When people work remotely, it becomes clear – immediately – who is leading the team and who is managing it.
Managing a remote team is easy – you check the presence icon and make sure it’s green and work is being done in the ticket system.
Leading a remote team is a whole other endeavour and involves checking in with the team, seeing how they are doing, inquiring as to whether they need help, encouraging communication with the team, trying to find new ways to keep things fresh and most importantly rekindling those moments and culture you had in the office.
Some Managers are leaders and are doing these things, realizing old metrics of peg counts and presence just don’t cut it. So they are moving to something new and different, something that isn’t black or white, but is all gray, all the time.
As a result, people are realizing that their current managers might not be cutting it and it’s time for them to lead up, take control and help the team (and themselves continue to grow).
The best part is, they aren’t waiting for permission or direction, they are going ahead and doing it.
It’s called Leading Up and when your team is involved, it’s the only way to go.
