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The Remote Leader’s Guide to Managing a Team
Article

The Remote Leader’s Guide to Managing a Team

Matthew Barby
Matthew Barby, 2020
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8

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Recommendation

Remote work is becoming increasingly common. While some enjoy the flexibility that home-based office work can offer, others develop a sense of isolation and pressure to be available on a 24/7 basis. Matthew Barby, a London-based executive at HubSpot, has plenty of experience managing teams spread across continents and time zones. He offers some of the best practices he has developed over the years in an informative article. Leaders and employees who regularly interact with virtual team members can learn from his insights.

Summary

Remote work comes in different forms.

Some businesses have completely gone virtual, with the entire workforce working remotely. Other companies, such as HubSpot, operate under a hybrid model with both office-based and remote employees working together. Having at least one physical office location can be an advantage for onboarding new remote staff members by enabling them to train at the head office and meet some of their co-workers in person. However, remote employees in such a setting may sometimes feel left out of the loop regarding new career opportunities that come up at the company. In-office workers, meanwhile, may perceive that their remote colleagues have more flexibility during the workday, which can cause resentment.

Conducting a “remote week” enables leaders and in-office workers to develop empathy for their remote colleagues and build best practices.

Hybrid teams that include office-based and remote employees can conduct a remote week experiment to build...

About the Author

Matthew Barby is the director of acquisitions at HubSpot and co-founder of the Traffic Think Tank.

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