New Skills to Successfully Lead a Remote Workforce in Coronavirus Times

Over the last 18 months, several clients have talked with us about preparing to allow team members to work from home at some unidentified time in the future. Although it was being talked about by our client’s leadership teams, none had made a commitment for implementing the new work from home policy or identified which team members were going to be included. Over the last two weeks, the Coronavirus has changed everything. Even our clients who had never considered having team members work from home have found themselves fully immersed in leading a remote team.

Although leading remote teams is new for some of our clients, for several of our clients, they have been leading a remote workforce for many years. Different studies estimate that somewhere between 40 and 70 percent of the global workforce spend at least some time each week working remotely.

There are many benefits to allowing team members to work remotely. It offers flexibility which is one of the most important values of today’s workforce. Increased flexibility has the potential to create a more engaged, motivated and happier workforce. Working remotely also has the potential to save both employers and employees money. The employer may need less office space and the employees save time and money each day they do not need to buy gas and sit in traffic driving to work. Last, employees say that by working from home, they experience greater focus and productivity with less stress. What we can predict with a high level of confidence is that after the Coronavirus subsides, more employees than ever will be working remotely.

So, if more employees are going to work remotely, it makes sense that leaders need to up their game with a new set of skills to successfully lead a virtual workforce. The following 7 skills will help you build the most productive, effective and high performing team.

1. Set clear goals and expectations. Team members need to be crystal clear about your expectations for the new working relationship. What are the specific results you need each team member to accomplish and within what timeframe? Does the employee still need to attend remotely the same meetings they attended when they were onsite? Does the employee need to let team members know when they are online working remotely? If the employee is going to take time off during the day, do they need to let you know. Last, what daily or weekly communication is scheduled with you so you can keep up-to-date on the employee’s workload.
2. Consistently communicate. If your reputation as a leader who is a great communicator is not good with a workforce that is located all in one space, when the workforce goes virtual, you will be especially challenged. It is easy for remote employees to feel disconnected from the team. It is easy to tell leaders that the most successful leaders of remote workforces use multiple channels to communicate. Great leaders communicate with their remote team by text, email, Slack, video conference and even IM. What is not talked about a lot is the secret sauce of great leaders who lead remote team members. The secret sauce is consistency. Great leaders have regular times set up to communicate. Whether it is a weekly one-on-one meeting via Zoom on Monday mornings or a Microsoft Team Meeting every Wednesday, meetings should have consistent times when important communication can be relayed and feedback can be shared.
3. Connect personally and professionally. If you saw a team member in the office on Monday morning, you would probably ask them, “How was your weekend?” The same principle needs to be applied by leaders who lead virtual team members. The first few minutes of a phone or video call need to spent checking in on team members personally. Whether in the office or leading team members remotely, they need to know that you care about them both personally and professionally. The more team members know that you genuinely care about them, the more motivated they are to support you and move in the direction you are heading.
4. Focus on results. One of the most difficult tasks in leading a remote workforce is holding everyone accountable. Do not focus on what people are doing or how they spend their time, since it is almost impossible to do when you are not there with them watching their behaviors. If team members have clear goals, expectations and timeframes for accomplishment, it will be easy to maintain accountability by focusing on results.
5. Trust your team. To be a successful leader of a remote workforce, you need to turn up the volume on your willingness to trust people. Team members need to know they are empowered to make decisions to complete their work. Encourage team members to over-communicate with you so there are no negative surprises. Focus on being both patient and flexible because this is a new working relationship and it will take time to have a fluid and comfortable relationship.
6. Be inclusive. Working remotely can be lonely. Go out of your way to check in with remote team members to see how they are doing and if they need any support from you. Also, ensure they are included in important information and decisions, just like you would do if they were sitting next to you in the office.
7. Recognize success. When someone sits next to you and shares great work, it is easy and natural to tell them they did a great job. When a remote team member emails you their project after work hours, it is easy to review and since they are on track, you feel no response is needed. Let every team member know you appreciate their hard work and are grateful for the contributions they make to the team. 

The more leaders put these 7 skills to use in leading a virtual team, the more effective they will be in maximizing the value and benefits they bring to their team and organization.  Like any new skill, it takes practice and a willingness to be patient and flexible as new virtual teams and relationships are built.