Six Traits You Need to Manage Remote Teams Successfully

culled from:wobi.com

We’ve studied hundreds of distributed workforces and found that the most successful managers overcome the unique challenges of managing remote workplaces (like message degradation due to language barriers, time zones, cultural differences, modes of technology, etc.) by focusing on four aspects :

Connection: the bonds we build with employees.

Alignment: keeping employees focused and moving in the right direction.

Accountability: how we get people to accomplish what we want.

Communication: via all mediums.

Of course, putting the right personalities in remote jobs is important.  And it’s not (despite common belief) the quiet, hyper-organized types who perform the best. You actually want extroverted folks in the job; people who naturally connect and build ties that overcome the isolation of the remote location. Employees who will reach out and tell you when things start to go wrong.

But we’ve also identified six personality traits shared by the most successful managers of remote employees. And the good news is all of them can be practiced and developed.

As you read through the following, consider how you stack up in managing your remote employees, and think about one thing you could do to better develop each of these traits:

Characteristic #1: Indefatigable: Managing employees that span time zones can mean 11 PM conference calls and 6 AM coaching sessions.  If yours is a 9-to-5 mindset, and your energy flags after a “normal day”, learn to adapt to a more flexible schedule where you include breaks between “sprints” so your performance over long periods is more consistent.

Characteristic #2: Company Evangelist: It takes a highly pro-company kind of person to transmit culture across thousands of miles (and technology challenges) to wherever remote employees are. If you’re only lukewarm on your company culture, it’s time to amp things up.

Characteristic #3: Encouraging: Negative and defeatist attitudes get amplified across emails, teleconferences and videoconferences.  Set a positive precedent by welcoming challenges as exciting new opportunities; a chance to achieve something cool, interesting and innovative.

Characteristic #4: Approachable: Without face-to-face time, it’s easy to miss the observable signs of problems ahead.  And asking “How’s it going?” rarely renders an honest response (so don’t ask it).  Keep remote employees feeling comfortable coming to you with their challenges by asking direct questions like: “What’s getting in your way” “What roadblocks are you facing right now?” “What’s stopping you?” “What’s holding you back?” and “What’s frustrating you?”

Characteristic #5: Constructive:  Keep communication open by providing feedback that eliminates blame and focuses on solutions. Turn positive reinforcement into teaching moments by giving specific examples.  “I like the way you got that report done ahead of schedule and the extra data analyses were really creative” instead of the ubiquitous “Great job” tells employees what was specifically helpful so they can do it again next time.

Characteristic #6: Leadership 3.0: Meet communication challenges by increasing the frequency of communications.  Keep your words authentic and encourage more two-way dialogue where employees offer their input insights and opinions.

It takes dedication and practice to develop these characteristics until they become a habit, but you don’t have to do it all at once.  Just pick one area of focus and get started becoming a Hundred Percenter leader today.