Leading and Managing Remote Teams (Trainer)

Session One

Breaking Down the Three Keys to Unlocking your Success as a True Leader

• Mindset: Opening the mind, challenging our beliefs and thinking like a leader
• Knowledge versus learning: Recognising the importance of learning over knowledge
• Action: Highlighting key traits of great  action-takers and action-makers

·         Developing winning attitudes and avoiding the victim mindset

Discussion: What do you think makes a great leader and how can you recognize these traits in others?

Session Two

Improving Communication and Building Situational Leadership for your Remote Teams

·         Becoming the right leader, for the right situation, at the right time:

–          Using Ken Blanchard’s five leadership styles effectively

–          Critical tips for the successful management and leadership of your remote teams

• Recognising the true cost of poor communication

·          Utilising the right communication channels  for follow-ups and feedback

·         Enhancing communication through structure and recognition

·         Resolving conflicts and disagreements in a timely manner

Practical Exercise and Discussion: Looking at the Big Picture

·         The true power of effective communication for remote teams and what can we do to improve it?

Session Three

Moulding the Right Leader: Building Trust, Leadership and Accountability

·         Forming the basics of trust and creating a sense of team identity:

–          How are remote teams different from on-site teams?

·         Analysing the difference between ‘steering’ and ‘leading’

·         Defining, encouraging, leading and effectively managing your remote teams

–           What are the unique needs and demands of a virtual team?

·         Building the right team that fits your company’s mission and vision:

–          Motivation

–          Appraisal

–          Recognition

·          Monitoring and controlling engagement as well as focus

·         Setting expectations and evaluating the performance of your remote teams

Practical Exercise:

·         Leadership versus management

·         How do you recognise (remotely) when it is appropriate to lead or when to manage?

Session Four

Leveraging Technology to Assist and Bring Out the Best in Remote Teams

• Setting the foundation for success using technology:

–          5 technologies you need to manage remote teams

·         Analysing management tools and methodologies to structure, plan and monitor teams and activities

·         Evaluating the core features and functionalities of collaboration tools:

–          How can you track, measure and achieve performance objectives?

• Trust through technology: Stressing the importance and benefits of building trust throughout your organisation especially when remote and virtual teams are engaged.

·         Overcoming objections and obstacles to change

Practical Exercise: What are some of the digital tools and methods to improve the productivity and efficiency of your remote teams?

Session One  

Identifying the Critical Factors that Make Winning Remote/Virtual Teams

• The 6 keys to a winning team
• Recognising and avoiding characteristics of dysfunctional teams
• Making the change:

–          Storming

–          Forming

–          Norming

–          Performing

• Analysing the 12 strategies for building the ultimate remote team

Practical Exercise: Delegates will reflect and assess the effectiveness of their own managers, team leaders and team members. What are areas that can be improved further?

Session Two

The Perfect Fit: Attracting and Recruiting the Right Employees that Can Thrive Under Remote Working Conditions

·         Activating, stimulating and motivating your teams remotely

·         Evaluating strategies and techniques for maintaining the highest levels of performance

·         Talent management: Promoting cultural diversity across teams for global success

·         Learning and customising different working styles that fit best within remote teams

·         Employee profiling: Breaking down the capability and skills of each employee to see how well they cope in different environments

Practical Exercise and Discussion:

·         What are the biggest motivators for your team?

Session Three

Facilitating Meetings and Review Sessions

·         Considering the organisation’s  capabilities, capacities and services

·         Making the most of growing number of co-working spaces within the region

·         Analysing, understanding and addressing the different expectations of remote employees

·         Creating an inclusive, positive and motivational environment

·         Holding the process together: Avoiding disconnects and aligning priorities

·         Making risk, assumptions, issues, and dependencies transparent and visible:

–          Promoting honest and open lines of communications with remote employees

Practical Exercise: Identifying ways in which participants can create an inclusive environment

Session Four

Elevating the Overall Performance of Remote Teams: Key Traits of High Level Employees

• Tactics to influence the outcome for your remote teams
• Remote leader traits versus remote follower traits: Great leaders need great followers

·         Developing a robust team engagement plan:

–          Establishing a code of collaboration and sustaining motivation in virtual teams

·         Analysing different dimensions of culture, personality and behaviour to assign roles and responsibilities

·         Building the right mindset to deal with adversity

Discussion: What can you do to become a better remote team leader?