By Chuck Chapman, Content Strategy Coordinator One of the foundations of being a remote leader is effective online communication. As we've well documented on this site and in The Long-Distance Leader, this is one of the principle leadership challenges for those heading up remote teams. Simply put, communicating remotely just isn't the same as communicating in co-located … [Read more...]
How to Delegate to Remote Team Members
If we ask managers, “should you delegate tasks to remote team members?” the answer is almost always a resounding, "Yes!" After all, they are smart, talented people and we’re paying them to add value to the team— of course we should delegate to them. The reality doesn’t always reflect this, though. Many remote workers complain that the plum assignments go to “those suck-ups in … [Read more...]
Getting Along Isn’t Rocket Science
Because next year is the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the moon, (and because I’m old enough to remember the actual event) I recently read James R. Hansen’s terrific biography of Neil Armstrong, First Man. It was fascinating on many levels, but one of the most intriguing things for someone who studies team dynamics is that the crew of Apollo 11 were not particularly … [Read more...]
Holidays and International Teams
Thanksgiving in the US is usually considered the beginning of “the Holidays.” But if you work with international teams, this raises a couple of important questions. Exactly which holidays are we talking about? And, will we actually be able to get our work done and still allow people to celebrate according to their local and religious traditions? This matters in ways big and … [Read more...]
Do Remote Leadership Rules Apply to Contractors?
When talking about people who choose to work remotely we often make some (reasonable) assumptions: They crave human contact, they want to be in touch with their teammates and bosses more often, they need to feel like part of the larger organization, and they miss talking to live humans. These ideas sound rational...but what if it’s not true? Not everyone wants to work that … [Read more...]