INT 086: How to Lead Virtual Teams Successfully

Virtual teams are everywhere in the post-pandemic professional world. While creating a virtual team is easy, managing and maintaining the relationships within those teams can be challenging. In today’s episode of IntHerrupt, Linda is joined by Amy Hanlon, president and founder of BlueMeta Design, to learn how she leads her virtual teams successfully.

When working from home, find a workspace that works for you.

• Amy works best in a standard office setting. However, other members of her team prefer their living room couch or a coffee shop. It all depends on personal preference.
• Everyone works differently, and remote leaders need to encourage that.

Challenges to virtual teams:

• The lack of personal connections within the workplace can make it difficult for many people.
• Amy’s team conducts standup meetings every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to discuss company updates, staff workload, or if there are any issues.
• Encouraging a team (as a leader) will set the environment and precedent for a collaborative atmosphere that helps people accomplish their virtual work.
• To make the virtual workplace more interesting, add elements of fun. For example, each Friday, a different member of her team gets to ask random icebreaker questions to encourage people to relax.

Conducting virtual performance evaluations:

• Communication is paramount, whether through slack, zoom call, or scheduled meetings down the line. 
• Maintaining communication will keep everyone informed, motivated, and on-task to accomplish company goals. 
• Amy’s team utilizes different softwares for HR and other departments to track timesheets, PTO, annual reviews and preestablished KPIs.  

Helping underperforming employees:

• Amy’s company uses carefully logged timesheets to show clients where their money is going.
• Because her team is composed of contractors, she makes sure they include detailed logs explaining how they allocated their time. 
• The great thing about working remotely is the flexibility of hours. People can work wherever and at whatever time. As long as projects get done, Amy is happy.

For more content and information from Amy, connect with her on LinkedIn or visit her company website at bluemetadesign.com. Do you have stories to tell? Connect with Linda to share them. This podcast is produced by TSE Studios. Check out other podcasts by TSE Studios, including this episode’s sponsor, The Sales Evangelist, helping new and struggling sellers close more deals and achieve their sales goals. Subscribe to the IntHERrupt Podcast so you won’t miss a single show. Find us on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, and Stitcher. Audio created by Ryan Rasmussen Productions.