Tips on managing a remote team please

[HollyBollyBooBoo]

Morning all, just been appointed to a role which is managing 12 people who are based nationally. So excited as it’s a role I’ve wanted for a long time. Know the team quite well as they are part of my wider department.

Any tips from people who have managed remote teams or are managed like this?

They have quarterly get togethers in person in the diary and monthly together on Teams.

Plan to ask them what they prefer in terms of diarised 1-2-1s or just as hoc check ins. Slightly wild to me that their previous manager never set performance contracts or had reviews and I think that needs to be brought back eventually.

Basically any nuggets of things that work for you I’d really appreciate hearing.

I wouldn’t ad-hoc the 1-1s, I’d get them booked in.

We used to do daily catch ups in my last role which was overkill. Now I do a whole Teams catch up first thing Monday and Friday - gets a sense of what everyone has on that week, what they need help with, what gets stuck. We have a teams channel for general chitchat through the day, a quick morning and good night which also helps me keep a light tab on when people are starting and finishing.

Wow, what an exciting opportunity. Managing remote teams is a real skill that is barely acknowledged or developed formally in today’s world (my experience is is leadership development, but have also led remote teams so advice is a mix of best practice and what worked for me)

This is a fantastic suite of books - probably the best 3 leadership books around IMO. They contain real, practical advice and exercises to do , especially Radical Candor, to build team cohesion, not just management theory or leadership training. https://miinabooks.com/products/dare-to-lead-radical-candor-and-leaders-eat-last-3-books-collection-set?variant=55138345386360&currency=GBP&tmsrc=googlead&tmcid=23073515012&tmsid=&tmid=&tmkw=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23073516182&gbraid=0AAAAApI9wXV2MppBBowztJp9KVLJG9qK_&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvunPi6qNkwMVxY9QBh0TQAO8EAQYAyABEgKdg_D_BwE

all the authors have podcasts, websites etc too, to support.

Get to know your team as individuals- what motivates them, who they are as people. Do they love public acknowledgment of their achievements? Want lots of guidance/small milestones along the way - or hands off? What are their family/personal circumstances? Etc - the more they feel “seen “ by you, the more they will respond.

This does not mean you need to be soft or fluffy with them, don’t be afraid to have strong conversations when needed, the Kim Scott book is great on this.

Set great goals - well articulated, with proper measurable targets. Make sure team goals are aligned to organisation goals - yours and your bosses. Try not to have goals that don’t align to measurable things (nothing framed as get better at/improve etc without a clear view of “how will we know if we are on track/have completed this)

good luck!

Brilliant advice both thank you, will defo look up those resources @Defiantly41, appreciate your time in recommending them.

Cameras on is a must! It helps build relationships and also stay focussed as you can see they are coventrating on what others are saying and not sitting there scrolling their phone.

My team has fortnightly team meetings and fortnightly 1-2-1s to discuss our own projects. I think that's a great balance. I know another team has weekly optional "drop in zoom and work together/coffee chats", which means they have a better social relationship than our team, but doesn't really affect work