Long Distance Team Relationship
It’s been months since I started managing my team from afar. I’m currently on remote assignment and most of my interactions with my team are done online. Since I’m also working on something else (well, that’s why I’m away), I cannot devote much time for them.
Before leaving, we agreed on some SOPs, and over the past weeks, we also developed new ones. I also created a committee that is mandated to make decisions on my behalf. However, more than anything, our current situation is a test on how adaptable the processes that we have set are, and also a test on how much trust do we have for each other.
We still have the same set of meetings. We only have few team meetings so it’s manageable. Most meetings still start on time. Some send a message via the chosen communication platform, on the dot, informing me that they are ready; others choose to notify me a minute before; and for those few who don’t, they pick up as soon as I start calling. Everyone is making an effort to be on time and not waste time. Recently, I’m having difficulty controlling the duration of some meetings, so I end up being late on my meetings with them — I definitely need to keep up.
Things are proceeding as is, at least in terms of operations. Before I left, the uppers were worried that things will go berserk without my presence. And some people still are, even if it’s been a while already. Fortunately, people didn’t get crazy, and my members were able to hold on to their commitment of providing the best possible service to our organization. Long before this situation, the team has been working hard on designing processes that is sustainable, repeatable, and is not dependent to a single person (i.e. manager) and, while others are aghast, I guess it is working.
I have always been critical on how my members perform. I try to ensure that they are always ahead of their game and the team will be able to uphold set standards — standards that we’ve been continuously pushing upward, not to mention that I can be very particular with demeanor — my members know that they shouldn’t let me wonder on their whereabouts, especially during work hours or when they don’t have scheduled meetings. So far, for a few exceptions, I haven’t really received reports about my members misbehaving. And I’m happy to see how some continuously strives to up their game, and how they have grown so much to be able to handle difficult situations more independently.
While everything seems to be working fine, I must admit that I sometimes still feel anxious. As a manager, I know that it is my role to ensure that my members are continuously enabled and are protected from unnecessary noises. However, without me around, they are left to deal with undesired situations that I could easily protect them from if I was only around, especially those created by whose kind of support does not match what my team needs. My members aren’t sheltered, the nature of their tasks allows them to experience handling different situations, and I always put them in difficult situations (little by little, so they’ll build endurance, and know how to deal with bigger situations). However, when they start seeking for help, I know there is something I need to do. Right now, the most that I can do is to remind them to be keen on whose feedback they should consider as significant, whose feedback to value, and remain focused on our mission of creating value for the organization, consider current noises as challenges, and as much as possible, preserve harmony.
As much as I would like to believe that we are doing very well, we are not. To begin with, the processes that we have designed include a manager role who’s physically present. Though it can handle aberrations while the manager is away, our processes need recalibration. The web of KPIs that we have developed to ensure that everyone is working within desired levels also shows that we aren’t. Though other processes help us ensure that the team continues to operate efficiently, I know that we are missing something.
Whenever I ask my members, they would always claim that they are okay, but I know that they are exerting more effort than usual. More than me, it’s my members who play the biggest part to make our situation work, and I’m proud of them. This is one of those moments when I get to appreciate my members more — their efforts — not to mention the required patience when working with me, their individuality, and their trust to the system that we put in our team. We might still have few months to go in this kind setup, and I hope that everyone will continue to hold on.
