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10 Worklife Balance Points for Remote Team Practice and Global Leadership

Af Christian Dinesen, Head of Danish Institute of Coaching and

Performance Trainer

How to joggle individual and team work on the distance facing the out of sight out of mind reality

When you ask people around you, how they are doing, most will answer: “Busy”, and not “Im in control and on top of my game…” symptomatically a mirror of how we respond to a working day and reality of ever changing agendas and strategies which become more flexible and short sighted as to the geopolitical agenda of the world leaders and the world economy.

We listen and act to respond…action is at our fingertips, computer, smartphone and Ipads….Our patience is having serious flaws as we get used to getting what we want on the demand and thereby have trouble waiting for response, answers or getting things done.

The impact from reality to your daily practi-ce as a leader, team- or project lead and HR director or manager is increasingly deman-ding more social competence and skills to navigate in securing the social capital and coherence in teams and between teams.

Now then combine these factors with globalization, remote teams in remote lo-cations throughout the world….a number of offices or clusters or even a significant number of individual sales representatives located in local market promoting and sel-ling your product and services. How do you team up with them, build and grow them and turn them into efficient and productive high performance teams?

1) Purpose of building a team and the meaning behinda. What is it that a team can do in regard to this specific task,

action plan or project?b. When the team has completed its mission, what results and

values do they leave behind – Tangible and intangible?c. What other alternatives are there as to build a team – Can

you achieve the same in other ways – better and faster?

A successful team consists of people who know why they have been brought together and what they are to achieve. Remote teams require some other competencies than a team that you lead next door…

1. They have experience working in and as part of a team2. The experience and competencies complement each other

and serve as a professional and social glue being vital for a strong and performing team dynamic.

3. They have a team attitude and mindset and combine this with a winning attitude

4. It is important that the driving force is rooted in the meaning and purpose og being a team and that each individual com-ply with this and experience an individual reward and gain from being in this team.

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2) Time period and time investment required for team members

a. For how long is the expected lifecycle of this team

b. Will the requirements for securing the stages of a team be realistic within this time frame – and when not what will be important factors to meet?

c. Beside the time expected by the team members to invest in this project, what other expectations are there to deliver on the actual role outside the team.

d. Who will secure and support a strong time management and work structure with the team members?

e. What the essentials and evidence that time is managed and balanced best possible?

Time is constant and what bring unba-lance in peoples work life is that everybody tries to put as much possible into the 24 hours, even try to see if there actually are 25 or more hours…

When team members have other individual roles and responsi-bilities it requires a disciplined structure to make sure that when being part of one or more teams and also are required to deliver on individual KPI’s. I recommend the following:

1. Make sure the team member only serve maximum 2 teams at a time and the

individual tasks and responsibility are flexible as to the overall responsibilities.

2. High quality workflow requires priorities and keeping them. Use various tools to

prioritize and have the manager or colleagues to assist in doing this. Do the right

thing at the right time delivering the best quality output.3. As a manager or leader take time to monitor the team mem-

bers ability to meet milestones and deadlines and from these observations either

remove or change tasks or/and responsibilities in order to keep momentum,

agility and performance

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3) Team progress and behavior – Active and Passive – Dynamics

a. How are the team members engaging, interacting and communicating with each other?

b. When entering the room at a team meeting how do you sense the atmos-phere among the members (vibrations, body language and attitude)?

c. In regard to the project are they on their toes or their heels?

d. Who lead and who follow and how are the complimentary roles working out?

e. What level of delegation, co-creation and knowledge sharing is happening?

Entering and exiting a team process cycle is like any other activity where you have to adjust to a new role, responsibility and task and require that what you just did or left, now for a period of time now has another priority and focus. So it is important to be aware of the following aspects:

1. Clearing when moving from one role to another. Re-set the buttons so to speak, and prepare for the new thing, role and team you are entering. It is important that your readiness and the readiness of the team members are there in order to perform.

2. Be aware of outside coming distracti-ons or disturbance caused by inci-dents or accidents from the outside. Communicate whether any of the team members need to bring this at-tention and if so how, who and when? So it does not conflict with the present priority and project.

3. Make sure when you identify members for a remote team that the people in the team are able to lead themselves, have structure and discipline to exe-cute on agreed KPI’s. One of the big show stoppers in remote teams and for any one leading them are team members who need constant atten-tion, sparring and follow up in order for things to happen.

4) Balance remote leadership on one or more locations

a. How do you structure your calendar for being available and reachable for your teams?

b. When the teams you are responsible for refer to a local ma-nager, how do you balance your approach to the team and thereby also your contact to their direct manager?

c. What ways of working have you defined with the teams you are responsible for?

d. How do you make most of your leadership with your teams – what impact do you have and how do you know?

Leadership divided on more than one team beside your own starts to become busy, complex and demanding. Communi-cation – Contact – Frequency are key to make sure you know peoples state of mind and being and how well they progress with a given task or project. Performance meetings and Coaching by Skype can be a great way to make sure the team(s) is on target and on time with their given projects.

1. Choose when during the week you have contact to the team and its members.

Work balance is about agreed points of meeting and when it is possible to receive

sparring, coaching and support2. As a leader make sure you keep a log of what and who you

have talked to so you know what is going on and you can follow up on progress at

various levels.3. Prepare your calls and online meetings to get the most of

them. People feel safe when there is a prepared agenda and maybe one where the

team members themselves

5) Cross culture and intercultural experience, understanding and insight

a. How have you prepared your team for diversity and cultural differences in regard for the stages of development and performance?

b. What have you done in order to prepare your global lea-dership to respond to different cultures, norms and values in business and culturally?

c. What will be the most important aspects of leading cross cultural teams for you?

d. How will you lead differently as to a team of the same cul-ture and native language?

Cultural differences are a variable in leading remote teams and especially in remote areas around the world.

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1. Train your cross cultural leadership2. Read about the cultures and the way

they do business represented in your team(s)

3. Communicate with your team mem-bers on how they work, what are ways of approaching, collaborating, working and communicating. Nothing is as it says in the books, the best information and knowledge come from the people with whom you need to collaborate with.

4. Remember to honor holidays, various religious and cultural events, so every-body feel met and respected on their background and identity.

5. Use the diversity and cultural diffe-rences to create social glue by taking interest in traditions, habits, food and events.

6) Presence – In sight and in mind – availability and connectedness

a. How do you make sure to ask questi-ons and take interest in the develop-ment of your team?

b. What do you offer your team(s) in or-der for them to experience you being leverage for them to succeed?

c. Listening to understand and then find mutual solutions and way forward, how conscious are you about your ability to listen and show power of silence?

Being present on the distance for you as a leader and even for a team member locally somewhere in the world require a frame that engage you in taking interest of the team member. Presences build trust and create a feeling of safety. Somebody is there for me in order for me to succeed.

1. Define a plan for how and when du-ring the day, week or month you will communicate with your team.

2. Define a structure and a time window for when you want more in depth meetings – briefing, debriefing, feedback and performance session

3. Plan bi-annually and annually meeting where you as a leader make an event to continue to build and develop team mem-ber and the total team.

4. Build a culture with the team where they themselves priori-tize availability and connectedness among them

7) Work flow and work joy – making the diversity of role and tasks rewarding

a. How do you make work enjoyable?b. What is your experience of creating and securing a stabile

work flow?c. What value will team work bring – define for each level?d. How do you give responsibility to people working with you?e. What is the key in your experience for people to take ow-

nership?f. When do team members and even yourself feel your work is

rewarding?

Christian Dinesen Head of Danish Institute of

Coaching and Performance Trainer

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We work hard and play hard…it is part of the modern way of business. It is important that we through our ambitions and high aims for success also respect the capacity and endurance of the employees.

1. Create a work load that bring joy and satisfaction of accomplishment

2. Provide structures, framework and priorities that enable team members to deliver on the KPI’s

3. Follow up on work and team culture on how we together make things hap-pen and collectively reach the targets.

4. Celebrate wins, break through and accomplishments

8) Team lead – direct or indirecta. How do you make sure through your

leadership that each team member is successful through personal and professional growth?

b. What is being done in your role as team lead to ensure meaning and purpose among the team members?

c. How is your lead keeping the team on target, focused and getting the neces-sary time and resources for doing their job?

d. What are your top 3 focus points to secure workflow and team satisfac-tion?

Being the team lead is a demanding role. Making sure that the project owner(s), stakeholders and other involved teams are happy and being continuously briefed on progress and achieving milestones and end results.

1. Leading remote teams require atten-tion and structure on status, progress and achievements. Keep a journal or log for each team, broken down on in-dividuals so you can conduct team per-formance reviews as well as individual performance review and continuously monitor performance gaps and where to develop professional and personal skills.

2. Make sure to leverage your teams so they meet the KPI’s on which you are measured as well.

3. Make your life as team lead simple and pragmatic. Create systems and structures which are easy accessible and easy to use. It is easy to drown in fancy IT systems and software solutions. Make a business routine which you can scale up and down and which is easy to outsource if necessary.

9) Performance on the distance – keeping simple means for strong outcome

a. How do you measure performance in your teams?b. When do measure and at what frequency?c. How do you involve the team members in regard to perfor-

mance?d. What kind of system do you use and how do you keep

track?

Remote teams and leading people on the distance involve an ex-tra challenge of making sure they are doing as the job description explains. Close and often contact is required more as a way of empowerment than control

1. Use briefing and debriefing on 1 to 2 goals at a time, so the team members and you easily can keep an overview of work in progress.

2. Feedback is vital for work balance. Everybody need to know what they do well as much as knowing what to do different in order to develop skills and behavior.

3. Involve your team members in setting the goals and areas of closing gaps In order to build self-leadership in remote teams one way is to make the employees part of how to reach targets and meet KPI’s

4. Performance is about value…core value. So what is it that re-ally drives any one to perform? This is important to cultivate and nourish.

10) Decision making and priority setting – balancing different agendas

a. How have you delegated responsibility for decision making and level of influence in your team(s)

b. What criteria are you using for priority setting?c. Being team lead for more than one team how do you stay

on top of your coordination of the teams that you either are directly responsible for or influencing through product solutions or business services?

As a team lead on the distance, your teams need to be mature and strong enough to be given the mandate to be in charge of the project life cycle in which the collectively are responsible for. Involve, empower and delegate combined with structures of how and when to align progress and share status.

You can only be one place at a time and do one thing at a time so it is crucial that you in order to keep own work balance and joy of work create ways of working supporting this.

Kilde: HR chefen Nr.3 2015 – Udgivet af DANSK HR www.danskhr.dk