By guest contributor Martine Paulin
They say long distance relationships require work and the same is true for virtual teams. There is a lot at stake and you can’t break it off if you find it hard or inconvenient.
But there are things you can do to help your team thrive and succeed. First, you need to determine how you will work together to set up the team for success. Everybody has their own management style, but how you go about recruiting the right people, meeting your obligations and supporting your team remotely depends a lot on your approach.
Here are some tips that can help you lead your virtual team.
Recruit the right people
If you are looking to fill a position, seek people that have the specific skills and competencies you’re looking for. How you go about that first contact is irrelevant. You can do a formal staffing process, contact potential candidates from existing staffing pools, reach out to your networks, etc. There are a lot of good, competent people out there, but the best way to find the right person for your team is to have conversations with them.
Look beyond the CV and interview. What are they looking for in a team and manager? What are you and your team looking for in a colleague? Talk about their experience of course but also HOW they like to work and expectations too, yours and theirs. Do not rely solely on emails and paperwork to find the right person. Have one or two video or telephone conversations. You can even invite them to meet the team virtually to get a sense of who they would be working with. The right person should be someone with the skills you need AND who will contribute to your team in a positive way.
Remember, it goes both ways. You are not the only one looking for the right fit, your potential candidates are also looking for the right leader and team.
Meet your obligations
As a manager, your obligations remain the same, regardless of where you or your employees are located. For example, you have to make sure people have what they need to do their work, manage performance, as well as ensure policies and directives are respected. You also have to set direction, listen and support employees, and sometimes be a negotiator or mediator! And that is in addition to all of the other stuff we do: business planning, HR, budget, etc. How you meet these obligations and juggle all of this lies in how you manage your time and resources, not on where you work.
Planning and establishing clear roles, responsibilities and objectives for everyone on the team help greatly. Ongoing communications with your team and colleagues is also a best practice to help you get stuff done in a timely manner. But sometimes there are just not enough hours in the day to do everything. If that is the case, book some time for yourself throughout the week to focus on certain tasks. Delegate to give others the opportunity to lead a meeting or attend one on your behalf. When you can’t attend a meeting, ask for a debrief or the meeting notes to ensure you are kept informed. Sometimes, you just have to let some stuff go. You do not need to see or approve everything, be strategic and pick you battles. Trust your employees’ judgment and give them opportunities to take more leadership. You hired them for a reason.
Lastly, take your day-to-day interactions with your team seriously, not as a means to an end. Before you task someone, create a meeting invite or send a message, take a minute to reflect on what you are trying to achieve. Think about why they should care and the possible impacts. This two minute pause will help you ensure your message is targeted to the right people, clearer and action focused. Making everyone’s life easier. Also, explain the “why” behind your decisions and obligations to your team. By doing so, they will understand bigger picture and be in a better position to support you.
Support your team
Focus on people and building positive work relationships.
Even if you are not working in the same space, you can still support employees. There are simple things you can do to make yourself more accessible. For example, use instant messaging to check-in with people, to say hi and thank you. Stay connected by having regular team meetings, bilats and even coffee breaks with individuals virtually. Block off some time in your calendar each day or week and invite employees to use it for impromptu discussions. Have regular performance and developmental focused discussions with each employee to talk about their work and see how they are doing.
When an employee calls you or reaches out to talk, please make time to listen to them, without trying to fix everything in a hurry. Everyone is busy, but people need to come first. When people feel heard and supported they will be more inclined to find their own solutions and going the extra mile.
Don’t forget that you are your employees most trusted source for information. They look to you for direction and to set the tone, so do not underestimate the impact of your actions, or lack thereof.
All this to say, that virtual teams, like any other team, require work and attention, but the time and energy spent leading and supporting your employees will come back to you tenfold.
