Working with teams, near and far
Fred from webreakstuff gives advice on successfully working with remote teams:
- Be ready to trust
- Always tell, never hide
- Help, don’t bother
- Be flexible
I can’t help but think these apply regardless of working at the next desk or halfway across the world.
Trust is key to successful delegation - How can you give a share of the work to a colleague or employee if you don’t trust them to come back with answers and quality work? It just turns into hours or days of worries that whatever comes back won’t solve the problem at hand.
Always tell, never hide - Not telling is like chucking a rock up in the air and hoping it doesn’t fall smack dab on your head. You might get away with it a few times, but keep doing it and when it hits, it’ll hurt badly.
Help, don’t bother - Isn’t this one even more applicable when working within earshot of each other? Micromanagement at a distance is bad, but it’s possible to close down email and IMs to get a few hours of focus a day. When in the same office, the “headphones rule” is respected by some, but ignored by the last people you want to talk to when looking for focus. They’re the people who come ask you inane questions that divert your attention from what you’re trying to do, expecting you to stand up and go sort their problem out on the spot.
I have to admit, this is a case where, if there are no physical headphones on the head, I’m useless at taking a cue as to whether someone’s busy or not.
Be flexible - Being agile and nimble, willing to accept change and adapt to the market quickly is a question of survival in any of today’s small businesses! Be open to change, or start digging your grave.
No matter what, I think it all comes back to trust, trust and trust. If communication is good and everyone has confidence in their teammates, it’s a recipe for success, whether the team’s in the same room or halfway across the world, no?