When discussing remote work, we often talk about how it’s comfortable for people with a high level of independence — those who can plan their time, motivate themselves to complete tasks (and generally understand that remote work is not freelance, but “freelend”).
If we are assembling an entire team of such independent individuals, do they still need a manager? Can’t they manage themselves by simply handling tasks from Jira?
In this article, we will discuss what, in my opinion, a team leader should do in a remote setting. I should note right away that there are no groundbreaking ideas here; I have simply gathered many years of experience and highlighted a few of the most important points.
Do remote teams need a leader at all?
I am unequivocal in this matter. I am deeply convinced that nothing in this world can exist without management.
Personally, I do not believe in any self-organizing structures — holacracies and the like. Several people have tried to convince me that it is possible to organize certain distributed systems that work differently (and yet effectively). However, I am sure that every process needs someone who, so to speak, will raise the banner and take control of the process. If there are few people, the structure under their management can be single-level. If the team is large, a clear hierarchical management structure is required.
Two historical examples come to mind that perfectly illustrate this idea.
The first example is Sergey Pavlovich Korolev. Perhaps, as a scientist and designer, he was not the best — at that time, some of his colleagues generated ideas much faster. Still, the government chose him because S.P. Korolev was a person “in the know” with managerial experience and ambitions. He was a rather tough person, even somewhat harsh. Nevertheless, he was an excellent candidate for the role of head of the entire rocket project and he achieved certain successes.
The second example is Rostislav Evgenievich Alekseev, the developer of hydrofoil boats, which are still used on many water routes. He was an outstanding designer — he generated ideas and was passionate about them. At the same time, he was not a very good manager. According to recollections, people from his team retired massively. He died from injuries sustained during the testing of another design. Alekseev’s design bureau still continues his work, but the direction never became large-scale because he could not pull it off as a manager.
There are many such examples.
Every project needs someone who will take on managerial responsibility. Unfortunately, nature has arranged it so that only 1 to 4% of people in society are capable of this (this is my personal statistic). All the others can be brilliant artists, programmers, administrators, doctors, but they cannot launch projects.
Incidentally, if a team consists only of managers and no one wants to work, nothing good will come of it either. It’s a double-edged sword.
Why a manager in a remote team of independent individuals
During my manager’s career, I have come to several points regarding the functions of a manager specifically in a remote format.
The process is primary and should be structured by the manager
If we consider development as a business process, i.e., as a structure that moves through stages according to certain rules, the manager’s task is to build and manage this process.
In the office, certain aspects of the process can be overlooked. At any moment, people can quickly communicate with each other and compensate for this.
In a remote format, it is more difficult. Such random adjustments to processes are difficult, which means everything should be more formalized, even if the company itself is small. As a result, in remote work, the process itself, its formalization, and strict adherence come to the forefront. This also includes explaining processes — it is difficult for a new person to fit into everything at once, so a guide is needed that indicates how everything is organized in the company.
In my opinion, Kanban or Scrum works well in remote work. They don’t necessarily have to be canonical, but there needs to be iterativeness — you have tasks, you are accountable for them, and you deliver results once in a certain period. Consequently, there should be some tension associated with deadlines for delivering the next iteration. Without it, not much works well in remote work.
Manager sets up rituals, including communications
For remote teams, it is necessary to create communication rituals. This is a vast area of business processes related to communication. It is the manager’s responsibility to establish and manage them.
People are structured in such a way that they like to follow rituals. We wake up in the morning, someone brushes their teeth, someone drinks coffee, someone immediately grabs their phone and reads the news. Simple rituals are also important at work — first and foremost, we are humans, and only then workers.
In the office, intra-team rituals form naturally — in the smoking area, in the common kitchen during lunch, anywhere. This does not happen in remote work, so the manager’s task is to create rituals and ensure their implementation.
Daily stand-ups, in my opinion, are essential. Even if there is nothing to say, the manager should attend the stand-up and simply talk to the team. I mentioned iterations earlier — at the end of each of them, it is essential to summarize. There should be meetings related to starting a new sprint.
The manager needs to establish and promote strict communication rules:
- in which tool and at what hours communication takes place;
- how to mention each other;
- which messages to respond to and at what speed;
- how to write and respond to emails;
- how to schedule calls;
- whether lateness for meetings is acceptable, and so on.
These should be unwavering rules acceptable to the entire team. They are of great importance, so they must be strictly adhered to.
If we use Slack, then we communicate in it. This means that everyone’s notifications should work so that there is no need to tag a person in Telegram to ensure they see the message.
From personal experience, I note that it is convenient when the team is small, and internal agreements allow, in case of emergency, to call someone on the phone without warning and quickly discuss something. If the person cannot talk at that moment, they simply decline the call and call back as soon as they can.
It is essential to have one-on-one meetings between the manager or team lead and the team. There needs to be a process of sharing impressions — is everything going well, are there any remarks? The communication should be with the camera on — it is important for the interlocutor to read emotions and receive some non-verbal feedback. Exceptions can be made to this rule if the colleague does not have the technical capability today (internet problems, a meeting on the go, etc.). However, this should be a rare occurrence. Regular communication without a camera leads to a loss of the effect of personal communication — the level of involvement is completely different.
Manager monitors dashboards
Another tool that the manager should use is dashboards that show how and where we are moving.
If you take an average developer and ask them if the big picture is important, they will most likely say that they are just working on their tasks and don’t care about the rest. Still usually, they just don’t realize how important the big picture is to them.
Everyone should have the opportunity to see what is happening. The manager can show this in some charts or diagrams, share in emails, during short meetings, and so on.
In my current team, I have made it a rule to send what we call a “motivational email” on Monday morning — a short message indicating the number of closed tasks and the overall current work situation. Although the email is largely formal, it leaves an impression — people see why we are doing all this, understand the result of their work from the previous week, and stay connected to the context.
Perhaps, the manager should occasionally talk more about where and how we are going. People need to constantly feel a certain sense of movement. There shouldn’t be tasks that are just to fill time.
A Manager Should Support Mentorship
Mentorship is a great practice that fosters communication within the team. People should form small groups and interact with each other.
There should also be certain rules in mentorship — regularity, agreements, and so on. The manager needs to oversee this as well.
I want to emphasize (and I have already mentioned this in my articles) that in my opinion, remote work is not suitable for juniors. In large teams, mid-level and senior members might be able to support them, but in a small team, a junior will just drag it down. The focus should be on mentorship at higher levels.
A Manager Should Foster a Culture of Offline Meetings
People spend more than a third of their lives at work. In the IT industry, even when you close your laptop, work remains on your mind. During this time, it’s important to feel a sense of camaraderie with your team, which means spending a bit more time with colleagues, including outside of work-related tasks and in other activities.
It’s possible to interact outside of work online — playing games, doing quizzes, etc. However, in my opinion, online interaction effectiveness is very low. Offline activities work much better — local or general team meetings. These are difficult to organize and involve additional expenses that the company has to bear. However, once a quarter or half-year, these meetings are feasible. From my experience, people are eager to attend them.
The manager’s task is to organize this process. HR can assist, but managers must be involved because HR personnel spend less time with developers in daily life and may have a weaker understanding of the team. The manager knows the internal dynamics better and can select activities more accurately.
In conclusion, a manager is necessary for remote work, but in their role, they must consider the remote format, focusing on what helps internal communications.
Author: Kirill Antonov, one of the founders of Maxilect.
