Can you pull together a team huddle easily? Can everyone on your team sit together in the same space regularly? What if you are trying to lead at a distance, on different shifts, or even across the globe? How can you create and maintain working relationships that work when you're not down the hall from one another?
Everyone who's participated in our Great Teams exercise knows that there are some common elements and characteristics of a Great Team. Often it looks like this:
One thing that has never shown up on the Great Team list is that everyone must have a desk, cubicle or a co-located office near one another. Maybe it's a given that we'd be in close proximity because often our analogies for Great Teams include sports teams or community teams, and typically we're not scoring goals across time zones. I think when we think about work teams, we can think broadly if we're willing to be creative and innovative in our approach as leaders. Here are 6 tips for Leading Great Teams from afar:
Tip 1: Maximize Presence. You may not get to see them much, but make sure that you maximize your in-person visits to your teams or team members who are not co-located with you. A quality in-person interaction can sustain the communication via phone and e-mail in-between visits. If you are able to get them together once a year or quarterly, that will also help. Make sure you allow for some unstructured, social time for your team so they can get to know one another, as well as structured work time. Both are important.
Tip 2: Create Interdependence. Your team will act like a team if they must rely on one another to "win," i.e. reach goals, make their numbers, or be successful in their performance. You can create ways for them to do this at-a-distance. They will be less effective, and less successful, if they are working in silos. Encourage and facilitate their partnering and collaboration. Make it a requirement.
Tip 3: Create Communication Protocol. When people can't see one another face-to-face regularly, you need to take extra steps to mitigate miscommunication and redundancy. Identify the "best practices" for communicating via e-mail, teleconference, etc. For example, in e-mail communications, clearly articulate what you need in the Subject Line (FYI, Response Requested, Follow-Up, Action Steps Noted, etc.), ask people to state their question or purpose up-front, then follow with details, as necessary. This will help everyone be more concise, effective and efficient. Same for teleconferences: how will you moderate discussions? Should people state their names when speaking? Create Specificity around what's expected so people can be and feel successful in their interactions.
Tip 4: Minimize Low-Energy Communications. Be strategic about using teleconferences, webinars, or webcasts. If it's possible for them to multi-task, i.e. answer e-mails while listening to someone drone on delivering "FYI" material, it's not a great use of anyone's time. Utilize other technology tools (intranet, electronic boards, weekly/quarterly/monthly e-mail updates, etc.) to maximize information sharing while also working to keep people engaged and utilize their time well. Coordinating a teleconference where people are not engaged is an expensive use of employee time.
Tip 5: Invest in the Relationships. In order to have a relationship, you have to have a relational investment. This is an obviosity, but often people wonder, "why don't I have a good working relationship with this person?" and I must ask whether or not they've invested in it . . .which means taking time, building trust, giving and receiving feedback, etc. You don't have a relationship with someone just because you are his or her boss. You especially don't have a positive, productive relationship with them if you don't take the time to do so. How can you invest when you're long distance or working at different times? Schedule it! The regularly scheduled one-on-one does not have to be in-person, though the occasional f2f (face-to-face) meeting is desirable, sometimes it's not practical with distance and time zone obstacles. Make sure you are free from distraction, completely focused, and follow your in-person protocol for focusing on performance, feedback and development.
Tip 6: Set Standards for Dealing with Conflict and Confrontation. Issues will arise, and when you can't easily take someone out to coffee or lunch to figure out what's going on, it's a little more challenging to address issues quickly and easily. When you're on the phone, you can't read facial expressions or body language. When you are communicating via e-mail, all bets are off when it comes to confronting--don't do it! You can proactively deal with challenges by establishing a protocol about how to deal with miscommunication or misunderstandings. For example, creating a Team Agreement or Team Charter that outlines not only how you'll work together but also how you'll resolve issues, i.e. directly, quickly and respectfully, can be a preventative measure for quickly getting back on track. Remember that interpersonal strife on a team or among members (or with you!) distracts and detracts from getting desired results. It doesn't "go away" on its own, so create standards people can use and adhere to.
Tip 7: Model the Behaviors You Want as a Leader. I know this should be obvious, but if you're not getting what you want from your team, the first place you need to look is you. Are you modeling the behaviors you want to support and drive results? Remember also that it's your behaviors that influence, not your intentions, so you'll want to have your own checks and balances for staying on track. Ask people you trust, get a coach, gain regular feedback--that will ensure that you are leading from the front.
Finally, even if you're not leading from afar, these principles and tips for leading teams may also apply to you. Which of them can accelerate your team today?
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