Leading in Uncertainty: Activating Remote Teams
There are three conditions for remote teams to function well.
As a leader, you need to:
- Build solid relationships
Strong relationships are built on trust and authenticity.
- Share what you are learning, as well as the challenges you are facing and what may not be going well.
- Invite team members to share their challenges so that you can help them, and they can help each other.
- Share what you've learned from your team members and acknowledge their efforts.
- Encourage problem solvers
Problem solving requires innovation, and innovation requires risk. Encourage risk tolerance to activate team members' creativity.
- Ask questions and listen. Learn in detail what your team members are doing so that you can properly acknowledge their efforts in moving towards a particular objective. Footnote*
- Talk about the risks you are taking and the challenges you are facing.
- Engage your team in generating ideas on how to address the challenges.
- Cultivate a growth mindset Footnote** by focusing on learning rather than on avoiding mistakes and failures.
- Support performance
Stress can bring a team together under the right conditions. Use team members' curiosity, collaboration, and contribution to strengthen bonds and heighten performance.
- Learn more about your team members' strengths and what they enjoy doing.
- Work collaboratively to ensure that each member of the team can work to their strengths and receive the support they need from others in the group.
- Encourage persistence and team cohesion by tying actions to purpose.
- Give people authority to make decisions.
To learn more, see Carol Dweck's TED talk on growth mindset (10 min.)
