5 Steps To Build A Productive & Inclusive Remote Team

Learn 5 important elements that will contribute to building a productive and Inclusive Remote team. These fundamentals will contribute to creating a high-performing team that will thrive remotely and in a hybrid environment.

Transcript

Hi and welcome to Inside Timer.

I'm Ciara Conlan,

A high performance leadership coach and author.

For some leaders,

Managing remotely is a relatively new challenge.

The reduction in daily touch points with the team make it more difficult to understand firstly how the team are managing and secondly to know how the work is progressing without turning into a micromanager.

Often leaders can damage their team's performance without realising it.

From lack of self-awareness of how they personally affect the team's performance to a lack of systems and processes to enable the team to do their roles effectively.

Today I want to share with you five important elements to consider that will enable you to build a productive and inclusive remote team.

If you take on board this advice,

You will not only massively increase your own performance but it will also contribute to creating a high-performance team both remotely and in a hybrid environment.

Let's start with communication.

The importance of clear,

Positive communication.

Most leaders know to share their vision and goals with their team.

Ideally breaking them down into meaningful sub-goals that can be measured and tracked.

Goals can be very motivating when communicated clearly.

But too often when goals are communicated,

The roadmap is unclear.

The leader assumes the team members know what to do but often this is not the case.

As a result of not having a clear direction,

Motivation and momentum often suffer.

So in order to get the most from your team,

Your team need a shared roadmap.

When this roadmap is followed on a daily,

Weekly and monthly basis communication and performance will improve.

What it also does is ensure that there is accountability and transparency.

So we need to ensure that all goals are clear.

Clear,

Quantifiable and time-bound goals will help an employee to know when they have met the objective.

It is also good to prioritise the goal in relation to other existing goals.

In this way,

If the team member has to make a decision for themselves about what merits their time they are clear where this goal falls in priority to other goals.

Now remember that clear for you is not always clear for your team.

So always check for understanding.

Make sure that your instructions are received in the way that you intended.

Often we deliver instructions clearly,

In our opinion,

To hear something different repeated back.

Now this can be due to differing levels of experience,

Culture differences or a host of other reasons.

But in order to avoid this from happening,

Asking your team member to repeat back what you have told them is one of the best ways to ensure comprehension.

This breakdown in communication can become more acute when we use software tools to communicate email or messaging apps.

There is no way to check for interpretation and communication can often be misinterpreted.

In this scenario you will also need to check for understanding and ensure that your team know what the instructions are before they proceed with their work.

With remote working we also need to check in regularly with the team to see how they're getting on.

The frequency of check-ins will depend on the competence of the people involved.

If you're working with senior people who are consistent with their delivery you won't need to check in with them as frequently as a junior member of the team.

Treat each team member according to their capability and their level of motivation,

Not according to what suits you.

A way to stay in touch with the team without too many time-consuming meetings is to use tools like Microsoft Teams,

Asana or Evernote for Business.

These project or task tools can help your team know what they should be doing at all times,

Which of course is essential for performance and productivity.

The second element that is essential in our new remote world is the systems we employ to help the team do their job.

If team members are left to their own devices they will create their own way of doing things which may not be the most efficient.

So all processes in an organisation need a system,

But even more so when working remotely.

Systems and processes need to be clear and agreed.

So if you're worried about a lack of clarity when it comes to systems in your organisation,

Mapping your processes will help identify areas for improvement and highlight any inefficiencies.

You could also map your processes from a customer perspective.

Mapping the current customer journey might help you to improve your service to the customer and make sure your customers are satisfied with your service and will come back for more.

It also helps you to continuously improve on the service that you are currently delivering.

Having processes are not only good for your customer and your business,

They also help your employees to work more effectively by reducing any ambiguity and uncertainty at work.

Frustration at work often stems from doubt and uncertainty.

So by implementing processes you are giving your employees a way of working that will benefit both them and the company on a whole.

If you don't know where to start,

Check out Process Street.

They have great information about what processes are essential for a team or an organisation to work efficiently.

Having good systems and processes in place and everyone clear about their goals and commitments to the team is a great starting place.

But it is also very important to be available for your team and give your attention when needed.

It can be wearisome to have a boss who is never available to answer your questions.

When you do manage to speak to them,

Their attention is elsewhere.

It is very difficult to perform at your best when you get no support from above.

So in order to get the most from your people,

They must be able to command your attention when they need you,

And not only when you choose to give it to them.

While it's important to manage your time and your availability,

There needs to be a balance.

Because this lack of availability for your team could lead to a lack of engagement from the members and a lack of trust.

And we do know that trust is the foundation for any team.

If there is an absence of trust between the team member and their leader,

All other attempts at creating a high performing team will be fruitless.

In a study carried out by Google to find out what makes an effective team,

They discovered it was less about who was on the team and how they interacted and more about how they felt.

Psychological safety came out as by far the most important element.

Psychological safety is when individuals feel like they can speak out or take risks on a team without feeling insecure or embarrassed.

As a leader,

Creating an environment where people feel this security and connection with each other should be one of your top priorities.

You can do this by paying attention to your people,

Being aware of each person's strengths and weaknesses,

And understanding them as a person as well as an employee.

Use your empathy skills.

This will allow you to relate to the emotions or experiences of others.

Empathy shows we care.

If your empathy skills are a little lacking,

You could start by practising with listening skills.

When listening,

Try to listen to both the words the person is saying as well as their body language.

Try to watch for alignment and recognise when what the person says is not congruent with their body language.

Getting to know each member of your team should help increase performance and productivity of all involved.

Fourth on the list for maintaining a productive and inclusive remote team is accountability.

I have observed a lack of accountability on a lot of teams recently.

Leaders have struggled to hold people accountable because we're concerned about mental health and wellbeing.

But there are limits to how much performance can drop without the person being held accountable.

When you notice or are told about someone not pulling their weight,

You need to address the situation.

With empathy initially,

Trying to understand and help the individual who is suffering.

If a leader doesn't hold his team members accountable for the lack of performance,

Team morale will suffer.

Far too many leaders are not competent in dealing with accountability issues.

Some think they need to give an employee a telling off.

Others think if they avoid the situation,

It may go away.

Now,

Neither are the approach that gives successful long term results.

Holding someone accountable for their actions generally does not require the stick.

But it does require you to address the subject.

Having an honest conversation with the individual who did not meet the expectations of their role is an action you owe them and one you owe the rest of the team.

If some members of the team have continued to perform highly through the pandemic and adjusting to remote working,

It's important that they feel recognised and that they know their extra effort has not gone unnoticed.

But remember,

There are many reasons why a team member's performance might slip.

They may not be clear about the goals.

They may not have the skill to complete the job.

They may be feeling anxious or overwhelmed.

They could be missing the human interaction of an office environment,

Especially if they are an extrovert.

Or they may just be missing your support and input.

Your job as leader of the team is to find out why it is happening and to help the individual find a solution.

Lastly,

And possibly an element that everything else rides on,

Is the importance of looking after yourself.

Far too many people in leadership positions are running on empty,

Too stressed and overwhelmed to be truly effective.

Too overloaded would work to be supportive to anyone else.

In order to perform at your best,

It's essential to look after a couple of basic elements which will help to manage your time,

Energy and focus more effectively.

All high performers have high performing habits.

Those habits include productivity habits,

Habits that maximise their energy and habits that keep them present.

The positive outcome from improving your own performance will also organically contribute to improving the performance of your team.

Effective leaders know their priorities and don't allow themselves to get distracted or sidetracked from their goals.

Good productivity habits help leaders to stay focused on the priorities.

Simple habits such as planning and scheduling your time,

Managing your email inbox and tasks more effectively and taking control of the things that distract you from doing your best work are all essential for every leader and manager.

Being organised helps to reduce frustration and overwhelm and keeps you feeling in control.

Good leaders also have good energy habits.

They look after their bodies and stay energised with the right nutrition,

Exercise and sleep.

If you currently don't have good habits in this area,

Start small.

Change one thing at a time to experience the benefit of one new habit before moving on to creating another positive habit.

Good leaders also know how to stay present in the moment,

A skill not many have owned.

When you give your full attention to the people around you or the task at hand,

You will always get much better results.

Great leaders are aware of the benefits of meditation and mindfulness in improving their focused awareness.

Better relationships,

Improved problem solving and decision making are just some of the benefits of adopting a habit of meditation.

But how are you going to fit this all in?

Many of my clients do it by creating a morning routine,

Getting up a little earlier to fit in the things they want to bring into their lives.

Simple habits that set them up for the day and help them feel more in control.

You too could use the morning time to practise meditation,

To fit in more exercise,

To read or to journal.

Any small habit that will improve your well-being will also improve your productivity and performance.

Even if you wake up later than you had planned,

You can always fit in at least five minutes of any good,

Positive habit.

In this way,

You'll avoid the feeling of frustration or failure when you don't do what you said you would do,

And you'll create some continuity with your new habit.

In this talk,

I have suggested five elements that I see as being essential to creating a high performing,

Remote and inclusive team.

Firstly,

Laying the groundwork with good communication of goals and priorities,

Then ensuring the software,

Systems and processes are supporting rather than hindering people to get their work done.

Being available in a way that doesn't impact on your own productivity is important,

As is holding people accountable.

And lastly,

Don't underestimate the importance of looking after your own well-being,

Time and attention.

You are not only strengthening yourself,

But you are becoming a positive role model for your team.

Thank you for listening and I hope you will check out my other talks and meditations on Insight Timer at work.

Reviews

Good tips to follow.

Very helpful tips ! Plan to start small on incorporating these

Very informative and helpful advice. Great way to start the day. Thank you.