#03: Leading remote teams

A Q&A with Lauren Currie OBE

Dec 16, 2020

Welcome to Pass It On—a newsletter bringing the tech and non-profit sectors closer together through knowledge sharing, written and edited by Lauren Crichton.

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We’re down to the final two weeks of 2020, the year that’s tested us beyond imagination and irrevocably changed how many of us work overnight. Change is hard, and navigating it successfully within an organisation requires good leadership. But what exactly is ‘good’ leadership, and are the skills needed when we’re all remote any different from those required under ‘normal’ circumstances?

These are some of the questions I put to confidence and leadership entrepreneur, Lauren Currie OBE in this week’s Q&A. Lauren’s answers are sharp, thought-provoking, and filled with advice that’s relevant for teams of all shapes and sizes.

🦸‍♀️How to lead remote teams with Lauren Currie OBE

Empowering others is a red thread in your work. Tell us about your latest venture, Stride, and what you hope it will bring to leaders.

Leadership development is a $370bn industry. It's broken because it's expensive, elitist, and doesn't scale. Stride is a next-generation leadership development platform for first-time leaders and their teams. We're making learning to lead social and collaborative.

The current market is in our favour because COVID-19 has been a leadership test. To say that the results came back negative is an understatement. We need new leaders; antiracist, feminist leaders who lead with kindness and empathy.

I hope that by challenging stereotypical notions about leadership, Stride will help create leadership parity and play a pivotal role in closing the race and gender leadership gap.

What skills do leaders need to run effective remote teams? Are these skills any different from leading in a "non-remote" context?

We need to double down on our existing skills and build new muscles of empathy, listening, and existing in permanent uncertainty. We need more skills that some would label "soft." I think it's time we stopped calling them soft skills because there's nothing soft or weak about communication, collaboration, and empathy. These skills are essential, and they are the future of good leadership.

Why do we need them right now? The danger and scope of the COVID-19 pandemic have upended "normal" life for more than nine months, causing billions of people around the world to experience unexpected emotional turmoil. Though we might not realise it, the emotional turmoil of 2020 can, and is, manifesting symptoms of trauma in many of us. This requires all of us to show up with intention for ourselves and each other; this is what good leadership is.

Not only are we working remotely, we're also working in a global pandemic, the most significant moment in Black history and the aftermath of an American election. This is A LOT for your teams and people to hold. Acknowledge this. Give people space. Listen. Really listen.

There's a lot of hype around staff wellbeing and mental health resources when, more often than not, the problem is shitty managers and toxic culture. Do the work to make your people feel appreciated and safe, like showing your team you're engaged. If people feel that you don't pay attention when they speak or value their thoughts and opinions, they'll shut down. Be present during meetings. Make eye contact and get rid of distractions. It's tempting to glance at your phone, but these small acts of disengagement will negatively impact your team's psychological safety.

On a practical note, I'd prioritise re-designing your meetings as you suggested in your first issue, Lauren!

The pandemic has forced many organisations to change how they work overnight. How should leaders respond to employees resisting change towards new processes or tools?

Someone who is resisting is engaged. This is way easier to work with than someone who has checked out. It's best not to try and argue with a sceptic. They've likely been disappointed before, probably by someone like you who was excited about a new shiny thing, and then nothing changed. Focus on creating the value and change they will experience; they'll believe it when they see it.

Usually, people resist change when they lack understanding or don't have enough time to adjust. Be empathetic towards the late adopters and consistently highlight how the technology will improve your team’s situation. Sometimes these tools are finicky—two in five workers feel let down by digital tools. Be patient and keep role modelling that it's okay to make mistakes, to ask silly questions, and work outside your comfort zone.

How can leaders maintain and foster team cohesiveness and trust when everyone is working remotely?

The most simple yet challenging way to build trust is to listen. 'Listen' is an acronym for 'silence.' We are all guilty of interrupting—if we all just stopped and listened, we could radically change our organisations very quickly. In team meetings, give your feedback last. Listen to learn, not listen to respond.

I'd also think about how you might role model vulnerability. We all know how physically taxing it is to pretend everything's okay when it's not. Not putting on a front builds resilience and strengthens social bonds, equipping teams to respond better the next time something goes wrong. As a leader, look for an opportunity to share your personal story of failure. Or start a team meeting with a roundtable discussion, asking everyone to share something they failed at and what it taught them. You should go first here. Explain how your experience impacted you with emotion. And listen, listen, listen.

Finally, learn to work in the open; this will benefit you and your team in a myriad of ways.

You spoke about sharing personal stories of failure. Why is failure important and what advantages does it bring to organisations?

Fear of failure is often baked into workplace culture in a way that makes people either unwilling to take risks, inclined towards hiding mistakes, or too ready to blame others. I always start by assuming that things won't work perfectly the first, second, or even fifth time my team and I try something new. In fact, I encourage it.

Take my company, Stride. Instead of spending 12 months working on our leadership app before launching it, we've been continuously releasing small parts of it to customers throughout 2020 and asking for their feedback. Those small parts might not be perfect, but they help us find out as quickly as possible whether we're on the right track. If we are, then we can invest more of our time and money with confidence. If we aren't, we have the customer feedback we need to figure out how to change course. None of this would be possible if we weren't comfortable with the possibility of failure.

Ultimately, there is no right or wrong; there is only try. Make new mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. And always share what the mistake teaches you.

How can Pass It On subscribers access and benefit from Stride?

Download the app for iPhone or Android (it’s currently free!)
Join in our bi-weekly live events with different leadership experts from around the world (for free)
Stride will help you build the habit of daily reflections. 15 minutes of daily reflection gives 23% higher performance!
Register your team to pilot with us
If you’ve enjoyed this Q&A, please follow me on Instagram and Twitter so we can continue the conversation.

Thank you, Lauren Currie!

And that's a wrap on our first Q&A. How did you find it? Have Lauren's questions changed your perspective in some way? Let me know by replying to this email or:

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