In the digital age of today, remote work has become a pretty integral part of the workforce. This shift has been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, requiring many businesses to swiftly adapt to remote work arrangements. As Richard Ghilarducci says, modern business leaders, therefore, have to evolve their management styles to competently lead remote teams. Leading remote teams tend to require a distinctive set of strategies, which promotes engagement, productivity and success.
Richard Ghilarducci lists a few tips that can help lead virtual teams in remote work environments
Virtual teams and dispersed projects have become fairly common in the modern workplace. Managers need to be proactive about learning how to lead virtual teams and manage hybrid work environments. Here are a few tips the managers can follow:
- Lead with empathy, authenticity, and trust: The Covid-19 pandemic showed people the importance of leading with trust, authenticity and empathy, no matter in person or virtually. Hence, managers should try to properly get to know each member of the virtual team, understand what keeps them motivated, as well as identify how to support them in achieving their goals
- Set clear expectations on communication: Managers need to establish clear expectations in terms of communication frequency and cadence in order to stay connected with their virtual teams. Company culture has to be maintained even if a team is hybrid or 100% remote. Managers should try to carry out one-on-one meetings with their subordinates regularly to gain a good understanding of how exactly the virtual teams are doing.
- Check in, be present, and share gratitude: When people work from home, there is a major risk that they wouldn’t truly feel like a part of the team, or their role in the success of the organization would not be recognized. Managers should try to keep the virtual team members engaged as part of the community. They should try to inspire the team to work better and share gratitude so that they know that their efforts are valued.
- Improve the level of connection with the team: Improving the level of connection with the virtual team must be a major priority of the manager. This connection does not come automatically. Much like trust and respect, it is built it through actions and behaviors. A good connection ensures stronger collaboration, improved productivity and smoother communication.
- Focus on energizing and empowering: Business leaders should try to energize and empower their virtual team by encouraging a certain level of autonomy for making decisions, innovation and getting things done. Their authentic behavior and interactions can help foster improved social cohesion and build trust through shared purpose and work meaning.
Richard Ghilarducci stresses upon the fact that leading virtual teams requires a unique set of skills to foster collaboration, communication, and productivity in a digital environment. Successful virtual leadership requires adaptability, empathy, and a proactive approach to overcome the challenges posed by geographical dispersion and time zone differences. Such a leadership approach contributes to a cohesive and high-performing virtual team.
