Remote Working Environment, Part 2 - Leading People Remotely

Leading people remotely is a change from what we’re used to pre-covid, but if you stop and think about each interaction and approach it more deliberately, it can be managed just as well as in person.  Building a strong rapport has never been more important and requires extra attention when leading remotely.

Building rapport is to build mutual trust and understanding. Good rapport building over time can stretch beyond work and remain in place even when one of you leaves the company and moves on. It's easy to stay focused on getting things done and forget to get to know your employees and colleagues as people. However, when you build rapport, you will likely improve communication, reduce problems, and help your team become happier and more satisfied with their job. 

1.       ADOPTING A “POSITIVE INTENT”

The problem is prior strategies for building rapport don't work as well for your team members you don't see in an office every day as you miss out on the non-verbal cues such as body language and eye contact.  One way to overcome this is to operate with a “positive intent”.

Trust and respect are impossible to build when people assume the worst of others. Positive intent is to assume the best intent in others around you - you will usually be right, and even when you’re not, people can rise to your view of them. Of course, some will end up disappointing us, but not enough to begin a relationship with a negative intent.  How many jobs have we started where we felt that we had to prove ourselves before trust was granted vs assumed from day 1. 

2.       IT’S JUST GOOD MANNERS

Yes, if you don’t build rapport, you will suffer negative outcomes, but doing so is just good manners. Simple things like saying “please” and “thank you” and knowing a person’s name or asking after their family goes a long way. Finding out who is important to them, whether it’s their kids, their spouse, or their pets. Taking a moment at the beginning of your one-on-one meetings is easy and lightens the mood before jumping into potentially less enjoyable tasks. Transitioning the conversation from personal to business could be challenging for some, without it seeming unnatural, but over time it becomes natural.

3.       WRITE THINGS DOWN

If it's important and you want to remember it, it's worth writing down. A bad memory is no excuse to forget important things about your people or their work. You build the best rapport when you build on past discussions; it shows you were listening and cared about their past answers.  If it's important to them, don't risk forgetting. Write it down.  Keeping fluid agendas (for your weekly meeting, etc) that you update daily as thoughts occur to you is simple and quick.

4.       ACKNOWLEDING THE REQUEST

I find this to be one of the handiest techniques. Acknowledging the finite amount of time we have each day is a great way to demonstrate that you recognize their work.  Any time you send an email to someone, you have taken time away from other tasks.  It may be a necessary and important email, but so is every other email being sent to them.  A few key phrases can help your remote colleagues know you’re considering their workload when reaching out.  You could try examples such as:

-          At the end of the email “I do appreciate your help”, or

-          Open the email with “could I please ask a favor of your team to help me with…”, or “when you get a moment, could I have you help with…”. 

5.       EMPOWER EMPLOYEES TO MANAGE THEIR LIVES, WORK, AND WELLBEING

When you’re leading a remote team, it’s critical to empower your employees to manage their time so it works best for them. That means giving them the space and autonomy to live their lives alongside work, measuring outcomes, not hours.  Of course, setting clear expectations goes hand in hand with this point.

Leading remotely is different.  In the past we could sometimes get started on business topics immediately at the start of a meeting simply by smiling and offering some friendly body language. However, when leading remotely, you need to work a little harder to achieve the same outcome.