Are You a Natural Remote Team Leader?

Sure, leading a team takes practice, but when it comes down to it, some people are just natural-born leaders. That doesn’t mean that if you’re not a natural leader you can’t implement some of the innate strategies that leaders use in order to be successful. Whether you’re a natural remote team leader or not, the below five tips can help you improve your game.

Tips to improve as a remote team leader:

1. Leaders make moves—literally.

You’ll rarely find a leader sitting down chained to a desk all day, particularly a remote team leader. Instead, remote leaders find ways in which to incorporate exercise into their day—and make it work to their advantage. After all, putting your body in motion not only relieves stress, but it also clears your mind, making room for new ideas to emerge. So if you’re a remote team leader, take advantage of your work-from-home status and score some exercise, either by hitting the gym or by taking a brisk walk around your neighborhood during your weekly all-staff meetings.

2. Leaders know how to listen.

Strong leaders know that a successful remote team is not built by only utilizing their own ideas. By listening to the members of their teams during pitch meetings, or even when issues arise, remote leaders are able to harness the power of their workers and then translate that into success for the entire team and the company at large.

3. Leaders are open to change.

Sure, your company has done business pretty much the same way since day one, but that doesn’t mean that it has to continue. Natural remote team leaders see where things are going well at work—and where there are bottlenecks—and seek to fix any problems, even if it means changing policy or implementing an entirely new program that might initially cost more in money and effort on their team’s part but will pay off at the end. Natural remote team leaders are always staying one step ahead in trying to find new (and better) ways of doing business.

4. Leaders have work-life balance.

When you have team members crisscrossing the globe and an overflowing workload, it’s easy to pass over your personal life in order to keep your professional life afloat. But natural remote team leaders know that the whole point of remote work is to afford people (managers included) the ability to have work-life balance. After all, work flexibility is good for families and businesses. That’s why natural remote team leaders make sure to intermingle the professional with the personal in order to have a well-balanced life.

5. Leaders know how to delegate.

No one can do it all, least of all remote work managers. That might explain why natural remote leaders will delegate to other team members. But it doesn’t end there; remote team leaders won’t just pick any old person to complete a project. They ensure being able to achieve the best results possible by capitalizing on the strengths of their workers, which makes them feel that they are truly valued members of the team.

Good leadership is essential to the success of any organization. Even if you’re not necessarily a natural-born remote leader, there’s no reason why you can’t become one! By understanding the needs of a remote team leader, you can adjust your management style to position yourself—and your company—for success!