing up in a meeting.

Make communicating up to your own manager a habit – It may be that your own boss also relies on chance encounters in the hallway to check in with you. Take the initiative and make it a point to share what’s going on with you. No manager likes surprises, so err on the side of communicating more with your own manager, not less. This is important for your own team because miscommunication between you and your boss can easily lead to you having to redirect your team, which hurts productivity and morale.

Morale

Pay attention to the mood of the team – If your team is being forced to work remotely all of a sudden, there’s a good chance that there will be an emotional response to that for some staff. Some will be excited about not having to commute and to have some mental space to work. Others may be stressed out by having to use technology they’re uncomfortable with and breaking with routine. The better you recognize your team’s headspace, the better you can respond to their needs. Don’t be afraid to ask people how they’re feeling. It’s amazing what you can learn through simple questions like this.

Make time to connect – Many teams have little routines that develop organically through spending time together. My dad and his colleagues go out for beer and pizza on Thursdays. Since they can’t do that right now, they organized a video Skype meeting this past Thursday to share a virtual beer together. Whatever your team does, try to find ways to keep those little traditions alive.

Be a positive role model – Your own demeanor can have a significant effect on your team. You communicate a lot through how you behave, what you say, and how you say it. There are a thousand reasons to be stressed out right now, but there are also opportunities to be found. Do your best to portray calm, positive confidence. Your people need it.

Trust

Let little bad things happen – Let’s face it, you can’t watch over your people’s shoulders right now. You shouldn’t be anyway, but with your team spread out all over the place, it’s just not an option even if you wanted to. Resist the temptation to bury people in endless status reports and digging into the minutia of people’s work. You need to be comfortable giving people the space to work and even letting little bad things happen. That’s how people learn, and how a team grows. Celebrate people who take the initiative and try new things. Sometimes it’ll go wrong, and that’s OK. Your job as a leader is to make sure little failures today help to support big wins tomorrow.

Support your junior staff – Generally, junior staff need more support and direction than senior folks. People who are relatively new to the working world may feel especially out of place without being able to wander to a colleague’s cubicle to ask quick questions. It’s important to be especially available to your junior to help them build trust in themselves and develop their skills and abilities.

Lean on your senior staff – This is an excellent opportunity for you to delegate responsibilities to your senior staff. With the increased demand on your time, it behooves you to delegate things to other people and to give other people the opportunity to help lead the team. You have smart, talented, ambitious people in your organization. Give them an opportunity to shine, and save yourself from 60 hour weeks.

Managing expectations

Establish clear, written expecations for the team – Most teams don’t operate with clearly defined expectations. They’re able to get by through learning which behaviors are deemed acceptable and which are problematic through trial and error and observing your reactions. Now that your team is operating remotely, the team likely needs to operate with new expectations, but can’t learn from one another since they’re apart. In fact, you as a leader likely have new expectations for your remote team that you’re not even conscious of – expectations that your team couldn’t possibly know. Get together with your team to set new, values-based expectations to get everyone on the same page.

Be clear about your availability – As a leader, you’re going to have to adjust how you spend your time now that your team is working remotely. That likely means more time planning, organizing, and coordinating, and less time on your own technical work. If you need to, schedule time where you are off-limits to others so that you can actually get your own work done. Tell your team and your manager about this time so that they know what’s going on if they can’t get a hold of you for a little bit. Be sure to schedule follow up time immediately after to get caught up with people who reached out. If you simply can’t carve out the time for your own technical work, delegate it.

Technology

Become a pro with your IT software and equipment – You will be entirely reliant on your company’s IT while your team works remotely. That means you need to know how that software and equipment works. Many of us get to a certain level of proficiency with our IT gear and then stop developing our skills. Others will avoid certain IT altogether. Now is the time to get over the hump with any equipment or software you’re not 100% comfortable with. Ask tech-savvy colleagues or the IT department for help. Look take a short course for your software in Lynda.com or some other provider. Google around when you have questions or find a community online for help. Support your staff to do the same.

Make sure your home set up is complete – If your home office isn’t fully equipped with everything you need, address it now. If all you have is a laptop, an external monitor, mouse, and keyboard can work wonders. A hands-free headset for phone calls is an absolute must for me. I also have noise-canceling headphones handy for when things get a little more hectic in the house. I find I can get by without a printer, but maybe you need one. Every situation will be different. Once you have yourself set up, make a checklist for your staff so that they can evaluate their own set-ups. If anyone doesn’t have the gear they need, look into whether your company can loan out office equipment or support purchasing it for you or your staff.

Managing yourself

Stick to your routines – One of the biggest issues many people face when working from home is that their routine is disrupted. You don’t realize how much of your life is on autopilot until you’re forced to actually think through your day. Autopilot is actually a good thing for the most part. It helps you to conserve energy and focus attention on the things that really deserve it. Encourage your staff to stick to regular daily routines at home like they would in the office. Do the same yourself and be a good role model. Start and end the day at the same time each day. Take breaks when you normally would. Set up for work in the same place and in the same way each day. You’ll thank yourself in the long run for having a particular way of working, and your staff will, too.

Take care of yourself – While it may be tempting to work all day in your pajamas, I don’t recommend it. While I don’t necessarily advocate for wearing a suit and tie each day while working from your basement, wearing something close to your normal work attire and doing the normal pre-work morning routine can set you up to tackle the day nicely. Besides that, get the sleep you need, eat properly, drink enough water, get exercise and do all the usual things you need to in order to keep yourself sharp. Encourage your staff to do the same and share ideas and lessons learned.

Managing distractions

Anticipate and plan for what will distract you – Working from home can be a blessing and a curse. While it’s great to get away from the regular distractions that are part of office life, you’ll have to contend with a whole new set of distractions at home. Maybe your spouse or kids are home. Or the dog wants out. Or that pile of laundry in the corner needs to be put away. Think through what’s likely to distract you and plan accordingly. I don’t think you need to be militant about things; rather, you do need to be prepared to manage things. My daughter, for example, knows she can come to ask me for help with something while I’m working but may have to wait a bit while I wrap something up. She also knows that if my headset is on, I’m off-limits. This works for us, but may not work for you.

Have a dedicated workspace – Having a dedicated area of your home is incredibly important for being able to focus on your work. This will help you to manage distractions, and make it easier to communicate with your team. In my case, the kitchen table is a bad plan, because that would put me in the midst of the hustle and bustle of my home. Instead, I have a desk in the basement, which gives me the physical and mental space to work. It’s also much easier to take calls down there where it’s quieter. Help your staff figure out where best to situate themselves based on your experience.

Next Steps

Have any other ideas for working from home and managing a remote team? Please share them with me by leaving a comment in the comment box below. I’ll update this list as I get ideas and refine my own approach to managing my own teams.

Best of luck! If ever you need help, please feel free to reach out to me using the contact form or scheduling a call.

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