Thoughts from the Chair #1
April 8, 2010
I was conducting some leadership training in Rome in March, which focused on the complexities of managing a remote team. The client was convinced that traditional leadership models would not fulfil the needs of a team that is not sharing an office, but located in various countries around the world. The head of the project demanded real life examples of remote teams that work well together and how they are managed. My first idea was to draw comparisons with the England football team, or any national football team for that matter. These are a group of individuals who rarely get to play together and yet they are expected to achieve spectacular results on a given occasion. How do you keep them motivated, enthusiastic and collaborative? As a group we talked about team branding – how their colours set them apart and give them a sense of identity. We talked about practising together, even if it cannot be regularly, but how any chance to get together can greatly add to a sense of team unity. We concluded by talking about the football manager and how he can do a lot to encourage a team spirit by the quality of his behaviour and communication.
Searching for another example, I realised that I lead a remote team! The Women in Business group is exactly like that! We are a group of individual ladies who share a common purpose – we are all running our own businesses and, as such, we enjoy the support of each other and learning about how we can do better. We are based all over North Kent and we only get to see each other once a month. In many ways this makes my job as Chairwoman more complex. As I see it, part of my duty is to maintain a sense of team spirit and I do that through communicating regularly (yes – some would say too regularly, I know!) However, I am a strong believer that people want to be communicated with. They welcome information. I have been told countless times, by my delegates, that their manager never communicates with them and they hate it! They feel disempowered and de-motivated.
I see my role as that of the glue that binds the group together. I want all our members to feel that they belong to a supportive group of like-minded ladies and so I communicate at least twice a month to maintain that united feel. I hope it works!
