Simple truths about leading a virtual team

With circumstances having forced many to unexpectedly work remotely, leaders have had to think quickly and adapt how they manage their teams. Remote work isn’t going away any time soon (and many are hoping it never will). Those who are working and leading a team remotely successfully have embraced these simple truths about leading a virtual team.

1) It’s not the same as leading a team in person

Leading a team virtually is not the same as doing so in-person. You can’t just pop-in to each other’s offices to check in on things. You may not have those daily checkpoints about what you did on the weekend, the weather, or that great deal you got on <insert thing you love here>. 

The way things work in an office and in a virtual setting is different, but both can work really well if you know what will make it efficient and feel good. If you try to do the same thing you did in-person online, it may feel clunky and disjointed and like things aren’t working.

The key to figuring out what to do next is knowing that it may be very different than what you’ve done in the past, and that’s OK!

2) Creating connection helps

One of the amazing things about working in an office is the connection between employees - both when it comes to working on projects and problems together, but also just the “chit chat” in the halls. In fact, one of the things that we hear the most about why people wouldn’t want to work from home all the time/permanently is that it would be too lonely or that they don’t feel that they connect as well and understand what’s going on as well online.

That means that opportunities for two-way conversations, collaboration, and “chit chat” should be worked into the fabric of the remote work culture. As a leader, you can encourage this and create opportunities for it throughout the workday. How you do this may vary depending on your team (some will love daily “stand up” check-in meetings, playing online board games, ice breakers and “my favourite trashy TV show” forums, and others would prefer brainstorming sessions and forums for sharing useful work-related tips - find what will work best for your team and start there).

3) Finding tools and systems that work for your team in a virtual environment is imperative

There are tools and systems for almost anything you can think of. Finding those tools and figuring out the best ways for your team to use them effectively can make all the difference between feeling frustrated with how things are running on your team (I have no idea what everyone is working on, I think they all feel like I’m micromanaging them, I don’t think they know what they’re supposed to do, they’re brand new and don’t have access to the whole team any time they have a question, etc).

4) It takes practice and patience

There may be bumps as you change the way your teams work to adapt to online. Things you thought might work might not, things that will work might take time to start working, things you’ve been avoiding trying might be the best option.

And you’re going to need to create new habits and ways of being that may be uncomfortable at first. All the folks on your team that would prefer to keep the camera off at all times may need to have the camera on at least a percentage of the time because it’s important for reading body language. Meetings that used to be optional may need to be required for a while so that everyone gets in the habit of taking advantage of certain tools and of connecting and communicating online. You may need to have more meetings than you think are REALLY necessary because creating connection needs to be forced for a while.

Some of making this work may require doing things that you know are good for you even if you don’t feel like doing them. Once you know that then you’ll be in a better position to create things that really work for everyone.

Want to learn more on creating connectivity and alignment with your team? Sign up for the Leading a Remote Team online program. Hosted by myself and Jocelyne Morin-Nurse, CEO of Loxentus Inc., this online instructional course uncovers the most efficient leadership styles for remote teams, including:

• Creating a team that feels cohesive and understands the core values of the business.

• Getting clarity on action steps, tools and systems.

• Gaining more time by learning how to best combine asynchronous and synchronous communication.

This is an implementation course that includes a downloadable worksheet, downloadable audio, downloadable transcripts, and bonus tips with downloadable audio.

For more information and to sign up, visit https://www.loxentus.com/leadingremotecourseinfo.

Stop Trying To Do It All

If you’re responsible for everything in your business and you’re the only one who can handle tasks, you’re creating a low ceiling on how much your business can grow.

Do you what you’re great at

You’re not amazing at everything, but you’re amazing at many things. What are you REALLY good at? What is your zone of excellence? (Have you read The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks?)

Focus on that work.

You’ll enjoy it the most and it will make you the most money.

(Truth: you can’t outsource everything you don’t like, but plan to work towards that instead of thinking the more you do yourself, the better.)

Create systems so others can do things the way you would

When you outline how you want things to run in your business you’re creating a business that is:

• Consistent

• A business others can help you with

• Scalable

There’s only so much of you to go around. Start figuring out how you do things and get it documented (Clockwork by Michael Michalowicz has some great tips on how to create these systems) so that you can guide others to do it the way you do.

(Truth: You don’t need to write down EVERYTHING that you do and the first time you create the system might not actually be the best version of that system. Start with some of the things you do most often in your business and document the process as you’re doing it.)

Delegate the stuff other people are better at

I know other people are better and faster at getting regular content scheduled, emails sent, contracts updates, and sales pages and automations built. It’s not only a much better use of my time to do the things I’m good at, but when I try to take some of that stuff on myself I occasionally make things worse instead of better anyways! Instead, I can focus on writing, recording videos, networking, having sales calls, and supporting my clients.

By delegating I have more time to make more money and support more people instead of being distracted on the stuff that isn’t my genius work (even though I am perfectly capable of doing it!) And a bonus - I’m supporting someone else’s business/career at the same time!

(Truth: People won’t necessarily get it right the first time they try to do what you do. Don’t have that expectation and know that your job is to mentor them and guide them so that they CAN start to do it the way you would. It is worth the effort.)

How do you take action on this?

Keep a running list of what you’re doing on a day-to-day basis and rate the work.

• What do you love?

• What do you wish you didn’t have to do?

• What do you procrastinate to avoid?

• What do you do that you KNOW someone else should be doing but you’d rather save the money of paying someone else to do it and just do it yourself?

The things you’ll keep doing are the things that help bring in more money, run the business, and manage the team.

The things you’ll delegate are the things that you know other people are better at and that you know isn’t reliant on YOUR brain and skillset.

Start thinking about how big your company can grow if you’re not responsible for everything.

This is one of the ways you can stop feeling trapped in a world where the only way you can more more money is to work harder and longer. That doesn’t have to be the case.

Start believing that the less you are personally responsible for, the more your business can grow and the bigger the impact you can have on the world!

Should you outsource your social media?

If you had asked me this question a couple of years ago I would have said no, you should keep it in house because nobody knows you better than you. 

But here’s the thing… social media has continued to evolve and as a busy business owner, you may not have the time to learn how to use social media effectively and create quality content. And that’s okay. So, should you consider outsourcing your social media? Absolutely.

Quality content

When you’re creating content to use online it needs to look professional. People expect a business to put together something that looks like a graphic designer or professional writer did it, not an amateur. Why? Because there is so much content to sift through on a daily basis they can’t be bothered with anything that doesn’t stand out.

What does that mean for you? It means that you need to make sure that you’re creating images and putting together content that speaks to your audience. This is a lot more time consuming than you might think, or like, or have time for.

Quantity of content 

The world of online content is fast paced. You want to have regular content to stay top of mind and so that you get picked up in search and algorithms so people will seeing what you’re saying. 

This means that you should have daily content going out on channels like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, you should be blogging weekly (or more) and that you should be sending regular email newsletters (I recommend at least two a month, if not weekly.)  It’s a lot of content and you may not have the time to do it all.

It keeps changing

Facebook reach is down – should you keep using it? My audience says they aren’t using Facebook – where do I find them? What is Snapchat and do I need to care?

People keep changing where they’re spending their time and as a busy business owner you may not have the time to keep on top of what tools make the most sense for your business and how they’re changing (for example, while Facebook is certainly not a tool to ignore, it’s absolutely true that to get the best value out of using it you probably want to invest in Facebook advertising). 

Time

Are you sensing a theme? Time is precious and I know that creating quality online content may not be the best use of yours. If that’s the case (because there are certainly many business owners who CAN do their own social media) then outsourcing is probably a great solution for you. 

Hire someone who can take away the stress of having to create regular content for all your channels, who knows how to create images and where to find good links and information that your audience will value. Hire someone who will let you know if things are changing and if you need to change your focus and the type of content you’re sharing. Hire someone who will take the headache out of online marketing and leave you with the value of finding new customers and building relationships with them. 

Who do I hire?

Do you know anyone who has experience in online communications who offers these types of services? There are quite a few people who have a lot of experience in the online space who can help you. The key is to make sure that they understand your business and your goals and messaging.

Wellman Wilson is now taking on social media content creation and management because we recognize that business owners just don’t have the time to do it all. If you’re interested in chatting with us, send us an email or check out the content creation services section on our website.

Online marketing can be time consuming, but it is also the key to reaching new audiences, getting repeat business and increasing revenue. Don't let time or overwhelm stop you from establishing your online presence in 2015!