Leading Successful Remote Teams In Challenging Times

Of course, many organisations operated distributed teams before the coronavirus pandemic, with people spread across different cities and countries. COVID-19 has, however, created a distinct difference - with organisations moving to almost 100% remote / virtual models, and teams unable to get together face to face, however infrequently.

The tried and tested Ascend Successful Teams model and diagnostic has been used by organisations to help them navigate the ‘VUCA’ (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world that they increasingly found themselves operating in.  In this article, we highlight the particular areas of each of the six dimensions that require more emphasis in today’s virtual, remote world. 

The six dimensions of successful teams in a remote world

1.      Internal focus dimension

Focus – What your team should be focused on now could be radically different to its focus before the pandemic struck. Is everyone in your team aware of the new priorities and how you will organise yourselves to achieve those priorities?

Clarity – Not only might the focus be different but also the roles and responsibilities. Is there clarity on new roles and responsibilities and can you align these to people’s strengths and experience?

Meetings – As all meetings will have moved to being virtual, there may need to be some re-contracting around how to hold effective meetings in a virtual world. Are you maximising your time talking about the right things? Are you recording actions and following things up? Do you have good meeting discipline and etiquette? Furthermore, are you having too many meetings (or is the duration of them too long?) as opposed to just getting on with the job in hand?

2.      External focus dimension

Messaging – There needs to be clarity and consistency in how leadership teams (in particular) communicate outside the team. If team members fail to show a united front (no matter what fiery debates have happened between team members), lack clarity in direction or are inconsistent in the way they cascade information, it only increases the levels of uncertainty, anxiety and stress in the business as whole which will have a knock on effect on engagement, creativity and performance. This is not a time for speculation or idle gossip!

Boundary spanning – In a crisis, teams and businesses as a whole can become very internally focused. Don’t forget about your customers/clients and other key stakeholders. Keep reaching out of your organisation to maintain relationships, build trust and show that you care.

Horizon scanning – Keep looking out for new or modified threats that may be on the way, and, as importantly, opportunities that the new environment may open up for you. Additionally, benchmark how the competition and perhaps organisations in other sectors are responding to the current situation and/or planning ahead, then implement and/or build on the ideas that will work for you.

3.      Spirit dimension

Social cohesion – In a distributed world, meetings can become very task-focused with people wanting to prove that they are making a valuable contribution (even if they are not!). This is magnified in times of crisis. In order to improve team-spirit there also needs to be a focus on the human ‘being’ not just the human ‘doing’, and the building and maintenance of trust.

Take time out for wholly social conversations, perhaps even having meetings for a purely social purpose – ‘elevenses’ (a short purely social break around 11am),  ‘Thursday tea and cake’, or ‘Friday drinks’ and make sure that work is off the agenda – it will create an improved sense of belonging and lighten the mood. Smiling and laughter are allowed, even at times like these!

Empathy and Inclusion – When people are wrestling with multiple changes and balancing work, home schooling, caring for elderly etc in the same cramped space, it is important to show empathy and understanding. This doesn’t mean you accept continued poor performance, but perhaps you cut people a little ‘slack’.

Are team members aware of all the challenges being faced by their peers at the current time and how it is making them feel? Additionally, including everyone in conversations and decision-making as opposed to reinforcing cliques will improve not only sense of belonging but also a shared sense of purpose – this need not and should not slow down decision making – see the Agility dimension below.

Appreciation – It is natural in times of threat to look at the negatives in situations and also in people. Now is a great time to focus on the positives and strengths of team members, being vocal in authentically appreciating any good contributions they are making.

4.      Agility dimension

Safety – People in the team need to feel psychologically safe to share ideas and perspectives. In fact, they should be encouraged to do so without being shot down. It will improve the quality of decision making and provide more inventive solutions to make the best of what is a difficult situation for many businesses.

Decisions – In times of crisis and uncertainty it is easy to stop making decisions, taking risks and to want to wait for as much information as possible before taking any action.

Unfortunately, by waiting too long to make decisions, the team may expose the organisation to more risk and miss opportunities to gain or regain competitive advantage.

As a team, keep making decisions and taking calculated risks, even with imperfect information but be prepared to pivot quickly once new information, threats or opportunities become apparent.  

Collaboration – No matter the history of your team and/or between team members, this is the time to drop egos and collaborate, offering up information and ideas, sharing team members and resources and not worrying about where the credit goes.

5.      Resilience dimension

Thinking patterns – Your team members need to help each other ensure that the team faces reality and challenges head on to ensure that there is no ‘spiral of negativity’. Looking for and sharing positives and opportunities will bolster morale and tenacity.

Boundaries – This is a time to be empathetic to each other’s situations and needs, as well as ensuring that no one in the team is in danger of burnout. There needs to be clarity on when members in the team are working and when they are not, so that people renew when required and be sharp when the need arises.

Good habits – Working in a period of crisis is a draining and anxious period. Team members will need to support each other to adopt good habits related to nutrition, exercise and sleep to ensure they can marshal their energies to peak at the right times and effectively deal with the physiological and emotional symptoms of stress.

6.      Leadership dimension

Role-modelling – The leader sets the tone for the team and, if it’s a senior team, it sets the tone for the organisation. Be mindful of the signals you are giving out as a leader – in terms of what is expected and acceptable behaviour. This can be especially true in relation to on-line meetings. Does the leader always turn their camera on? Are they organised and ready to go at the appropriate time? Do they champion technology and know how to use it? Do they ensure they are not distracted by phone calls, messages and emails while conducting meetings? And so on…..

Sharing – This is not the time for the leader to take everything on their own shoulders. It is the time to delegate and share leadership across the team, using people’s particular experience, strengths and energy to achieve results. “Leader speaks last” is a good motto to lead by, allowing others to get their views on the table without being influenced by the leader’s strong opinions first.

Maintenance – Team maintenance is essentially keeping an eye on how the team is faring and responding accordingly. Is the team gelling and coming together to meet the threat and spot/create opportunities or are there issues and factions? As the leader, what interventions do you make to ensure that the team is working together as well as it can in the current climate?

Our Leading Successful Remote Teams Programme supports leaders to assess and evaluate their own team’s strengths and development areas before devising tailored strategies and action plans to improve the performance of the team they lead and others they may be involved in.

Run over two 75 minute sessions, it is a high-impact and cost-effective virtual leadership development programme designed to help leaders communicate in our new remote world of work. We are also happy to discuss how we can tailor it specifically for your team or organisation.