How can we fulfill the strategic role of leading people without being physically present? This is one of the challenges of leadership in the modern world of work, where home office and hybrid work have become permanent in most organizations.
Managing remote teams undoubtedly presents challenges for leaders, but they can be overcome with a set of effective strategies. Continue reading this article to find out what the possible paths are.
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What are the main leadership challenges when managing remote teams?
Having fully flexible work options is the desire of 35% of workers worldwide, according to The Great Realization study . Another survey, conducted by Microsoft, indicated that 58% of Brazilians intend to switch to hybrid or remote work this year.
Although it brings benefits to companies and employees, a new way of working can give rise to situations that leaders and managers are not always prepared to deal with. After all, every change requires a period of adaptation and, often, a new mindset.
This is what happened with the implementation of home office due to the pandemic. We have listed 5 challenges caused by this event that need to be overcome by leaders in managing their teams. Check it out!
1. Ensure good communication
Communication is one of the success factors of any management. However, with remote work, many leaders have found it difficult to define the most effective way to communicate and build a clear dialogue with their teams.
2. Manage conflicts
One of the consequences of communication failures is the emergence of conflicts — whether between the employee and the direct for example, let’s take a sales company manager or between team members. Identifying and managing potential conflicts can be more challenging when working remotely.
3. Keep engagement high
The adoption of home office or hybrid work requires reinvention on many fronts. One of them is how to keep teams constantly motivated. In who is pcontrol recommended for? this context, many leaders are still trying to understand how to break the distance and which engagement actions make the most sense in managing remote teams.
4. Ensure well-being and productivity
Concern for the physical and mental well-being of employees has been seen as a priority for some time now. Even so, a LinkedIn study showed china business directory that 62% of professionals began to feel more anxious and stressed with the introduction of remote activities. Therefore, overcoming distance to continue ensuring the well-being of teams, without letting productivity drop, is also one of the challenges of leadership in the home office.
5. Promote organizational culture
One of the most strategic missions of leaders is to contribute to the dissemination of organizational culture and ensure that their subordinates are aligned with the company’s values. However, doing this without being physically present in the office also requires other efforts and strategies on the part of managers.
How to overcome the challenges of remote management?
Leaders must use a set of strategies to overcome the challenges of remote management. Check out some important practices to apply in your company now!
Align the role of each employee
The best way to avoid conflicts and miscommunications is to make it clear what the company expects from each employee and what goals the team needs to achieve. As a bonus, this also gives the team greater autonomy.
Promote a culture of feedback
Whether working remotely, in a hybrid environment or in person, a culture of feedback only brings benefits. After all, open communication between leaders and employees contributes to building a relationship of trust, improves the organizational climate, increases engagement and promotes continuous development.
Adopt a humanized management
Investing in humanized leadership is another excellent way to connect with your team and promote the well-being of everyone who works with you. Here, the exercise of values such as empathy, solidarity and vulnerability will set the tone for management.
Develop new skills
New contexts require different skills. Therefore, it is very likely that the leader will need to develop new skills to carry out more efficient remote management. It is worth remembering here that HR must help identify leadership gaps and create a talent strategy that positively impacts the entire company.
Using technology to benefit people and businesses
Whether it’s to improve communication, boost productivity or increase engagement, leaders need to rely on technology to help them and their teams. After all, technological tools are useful for optimizing team management and work, as well as for.