Leading remote teams without losing your mind

Most teams start out small but as businesses grows and becomes more successful then so do the teams and there is always the potential that you will not always be based in the same office. Leading a small team is one thing, leading a larger team; especially one that is spread out is quite another thing and can be something of a challenge.

As the size of your team grows then so too will the structure. When your team is small then you usually take every new decision through the CEO but this can be an unrealistic arrangement as your team grows. All this will achieve is to slow down your team and make decision times lengthier which can be stressful. That isn’t to say that the important decisions shouldn’t be run past the CEO – they should – but they don’t need to be involved in every little decision, this is where your project management skills really come into play.

Creating teams within your overall team can be the first, and most important step that you make within the decision-making process. If each team has a strong person at the helm you can reduce the chain of communication so that you have one person reporting back to you, rather than a whole team reporting back individually. When some of these teams are remote this can be important.

According to Parallel Project Training , one can never stress enough just how important communication is and when you have remote teams, it isn’t just important, it is vital. You will already have ensured that the people on your team are up to the job and have the skills to undertake all the tasks you ask of them with efficiency. Ensuring that those remote members of your team have the best tools to allow them to communicate

Ensure that you get to know your employees, both through conversations with the whole team and on a one-to-one basis. This will help you to spot when there are any issues and allow you to stop them before they really start. It will also help your team members in different locations to get to know one another.

Set up some regular performance goals, these can be especially important when the members of your team are located all over the place. These can be monthly, quarterly or even yearly. – don’t forget to check in with your remote team members every now and then to get progress reports

Above all the main thing that you should be looking for is communication that goes both ways, your team need to feel that despite being in different locations they can contact you when they need to, in order to discuss any issues and of course successes. Being remote doesn’t mean not being able to talk about things it just means making more effort.

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