remote leadership

[tenderfoot]

Hey, I'm a web development manager working for a mid size non profit. I'm part of the development team responsible for branding, fundraising,  marketing strategy etc... Due to circumstances, I work remotely, about 41/2 hrs from the other team members. Our team though tight, covers a lot of ground, and many projects are run solo. I'm also the longest employed person on the team, and have the most knowledge of the organization, so I can say I do have the respect of my peers.  Our team has also went through 3 chief development officers in the last 3 years also. 

My question is how do I best exercise extreme ownership principles in the team. I've been applying to them to tasks I own but know there could be great value if applied to the overall team. I just don't want to miss an opportunity. Thank you. 

[mynewunit]

My recommendation would be 2 directions. Toward the team, create a method of regular communication. A group chat, conf call or something else. My work team has 5 people in my office, then people in 4 other offices. We have a skype call every Friday morning to talk about work deadlines, troubles.

The other thing would be to talk to the 3 chiefs in 3 years. They should be training their successors and/or distributing their tasks. The intent is to be able to operate, succeed, flourish without them. Good "officers" are often stolen by larger or lucrative positions. A good team will help an officer stay. Think of yourself as an NCO, non commissioned officer. Let the new leader use you in ways that assist his leadership. Occasionally you can deliver bad news, create enthusiasm, or initial criticism. But also let him take the vision role, give him the context of each team member, help him understand what you know about the company ethos, frustrations and impact.

[tenderfoot]

Thanks, chief.

Follow up question: We do weekly calls/ or hangouts. Plus message all day and quarterly retreats, so we communicate well. How do I better introduce the concepts of Extreme Ownership into the group without being a pain in the ass.

[mynewunit]

So, If you guys do good on the communication, then next is to get the Why. The book chapter is about getting the team to buy in on taking the Iraqi troops on ops. Get the team members to understand their task on a greater scale, or from another perspective.
In my field, we talk about the customer result, and the deliverable. We try to get people to think about what is done by the person before us, and then what is done by the person after us. Also, what information does the client, customer, reader want? What do they know? What do you want them to know? This is a good way to figure out where to put your time energy and effort. This is a little bit of detachment, leading up and down the chain of command, and owning the why.

Great questions. How about something from you on what has helped the team? What do you do on the quarterly retreats?

[tenderfoot]

Thank you. Reread the chapter this week. (first time as a family) Great stuff for sure.

We've been working at making sure every project lines up with the our mission, and not just the mission but particular programs. Try to view everything as a spoke on a wheel, and make they all connect. It's something I did at my previous job, but newer to this team. We have an outline of the meeting and set time limits for each subject, each subject is really owned by one or two team members so we report, get feedback, have a discussion, and schedule followup or change if need be. Our retreats are pretty loose, held at our supervisors house. No bad ideas, and sometimes it's just a lot of darts being thrown, but ya never know which will land.

Thank you again

[mrtk]

Hi tenderfoot,

I currently lead 3 remote teams, I work from home, and most of my team members do as well.  They are located all around the country (actually a couple of them are in other countries).  When I transitioned to fully remote, I did have to make some tweaks to my management and communication styles.

BTW, it's awesome that you're thinking about these things, and trying to be a leader for your team.

Meeting Rhythms
Here's the meeting rhythms that I've developed over the years (note mostly set in stone, will adjust as necessary):

• Daily Huddle - Duration: 15 minutes (or less). I've used this throughout my career, it has a very strict timeline and agenda (more information below).
• Weekly Meeting - Duration: 1 hour. Celebrate success for accomplishing previous weeks targets, review targets for the next week. Discuss issues.
• Monthly Meeting - Duration: 1.5 hrs.  15 minutes reviewing Organizational strategic goals. 15 minutes reviewing our team goals (mapped to Organizational goals). 30 minutes on team-wide tactical topic.  30 minutes with a team member presenting a specific topic, project, etc.
• Quarterly Meeting - Duration: 2 hrs. (plus open discussion as needed).  Review Organization strategic goals and team goals.  Introduce Quarterly Theme (if we have one). Celebrate last quarters success and KPIs. Detail this quarters goals and KPIs. Have multiple team members present a topic. Open discussion.
• Yearly Team Meeting (in person) - Duration: 2 days. I put together an agenda. We usually meet from breakfast, then we work hard all day, generally on complex topics, or big problems. We whiteboard A LOT since we don't get to do that often.  We then all meet at night for a meal and some kind of fun.

This is just an example, but it works for me. BTW, yes we chat all day too, but the that quick touch point each morning allows all team members hear about what others are working on, and if they're having a problem. Often someone else has already solved a similar problem and will get with them directly after the daily huddle.

Quick idea for you - It's awesome that you get together with your team quarterly. You could bring up to your supervisor the idea of having one (or more) people present an idea, topic, or recent project.  Something the others would find interesting.

Daily Huddle (aka Daily Stand-up)
The daily huddle is taken from the book "Mastering the Rockefeller Habits".  My interpretation anyway.
It's generally 4 days per week (you can skip it the day of your weekly meeting).
It's short...shoot for 10 - 15 minutes.
It always starts on-time, all team members are on-time...no exceptions...it's a 10 minute meeting.
The only excuse to not be on the call is if out sick/PTO. Traveling? At a client site? Doesn't matter.
Someone is selected to the 'owner' of the meeting to ensure it stays on track (I do this the first week, then give to another team member).
Agenda: Review 1 or 2 key KPI's (if applicable). Go around the room, everyone answers two questions. #1 thing they're focusing on today, any 'stucks' or problems.  If someone does have a 'stuck' you identify who can help them, and they talk after this meeting (not during).

Thanks,

[tenderfoot]

Thanks mrtk! This is great. Defiantly going to bring this up at our next quarterly meeting.