3 Hacks to Confidently Lead Remote Teams

good morning. I am your host, Bianca Cardenas, and welcome to next gen leaders.

If you're a new manager or looking to get into leadership. It's so important to know how to lead remote teams.

this is pretty tricky because how are you supposed to connect with someone over a screen? I'll dive into three hacks to help you lead effectively through that screen. And the potential implications to your career.

Remote and hybrid work is just becoming another norm for us. I moved back home a year ago to live closer to my mom. Because my stepfather passed away. She was struggling the first year and a half. She would say things like, oh, , he's waiting for me. I'd be happier if I just went with him. That's pretty scary because I lived 10 hours away. So I thought. What is more important to me? My career or my family. As a Hispanic, I think the answer's pretty clear.

It's definitely family. My work allowed me to work remotely. And it's been awesome. This flexibility has given me a whole new perspective on what I could do.

But if I'm thinking about the flip side, I do feel fear of missing out. I'm responsible for our marketing and they'll send me some pictures they took when they went out for cocktail hour I feel pretty lonely when I see that. Only because I wish I was doing those things as well. This is how everyone feels, because if we're thinking about the psychology of it, We all want to feel included. That's a basic human need it's important to be more intentional about making others feel included. Especially when you're leading a remote team. We're really missing that face to face human connection. And it's tough to balance. I'm going to give you three hacks. So you can bypass the psychology aspect of leading in a remote team. It's pretty much guaranteed to make you and your team thrive together. And feel more connected. Ultimately, that's what we want. We want to feel connected.

Like we're part of something bigger.

One thing I really appreciated was that Mia, the CEO.

Made an intentional effort to set regular check-ins with me. We have biweekly check-ins. This is a great chance for us to connect and get to know what is going on in each other's lives. It's also a good way for her to offer me feedback and coaching. Even though I'm remote, I'm still very much interested in developing. Myself. It's a great way for us to connect. And for her to fill me in on anything happening at the firm. Like we just got a new intern and Mia, let me know ahead of time. If it wasn't for me, I probably wouldn't have found out. Until after she was hired. That weekly cadence is so important to make people feel like I'm still involved.

I would encourage you to set. A reoccurring meeting with each one of your direct reports. Little small actions like this. Help build trust. And that's exactly what you want. For your team to feel connected.

The second thing Mia did. Was, she was extremely transparent about everything. That helped put my anxiety at ease. Because I wasn't having to find out through the grapevine. Instead, it was coming from the CEO herself. This is another way she'd build trust with me. Throughout this year that I've been remote. By being open and honest, leaders who model that type of behavior. Often get the same behavior and return . But you need to take the first step and break the ice. Training yourself to be more transparent about things even if they seem small,. The last thing she did was. Encourage virtual team building.

He still makes it a point to have these large team meetings. And it's a great way for the remote team to feel included because although they're having it in person, We're sitting there joining Nan on the conversation and she's really good about. Not forgetting about the remote team.

She likes to ask us questions and make sure that we're engaged in the conversation instead of just sitting there awkwardly.

I like to play video games. So I would suggest doing like a trivia night or Pictionary on Fridays. Maybe have cocktail hour as well. That's a great way to get people engaged and most importantly, put their guard down. Not talk about just work, but what's going on in your personal life. What are you struggling with?

What are you aiming towards? Just getting that sense of comradery. It's going to be extremely important. Especially in moments that. Our personal. Because work, isn't just about work. It's about building those meaningful relationships with other people. And inviting them into your life. When you're working remotely, it's just a lot harder to do . So being very intentional about setting the reoccurring one-on-ones. Being very transparent about what you're going through and what is happening within the company. And also. Doing those virtual team building activities together. Because at the end of the day, you're a team. That means that for good or worse, you have to work together and you have to get along. It's just 10 times easier. When you have a great cadence and you get along great with the people that you work with.

If you know, someone who's leading a remote team and has no idea what to do. Send them this podcast, maybe it'll help them. If you're interested in learning more about these tips and tricks. Follow my blog. I post very easy to read frameworks that anyone can start doing today.

I'll leave the link in the description below.

Until next time, keep driving, growing, and leading with purpose.