Running a remote team comes with many benefits but also several challenges. When leaders are tasked with running a remote team, many tend to approach it similarly to running an in-person department, failing to realize that their management style needs to adapt.
The volume of remote workers that businesses hire isn't being reduced any time soon, so managers need to learn how to adjust to a changing workplace effectively.
Managing remote teams does need some of the same personality traits and skills as running in-person groups. However, how the manager applies those skills to their new organization is massively different. Below, 15 members of Forbes Business Council explore the most common mistakes that managers make when trying to apply their in-office management skills to remote teams.
Members of Forbes Business Council share common errors leaders make as they lead remote teams.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.1. Not Building Authentic Connections
Not being intentional with authentic connection is a common mistake. When you’re in remote teams, it’s easy to get things done with tools like Slack and Teams, but it is difficult to build trust and connection, which is essential to a high-functioning team. You have to put extra effort into building those relationships, whether you’re simply having authentic one-on-one meetings or hosting virtual happy hours with your team. - Allie Magyar, Hubb
2. Underestimating Communication Needs
Managers underestimate how much they need to be communicating with remote teams. In the absence of physical proximity and the added distractions that come with working from home, managers must schedule regular touchpoints, including weekly team meetings, one-on-one sessions with team members and unscheduled check-ins to ensure teams understand priorities, are aligned and are dealing with inevitable challenges quickly. - Caren Merrick, Virginia Ready Initiative
Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
3. Not Showing More Empathy And Grace
Remote management used to focus on business topics and processes—employees fulfilled social needs outside team meetings. With the pandemic, social interaction changed as we went entirely virtual. Leaders should show empathy and grace by getting to know their employees, enabling social time, being less formal and fostering deeper engagement. Holding onto pre-pandemic management methods could result in poor employee engagement and business results. - Richard Adams, Integrated Prescription Management
4. Disregarding Social And Emotional Well-Being
The psychology of a remote team is very different post-Covid. In the absence of unstructured time working in the same physical space, we now find ourselves enclosed in our own pods. Managers need to intentionally provide opportunities for teams to socialize virtually and for individual team members to check in with each other—think of it as a virtual water-cooler chat. The mistake that managers make is to focus too much on managing the business and not enough time managing the social and emotional well-being of team members. - Revell Horsey, PocketSuite
5. Lacking Intentional Culture Plans
In my opinion, the mistake is forgetting how transactional remote working can become. Not having intentional strategic and tactical plans to make sure the culture and human interactions that produce creativity aren't missed is a big mistake. It's not easy to just call someone on Teams and see if they are having coffee so you can have yours with them while having a chat about a challenge you are trying to solve. This is something that easily happens when you work in the office. - Somayeh Aghnia , Geeks
6. Failing To Build And Maintain Trust
One mistake managers make in leading remote teams is failing to build and maintain high levels of trust. An environment that lacks high levels of trust will have increasing inefficiencies and lack the innovation organizations need to not only survive but thrive. Managers must therefore be intentional and vulnerable with individuals and teams, facilitating decision-making dialogue, delegating critical tasks and teaching lessons through failures. - Barry Marshall, P5 Collaborative Consulting, LLC
7. Neglecting Relationship-Building
Neglecting culture development and relationship-building within the team can be a huge management failure. Remote work very quickly leads to many transactional engagements to show accountability and progress in the absence of physical oversight. Leaders must create opportunities for the team to work together to establish trust and independence and schedule face time as part of their routine. - Robert Harbols, Artisan
8. Assuming Teams Work 24/7
One mistake that usually managers make is assuming that the teams work 24/7. You need to understand that even though they are at home, they must have work time and also free time, because if not, their productivity and creativity levels decrease. - Guillem Macia, Will To Capital (W2C)
9. Trying To Micromanage Teams
There are two prominent types of managers: those who micromanage and those who delegate. The former finds leading teams in the virtual environment difficult more so than the latter. The art of delegation and trust in one's workforce is vital when managing remotely. Leaders who employ a micromanagement style must add the subtle skill of delegation to their arsenal in order to effectively manage remote teams. - Julian Everly Shervington Wright, Julian Everly Creative Ventures Inc
10. Using Email For Everything
A mistake managers make is using email for everything, including managing tasks and deliverables, resolving interpersonal conflict, giving praise and making human/time resource allocation decisions. Instead, managers can model and reinforce the importance of using software and systems to track and share data. They can also incorporate video chat frequently as humans utilize facial expression, body language and voice tone to communicate most effectively. - Ali Hill, Sound Advice Women
11. Failing To Implement Accountability
Remote management may be a permanent change, and a mistake I've seen is failing to implement a sound system of team accountability. While managers have systems in place, they often prove to be inadequate. The reason is no single system works across all industries. Company cultures vary and it behooves managers to factor in both culture and personalities when crafting a process for accountability. - Thomas Dunlap, Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig
12. Not Utilizing Coaching And Training
We often see managers utilizing coaching and training as a last resort option to solve a problem. This is a huge missed opportunity, especially in remote teams. By engaging executive coaches and training to support high-potential talent, you can fuel company performance even across completely dispersed remote teams. - Clark Waterfall, BSG - Boston Search Group
13. Not Enabling Set Work Hours
After running a remote team for the last eight years, I've come to realize that one of the biggest mistakes organizations make is work too much. This might be counterintuitive since many managers who are not familiar with remote work think people are lazy and not working at home. Instead, many employees can easily burn out as the work and personal time boundaries get vague. As managers, we need to create safe guardrails for remote work hours to help prevent this. - Tero Isokauppila, Four Sigmatic
14. Forgetting To Market From The Inside Out
Forgetting (or failing to) market from the inside out is a common mistake I've seen. People run your business—not products or services. They’re what makes your brand what it is. If they’re not living, breathing and experiencing the brand in the same way the marketplace does, there will be a big disconnect. This leads to poor customer service and an eventual breakdown from the inside out. Save your best marketing for your employees. - Tim Kopp, Terminus
15. Failing To Acknowledge Staff Differences
A big mistake I've seen is a failure to acknowledge that not all employees are equal when it comes to technology or a quiet space in which to work at home. This is not a sign of being work-shy but of a need for resources. Managers should carry out a full assessment to discover which employees need support to be able to do their jobs properly. This would reduce employee stress and aid productivity. - Ashanti Akabusi, VirtuBrands
