Remote management tips for top-level managers

Remote work has become ubiquitous—yet managing remote work is still a relatively new practice for many managers, especially at the senior level.

Remote.co asked a group of executives with remote work skills for their best tips to help top-level remote work managers manage them more effectively.

Give them space

Max Weissman is Chief Operating Officer Goodyear, a company that continues to support remote work and operates 100% remotely. Weissman manages and oversees day-to-day remote operations, working closely with department heads to support their direct reports. Weissman emphasized that newly remote top-level managers are facing a “culture shock” of their own as they contend with managing and overseeing globally distributed teams.

“Compared to being around your team every day, not knowing how your team is doing, or if they’re struggling, can be uncomfortable,” Weissman said. The COO explains that, rather than relying on a constant stream of meetings and updates, the best way to set your remote team up for success is to give them what they need and then leave them to their own devices.

“Make yourself available if they need your guidance, but Give them complete autonomy over how they perform their roleWeissman says. “Your team will appreciate the trust you place in them, and you’ll be surprised how much it affects their productivity.”

Ashley Marie Fernandez—CEO of a career development and personal growth company Ashley Marie Coaching and working full-time in the HR function of a professional services firm, agrees with the importance of giving remote employees their space. “Don’t micromanage, no matter how hard it is,” says Fernandez. “Your employees are adults – trust them to manage their time and workload.”

Make your expectations clear

Bonnie Whitfield, Director of Human Resources Family Destination Guidewho moved to a remote work setup after the pandemic hit, emphasized that he thinks top-level managers can manage remote teams better and more effectively by ensuring they are clear about expectations.

“I think when you have a remote team, it’s easy to get caught up in day-to-day tasks and forget to set standards for things like that. communication, project management, and employee engagement,” Whitfield said. “It can be difficult if you don’t set clear expectations early on Get everyone on the same page Line down later.”

so that Set clear expectations and ways of working As a senior-level remote leader with your direct reports and team, Fernandez offers the following advice: “Perhaps every Tuesday morning, you Have a team-connection call Where everyone can have an informal chat, go over any key team priorities and support needs for the week, share any training takeaways, etc. and there won’t be any big team meetings outside of that opportunity—so people can work flexibly as long as they want. They complete their deliveries on time and communicate with colleagues when necessary.”

Immerse yourself in your team

Unless you are active and Take the initiative to connect with people For those working from home or other locations, the nature of remote management is that you can disconnect from them – not just physically but mentally.

That’s why Dawood Khan, CEO and co-founder PixelatedAn online design tool for entrepreneurs and small businesses, says top-level remote leaders should be spending more time Getting to know their remote employees and motivating them.

“You should Check in with each employee From time to time,” Khan said. “Instead of doing it with someone from HR, you can do it personally as a manager/boss.” Khan adds that a big part of engaging employees is making them feel valued, and nothing can do better than immersing the boss in the team.

Fernandez adds that this can help encourage your remote team to share the ways they love it keep in touch And engage, and do your best to nurture those specific kinds of connections and experiences

Make yourself available for support

According to Kahn, the best way to immerse yourself in your remote team is to open yourself up to any kind of support from your employees. “It’s not just about work,” he explained. “You can give them the choice to talk to you about their personal problems if they choose. The point is Let them think that management Concerned about their welfareNot just their productivity.”

Because it can be challenging to communicate that level of concern in a remote setting, Kahn believes remote managers should make that clear. “The same thing goes for basically anything – you have to clearly say things in a remote setting because you can’t ‘show’ it to them like you would in an in-person setting,” he concluded.

Manage your team’s success

For more tips on successfully managing a remote team, check out Remote.co’s articles on remote management best practices!

By Robin Madel | Category: Remote Management