Distance management – five pieces of good advice for management from a distance

Are you also one of those leaders who don’t see your employees at the office more than once or twice a week? Hybrid working has come to stay, but it may be difficult to create a sense of attentive leadership from a distance. That’s why we give you five focus points that may help you on your way to successful distance management.

It’s obvious that being a leader doesn’t change completely just because the task needs to be solved under different conditions. However, distance management is still something special because much of what we consider good, visible, and attentive leadership is much harder to practice from a distance.

Well-known management concepts such as trust and communication take on new aspects and nuances when leaders must manage without perhaps their most important tools: continuous contact, informal communication, daily interaction, and an array of physical meetings with employees.

And this has an impact on management processes.

A number of initiatives are important in the short term to become successful with distance management and to ensure that you succeed with your core tasks, that relationships are supported, and that your employees thrive though you have different locations.

Below, we have outlined five of the most important criteria for succeeding with distance management.

Common to them is that they create direction, coordination, and commitment:

1. Plan daily check-ins
2. Communicate, communicate, communicate
3. Utilise technological resources
4. Focus on results rather than activity
5. Delegate and show confidence.

You should, as far as possible, ensure daily contact with your employees to align on the day's agenda. Make sure to create a structured overview of tasks and deadlines, so that there’s no doubt who does what. Emails and phone calls cannot replace the strength of face-to-face communication. It’s important that you see each other, as visibility helps increase your employees’ confidence and commitment. Therefore, ensure that communication takes place over video when possible.

In times characterised by great uncertainty and social distancing, it’s important to communicate even more than usually. Let your employees know that you are available and attentive. Corporate spirit is at risk of disappearing at a distance. Therefore, it’s important that you incorporate informal communication in your management, thereby building trust and presence across the distance. Prioritise following up on individual employees as well as informal team meetings. This will strengthen the sense of belonging. Not just internally within the team, but also to the company and to you as a leader. Even five minutes of informal chat about weekend plans can make a difference.

Social distancing should not prevent us from collaborating. Fortunately, modern technology can help us continuously share knowledge and solve tasks together. Programs like Microsoft Teams and Zoom allow for face-to-face communication, and at the same time, these programs enable users to share their home screen, which makes distance collaboration considerably easier. The availability of the right technological resources is therefore an important investment if you want to continue to reap the benefits of your employees' valuable co-creation. When the new reality is virtual, technology and digitalisation become essential for your company's performance.

Technology may also contribute to creating transparency and an overview of your team's capacity and the progress of ongoing tasks. A shared, updated overview of the different tasks makes it easier for your team to prioritise business-critical tasks and meet your deadlines.

These days, nothing is 'business as usual'. Your employees are sitting at home. The children are not in daycare or school. Nothing is as it used to be. There is a need for increased flexibility as your employees navigate a daily life where they act as business partners, Danish teachers, and pre-school teachers at the same time. Focus should, therefore, be on results rather than activities, as the working hours are most likely spread throughout the day and characterised by many interruptions.

This leads us to ...

When focus has shifted to results rather than activity, it also means that you must be confident that your employees will take responsibility and deliver as agreed. You should encourage and motivate your employees towards self-management. Virtual management is a paradox that requires a strong stomach. On the one hand, you still need to have the big picture, but on the other hand, you should give your employees the autonomy to act independently. By showing confidence, you strengthen your employees' sense of ownership of the tasks. This enhances the employees' intrinsic motivation – and it isn’t unlikely that it may lead to better results.

As a leader, it’s absolutely crucial that you set both a short-term and a long-term direction. It’s crucial to maintaining your employees' motivation. A common direction creates hope and is business-critical when new work premises govern ordinary workdays.