The Long-Distance Leader: Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership

This book has the answer. It's packed with practical tips on how to inspire, coach, manage, and communicate with workers in different cities, continents and time zones, along with some insightful analysis of leadership models. But what sets it apart is its emphasis on good leadership in general.

This approach gives "The Long-Distance Leader" a broad audience. In fact, it's a must-read for anyone who wants to improve their own leadership skills and learn how to use technology to stay connected with remote workers and inspire them to do their best work. Even if you're not a remote leader today, you might be in the future, and this book can help you prepare for it.

It's also a great refresher on what makes a good leader. As the authors point out, the fundamentals of leadership remain the same whether you see your employees face-to-face every day or once a year.

But "The Long-Distance Leader" isn't just for reading. It asks you to do some work, as well. The book is packed with practical tips and questions, which are there to get you to stop and think, to review how you're leading, and in some cases to start making changes immediately.

Authors Kevin Eikenberry and Wayne Turmel are co-founders of the Remote Leadership Institute, which trains organizations and individuals to lead virtual teams effectively. Eikenberry is also founder of the Kevin Eikenberry Group, a leadership training and consulting company, and he's been named one of Inc.com's Top 100 Leadership and Management Experts in the world. He's the author of a number of books, including "Remarkable Leadership."

Co-author Wayne Turmel is an expert in management and communications skills, and the author of "10 Steps to Successful Virtual Presentations" and "Meet Like You Mean It."

So keep listening to hear how you can help remote workers meet their goals, how to build trust across continents, and how to take care of yourself as a leader, so you can better take care of others.

"The Long-Distance Leader" begins by exploring how much the role of a leader has changed over the years. The authors draw on a survey they carried out in 2017 of several hundred managers who had at least some of their team members working remotely. The survey found that the basic principles of good leadership haven't changed much over the years. It's always been about human beings, behavior, good coaching, and communication skills, and the ability to deliver outcomes and meet expectations, no matter where people are based. That's why many of the suggestions in this book are relevant to leaders of teams that are physically present, as well as remote ones.

That said, some things have changed, which means that some ways of leading might be out of date. Leaders of multinational or virtual teams now need processes to overcome the fact that they rarely see their people, for example. And, they need to get to grips with technology, so they can use it to communicate effectively. If leaders don't embrace tech, their team members will resist it, too.

Remote leaders also need to be more attuned to the nuances of communication. How they tell how an announcement goes down when they can't see anyone's face. Whether people really understand the new strategy, or if they're feeling reassured or worried about it.

Leaders need to find ways to check how tasks are progressing, too, while giving remote workers freedom and autonomy. It's a tough balancing act.

Against this backdrop, Eikenberry and Turmel argue that today's leaders must focus on, and master, three areas. This is their "three-O model of leadership." The first O stands for Outcomes, or a team's goals. The second is for Others – that is, the people who must achieve those goals. And the third O is for Ourselves. It's a reminder that good leaders are self-aware and work with balance, taking care of their own well-being.

We're going to take a closer look at each of these three areas, starting with the authors' tips on helping remote workers meet their targets.

One obvious downside of remote working is that we can't see what other people are doing. This is a challenge for some leaders who believe that "when the cat's away, the mice will play." They worry that workers will get distracted, won't meet their goals, and won't pull their weight. Some leaders also worry that employees will put in too many hours, logging on before breakfast, working through dinner, and potentially burning themselves out.

The trick is to put processes and systems in place that help people to stay on track and allow leaders to monitor their progress, without micromanaging. It's important to be really clear about what you expect from each remote worker, from the start, and to agree SMART goals, both for teams and individuals.

It also pays to set time aside for regular updates, and for coaching via webcam. During these sessions, allow remote workers to lead the discussion, or make sure they feel they at least have co-ownership of the meeting. And show that you are taking this time seriously by clearing your schedule and guarding against interruptions. You should aim to give remote workers the same level of feedback and support as those who are just down the hall. Eikenberry and Turmel have a range of tools and checklists that you can download to help you, at LongDistanceLeaderBook.com.

You can see how some of these suggestions will be just as relevant to leaders of physically present teams as they are to remote workers. The authors don't shy away from this, or from the fact that this book is about the fundamentals of leadership above all else. But they also identify the common pitfalls of remote working and point out that remote leaders must up their game in certain areas, such as clarifying and monitoring goals, coaching, and giving feedback.

We especially like how they end the section on Outcomes with a series of questions and a call to action, under the headings "So What?" and "Now What?" Check your calendar, they say. If it doesn't have any coaching sessions in it this week, fix that right now. Some leaders will find this direct approach challenging, but that's the idea.

The sections on Others and Ourselves also end with calls to action, so let's take a closer look at them, too.

Long-distance business-based relationships can be as challenging as long-distance romantic ones. It's hard to build a connection and to keep that connection alive – and it's more difficult to build and maintain trust. Trust can also be broken more easily over long distances, and sometimes we don't realize the damage is done until it's too late. So how can leaders build high levels of trust with team members who work in other parts of the globe?

Eikenberry and Turmel suggest a three-pronged approach to building trust that focuses on a common purpose, high levels of competence, and shared motives. These three components make up what they call the Trust Triangle.

To check that both you and your team members have a common purpose, you can ask yourself a few telling questions. Is everyone behind the organization's mission statement? Has everyone signed up to the team's objectives? Does everyone understand and agree with the direction of travel?

When it comes to competence, it goes both ways. Do you believe your workers are capable of doing what you ask of them? Do you have full confidence in their abilities? And do they have faith in your skills?

Finally, do your motives and your remote workers' motives match up? Is everyone willing to go the extra mile for the sake of the team or the organization? Do you have your employees' backs, or will you always side with the company? Do you follow through on your promises?

These questions are useful, as are the authors' practical tips on building trust. For example, Eikenberry and Turmel suggest leaders share praise in public, and delegate in public, too. For remote teams, this might mean during a web meeting. They advise leaders to intentionally create opportunities to build trust between remote workers, by mixing up teams, assigning mentors, or delegating training to team members, which allows for lots of interaction. They also look at the large number of communication tools available, from video chat to instant messaging, and explore their pros and cons. There's a lot to help managers here.

Let's now look at the section on Ourselves, which reminds leaders that their own mental and physical well-being are a vital part of their team's success.

Many leaders are so busy focusing on outcomes and managing others that they forget to shine the spotlight on themselves, the authors say. If they forget to ask for feedback on their own performance, they may be blissfully unaware of how they impact others. They may allow themselves to become socially isolated, especially if leading from a distance, which could make them susceptible to self-doubt and negative self-talk. And they might struggle to set boundaries, exhausting themselves by working too many hours and carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.

Eikenberry and Turmel believe in the maxim that you can't take care of others unless you take care of yourself first. They suggest all leaders, especially remote ones, regularly ask for feedback, perhaps by using an anonymous 360 assessment to gather the views of team members, peers, bosses, customers, and suppliers.

Getting this regular feedback should help to break any sense of isolation. It can also help avoid impostor syndrome, which affects more than 70 percent of leaders, according to a study quoted in the book. Even if the feedback we get is mixed, it probably won't be as bad as the negative self-talk we can succumb to when we spend too much time on our own.

The authors also suggest leaders set healthy boundaries, separating out work and personal time, outsourcing or delegating time-consuming tasks, and asking for help. And they advise leaders to set priorities for their personal life, alongside any professional goals. Make a list of what's important to you, they say – such as exercise, family time, self-development, or a hobby – and allocate small blocks of time to each of these things.

We like this focus on personal goals and healthy boundaries. Well-being is a buzzword right now so the authors are on trend, but many business books treat mental and physical health as an afterthought. In this book, it's considered one of the key pillars of success for remote leaders.

The authors wrap up with a section on how to develop long-distance leaders, which again includes checklists and questions to help organizations expand into remote working.

This practical approach is one of this book's main strengths. The authors want people to respond with action, rather than to simply read it. Some of their questions are challenging and will no doubt prompt leaders to do some soul-searching and make some changes.

Case studies support this practical approach, and throughout the book there are stories about leaders of remote teams. These include Frank, the sales manager; Raul, the supervisor of a team of software engineers; and Connie, a project manager with teams scattered across the United States.

We hear what worked for these leaders and what didn't. These stories help to bring the authors' theories and practical tips to life, making them easy to apply. The book's content is also well structured and easy to follow overall.

So are there any downsides? Well, there's some repetition between the chapters and the sections, and you'll have heard many of the tips and tools before. After all, as you heard earlier, this book is as much about leadership as it is about remote leadership. But the authors do a good job of identifying the unique pitfalls faced by long-distance leaders, compared to those who share an office with their teams.

So if you want to refresh your leadership skills and learn to lead successfully from afar, this book is well worth a read.

"The Long-Distance Leader," by Kevin Eikenberry and Wayne Turmel, is published by Berrett-Koehler.

That's the end of this episode of Book Insights. Thanks for listening.