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5Stepstoleadingdistributedteams:

Howtotakeyourteamtooperationalexcellence

WHAT’SINTHISPLAYBOOK:

Step1:

Strengthenyourteam’s

communication

Step2:

Forgeaspaceforrealtalk

withyourteam

Step3:

Connectyourteamtoeach

otherandyourmission

Step4:

Makeone-on-one

conversationsmoreimpactful

Step5:

Keepemployeerecognition

attheforefront

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Howtoleadyour

distributedteamforrealbusinessimpact

Maybeyouinheritedaworld-

classdistributedteam,ormaybeyourorganizationisgrowingfastandsoareyourdistributedteams.

Youmightwonderwhatyoucan

dotoleadyourteaminawaythat

makesarealbusinessimpact,like

increasedemployeeengagement

andproductivity.Youmightalsobe

wonderingwhatyoucandotoreduceturnover.Whetheryouwanttobuild

newleadershipskillsorbrushupon

theonesyouhave,we’llshowyoufivestepstoleadingdistributedteamsforrealbusinessimpact.

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Theimportance

ofgreatmanagersfordistributedteams

Greatmanagersmakeorbreaktheemployee

experience.Ondistributedteamsespecially,peopleneedtoknowtheyhavealeaderwhosupports

them,andhastheirbestinterestatheart.

“Ifyouarenottaking

goodcareofyourpeople,youcouldbelosingthem,oritmightbehardto

attractthem.”

JoshBersin,—→

FounderandCEO

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Whatdotoday’semployees

need?

Officevibe’smostrecentresearchshowsthat:

in

employeessaytheydon’thave

opendiscussionswithpeerswhere

everyone’sopinioncounts.

26%

ofemployeessaytheirorganization

doesn’tgiveemployeesuggestions

enoughimportance.

1n3

58%

feeltrulyinspiredbytheir

company’spurposeandmission.

ofemployeesarecompletelysatisfied

withhowoftentheycommunicate

withtheirdirectmanager.

ofemployeesareunhappy

withhowfrequentlythey

receiverecognition.

Thesechallengesaffectmanyteams,andyou’renot

alone.Withtherightapproach,youcanovercome

thesebarriersandleadahappy,high-performing

distributedteam.

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5Stepstoleadingdistributedteams

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N

oicevibe

PROGRESS

series

What

makes

askilled

distributed

team

leader?

Skilleddistributedteamleadertraits

Skilledleadersunderstandandleverageemployeestrengths

(andtheirown),arealwayslookingtoimprove,andarealways

learning.Thebestleadershavethefollowingqualities:

Theyleanintotheir(and

others’)strengths.

Theyconstantlyhonetheir

communicationskills.

Theyharnessthepowerofcandid,

constructivefeedback.

LITE

Theylistenactivelywiththegoal

ofunderstanding.

Theyknowtheimportanceof

buildingmutualrespect.

Theychampionaccountabilityforthemselvesandfortheirteam.

Theyrecognizegoodworkandgive

creditwherecreditisdue.

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HowcanIbecomeagreat

distributedteammanager?

“Givingemployees

greatautonomyand

flexibilityallowspeople

tofeelindependentand

LarryEnglish,Presidentandcofounder

((CENTRIC))

empoweredwhilestillfeelinglikeapartofsomething

bigger.Thisleadstohappy,loyalemployeeswitha

richqualityoflife,whichinturnleadstoanamazingculture.”

Sincewemadethetransitionto

distributedwork

inAugust2020,we’velearnedalotabout

distributed

teamchallenges

.Fromthisandourongoingresearchonemployeeexpectations,we’vecomeupwiththesefivestepstobetterleadadistributedteam.

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9

PROGRESS

series

STEP1

Strengthen

yourteam’s

communi-

cation

Whenemployeesworkremotely,it’sessential

tomakecommunicationclear,streamlined,

andconsistent.

Developconsistent

communicationnorms

?Meetwithyourteamandhave

anopendiscussionaboutwhereinformationisshared,(Slack,

email,projectmanagement

software,shareddocs,etc.),

howitisshared,andbywhom.

?Fromthere,youcanestablish

teamexpectationswhenitcomes

toresponsetimes,onandoffhours,andthebestcommunicationchannelsforvariousinformation.

?Modelyoursetcommunicationnormsandkeepthemaccessibletoeveryone.Encouragepeopletoholdeachotheraccountabletothe

commitmentsyou’vemadetogether.

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Createmoreteam

communicationopportunities

Teamcommunicationgoesbeyondone-and-done

rule-setting.Skilledmanagersofdistributedteamsmakebetterconversations—bothwork-relatedandcasual—apartoftheirteam’sday-to-day.

Officevibe’s

PulseSurvey

data

“1in6employeessaytheirmanagerdoesn’tcreate

opportunitiesforopenteamdiscussions.”

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Improveteamcommunicationopportunitiesby…

?Selectingthebestcommunicationtoolstomeetteamneeds.

?Reviewingrecurringteammeetingssoeachonehasaclearagendaandoutput.

?Encouragingasynchronousconversationstoimproveprojectsanddeliverables.

?Leavingtimetocheckinandcheckoutatthestartandendofeverycall.

“Thereisnothingmore

importantinagroupremote

projectthancasual

communication.Notjust

officialemailsandwork

DavidRabin,

VicePresident,Global

CommercialMarketing

Lenovo

updates,buttheabilitytosit

backandchat.”

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Enhanceyourpersonal

communicationstyle

Workingonyourcommunicationskillshelpsyoubetterkeepupwithyourteam,andbetterkeepthemupdatedonwhattheyneedtoknow.

Here’show:

?Figureoutthekeymessagesyouwanttoshareaheadofgroupconversations.

?Makesureeveryonehastheopportunitytosharetheirthoughtsinteamdiscussions.

?Listencarefullyandrespondtoquestionsand

concerns,andoffertofollowupwhenyoudon’t

haveananswer.

?Endeveryteamconversationwitharecapofthekeypointsdiscussedandanynextsteps.

Whatyousayisjustasimportantashowyousayit.

Leadersneedtohaveaclear,concise,andwell-thought-outcommunicationstyle.

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14

sere

PRGsRESS

STEP2

Forge

aspace

forrealtalk

withyour

team

It’simperativethatyoudeeply

understandtheneedsandexpectationsofyourdistributedteam.Sinceyou

can’trunintothemintheofficekitchenorhalls,youmustgooutofyourwaytobuildaregularcadenceoflisteningtoyourdistributedteam.Todothat,youneedtoestablishtrustwithyourteammembersandmakespaceforrealtalk.

Realtalkmeansyouhavehonest

andhelpfulconversationsthatdrive

productivityandengagement.Withoutrealtalkindistributedteams,managersmayfallintoafalseperceptionofwhatisgoingonwiththeirteam.

Here’showtokeepupwithyour

team’sneeds.

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Solicitregularfeedback

tokeepapulseonengagement

Havingregularopportunitiesforemployees

toprovideupwardfeedback—especiallyfor

distributedteams—allowsmanagerstoactivelyoffersupportwhereandwhentheirteamreallyneedsit.Thiscanbedonewith:

?PulseSurveysthatmeasurekeymetrics

ofemployeeengagement,andtracktrendsovertime.

Officevibe’s

PulseSurveytool

helpsyouseethewholepictureandcluingyouintowhatyouremployeeswon’ttellyoudirectly,torevealwhatyoumightbemissing.

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?Theoptiontogivewrittenanonymousfeedback,soteammemberscanexpressthemselves

honestlyandsafely.

?Two-wayconversationsaroundemployee

feedback,somanagerscanbetterunderstandhowpeoplefeelandtakeaction.

Thesehelpyouimproveteamperformanceand

employeeengagement—nottomentionspotanyissuesthatariseearly,soyoucantakeaction.

Createtheconditions

forgreatwork

Partofamanager’sroleistoanticipatechallenges

andproactivelyoffersolutions.Addressing

challengesbeforetheybecomeoverwhelming

issuesquashesshort-termupsetsandsetsyourteamupforlong-termsuccess.

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Activelyimprovetheemployeeexperienceonyourteamby:

?Holdingregularworkshopswiththeteamtotacklecurrentproblemstogether.

?Schedulingbiweeklyorweeklyretrospectivemeetingstoimproveprocessesorreflect

onsuccessfactors.

?Holdingmonthlyteamsocialhourswhere

employeescanconnectonapersonallevel.

Theseallofferyouopportunitiestolistenand

proactivelyoffersolutionstoemployeeconcerns.

Includingtheentireteaminproblem-solvingcreatesanenvironmentwhereemployeesfeelrespected

andinvolved.Officevibewaspurposefullybuilt

tohelpyoucreateaspaceforrealtalkandbetteremployeeengagement.

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19

other

andyour)

sere

PRGsRESS

STEP3

Connect

toeach

yourteam

mission

Connectionhasemerged

asoneofthegreatest

challengesofdistributedteams

inourresearch.Employeesare

feelingdisconnectedfromtheir

peers,fromcompanyvalues,

andfromthecollectivepurpose

andmissiontheycontributeto.

Drivingconnectionhasnever

beenmoreimportant

forteamleaders.

“It’sveryimportantthat

whenpeoplearenot

co-located,thereareefforts

madetohelpthatteam

PamelaHinds,

Professorof

rememberwhattheir

ManagementScience

andEngineering

commonvisionisandsee

themselvesasateam,an

entitythat’sworkingtoward

somethingtogether.”

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Createpsychologicalsafetyonyourteam

Accordingtothe

CenterforCreativeLeadership

,psychologicalsafetyisthebeliefthatyouwon’tbepunishedorhumiliatedforspeakingupwithideas,questions,concerns,ormistakes.

Officevibe’s

anonymousfeedbacktool

gives

employeesasafespaceforhonest

communication,openingupdiscussionsyouwouldn’thaveotherwise.

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Emphasizethecompanyvisionandteampurpose

Astheteamleader,youneedtoensuretheteamisalwayspointedduenorth.Here’show:

?Keeptheteam’spurpose,goals,andobjectivesattheforefrontofdiscussionsanddecisions.

?Remindyourteamoftheirsharedvisionand

purposewhenconflictordisagreementsarise.

?Empoweryourteamtobeself-directedintheir

work,andaskthemhowtheirdecisionsalignwith

theteam’sgoals.

Beingdistributed,it’seasyforteamstostarttofeeldisconnected,emotionallydrained,andalone.

Keepingthepurposeandvisioninmindhelpsrelievetheburdenofseparation.

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23

PG

series

STEP4

Make

one-on-one

conversa-

tionsmore

impactful

Impactfulone-on-onesareessentialtokeepingahigh-levelviewofyourteam’sworkdynamicsanddriveemployees’individualprofessionaldevelop-ment.It’simportanttousethesemomentswiselyandconnectwithemployeesonahumanleveltobuildfoundationsoftrustandunderstanding.

JasonLemkin,

FounderofEchoSign

“Yourreportsneedan

unstructuredtimewithyou,atleasteverytwoweeks,wheretheycanprovide

updates.Vent.Sharetheirfearsandconcerns.Theiranxieties.Andyoucanhelpthem.Pumpthemup.

Orjustbetheirpsychiatrist,sometimes.”

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Level-upyourone-on-ones

Workingonadistributedteamcanbe

challenging,butit’simportantyoudon’tforgetaboutorprocrastinateonyour

one-on-ones.Yourvirtualone-on-one

meetingsarecrucialtoemployeeengagement.It’simportanttokeep

theseconversationsfreshanduplifting.

Thebestwaytolevel-upyourone-on-onesistofocusonyouremployee’s

purpose.It’softeneasyfordistributedteammemberstofeelisolatedfrom

theirworkandthegreaterpurposeoftheircontributions.

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Hereareafewthingstohelpmakeone-on-onesmoreproductive:

?Startbysharingpositivefeedback,fromthingsyou’vewitnessedandappreciatedtothethingsothermembersoftheteamandclientshave

commentedpositivelyon.

?Takethetimetodiscusscompanyvalues.Shareexamplesofhowthey’veembodiedthosevalues,andaskthemtosharetheirownexamples.

?Askthemwheretheyfeelthey’vemadethe

greatestimpactonthebusiness,andhowtheirworkhascontributedtoteamandcompany

objectives.

?Findoutwhatexcitesyourteammembermost

abouttheirupcomingwork.Butdon’tstopthere;digalittledeeperintowhy.What’smotivating

them?What’sgivingthemconfidence?

?Finally,spendsometimecoachingthem

onavailableresourcesthatwillhelpthemlearnandgrowintheircurrentjobandintheircareer.

Remember,skilledmanagershaveagoodread

ontheirteammembers,andtheonlywaytohave

thatistoaskmeaningfulquestions,andreallylistentotheiranswers.

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PROGRESS

series

STEP5

Keep

employeerecognitionatthe

forefront

AccordingtoOfficevibe’sPulseSurveydata,34%ofemployeesareunhappy

withhowoftentheyreceiverecognition.

Yet,92%ofemployeessayrecognitionismeaningfulwhentheyreceiveit.

Arecentstudytellsusthat

53%ofemployees

saymoreappreciation/recognitionwouldmakethem

morelikelytostaywithanorganization.Thisis

animportantstatisticaswebuildmoredistributedteamsbecause

64%ofemployees

attachmore

importancetorecognitionwhenworkingremotely.

McKinsey’s

insightsplacerewardsandrecognitionastopconcernsforthenewdistributedworld.Whenmanagersofdistributedteamsbuildasolidstrategytorecognizeteammembers,theyseetheimpact

ofstrongerengagement,increasedemployeemorale,bettercustomerservice,andlowerturnover.

ThiscreatesseriousROIsuchas

50%higher

productivity

andasmuchasa20%increaseinbusinessoutcomes.

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Establishavibrantcultureofrecognitionandrewards

Justtalkingaboutthebenefitsofrecognitionwon’thelpifyoudon’tknowwhereorhowtobegin

toincreaseteammemberappreciation.Hereareafewsuggestions:

?Buildappreciationintoyourone-on-onemeetings.Somethingassimpleas“Iseehowhardyou’re

workinganditmeansalottoseniormanagement”canhaveabigimpact.

?Takeamomentateveryweeklyteamsyncto

givesomemeaningfulappreciationtoyourteammembers.

?Taketheopportunityatcross-teamupdatesto

highlighttheexcellentworkyourteamhasdone

andthepeoplewhohavegoneaboveandbeyond.

?Alwaysgivecreditwherecreditisdue.Ifyou’representingyourteam’sworkatacompany-widemeeting,namethepeoplewhomadeithappen.

?Connectrewardstocompanygoals.Forexample,onceamonth,eachteamacrossthecompany

presentswhattheyaccomplishedduringthemonth.Theneveryonevotesonwhichteam

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hadthegreatestimpactonyouryearlygoals.

Thewinningteamgetstochooseanonprofit

organizationtogetadonationfromthecompany.

?Offeranemployee-of-the-monthawardatateamororganizationallevel.

Drivepeer-to-peerrecognition

Recognitionfrompeerscanbereallymeaningful

toemployees.Yetonly56%ofemployeessaytheircompanytrulyencouragespeer-to-peerrecognition,according