Tips from yore, by Solie Mokienko

Managing teams today isn’t like it was back in the good old days (well, last month). Back then everyone sat together in the office and the biggest problem with running a team meeting would be finding a room big enough to hold you all! I used to manage projects where the developers, architects, testers, analysts, PMO and business reps would all work together in one space.

With developments in technology and changing attitudes, it is a lot more common for teams to be based in many different locations, some working from home, some even located in different countries. This is something that with Covid-19, a lot of people are having to adjust to very quickly.

Some years back I remotely managed a project team spread across South East Asia, India, Germany, two locations in the UK, and East Coast USA. In total, there was eight different time zones so I had to adjust the way I usually managed project teams. I came up with a number of simple principles for the team meetings, which I think are equally applicable to the current situation:

Create an Inclusive Meeting Agenda

There are those in the team who are more than happy to talk about what they are doing (and I’m definitely guilty on that score), but this could quickly narrow the meeting focus. To avoid this, we constructed the agenda to ensure each team member had an opportunity to talk and if we didn’t get to their slot, the agenda would be adjusted so that they went first next time. In AOB, we would go around the virtual table and ask each person if there was anything they wanted to raise.

Scheduling

It’s a good idea to set up a regular meeting with all of the project team at the same time each week/fortnight. The team know not to book anything else in at this time. It’s important to maximise attendance at these sessions so occasionally I would move the meeting so that those living on the far ends of the time zones could easily attend. This would be relevant if different members of your team have other commitments that they need to keep.

Make it Personal

We put in time at the beginning of meetings to get to know each other better … “What did you get up to at the weekend, did you dog eat your cushions again…”. At first, this may seem like a time cost, but you quickly realise that this is a real investment in either getting to know the team (where it’s new) or maintaining the vital human connection we get from our work. Obviously, not everyone wants to share their personal life, while others can have a tendency to overshare, so it should still be managed like the rest of the meeting agenda.

One other thing that’s important is to celebrate your successes, however small. Publicly acknowledging someone’s good work or dropping emails to line managers when something has gone well.

My team meetings weren’t always a raging success, but in those meetings we did feel like a team and that we were all in it together. There is huge value and satisfaction from a good team ethic. Now, more than ever, it is vital that you establish a strong foundation for remotely managing your organisation.

Solie Mokienko