In Part 1 of this series, we discussed some of the challenges of working on remote teams and ideas for getting your remote team aligned. But, to truly be effective, your remote team has to find a way to build cohesion. After all, only when people are working together on the right things can we gain efficiencies.

Here are a few ideas:

One of the fastest ways to get a new team member "up to speed" is to make the process intentional.

In many companies, HR plays a key role in "onboarding" new employees. But more must be done at the team level (from senior leadership teams to functional teams) to help new team members get acclimated to the culture and its unwritten rules (that aren't documented in employee handbooks), and to truly understand roles and accountabilities (that aren't usually accurately captured in a position description).

When teams formally spend time orienting new team members it...

Last week Dick Winters died at age 92.

He was described in a Wall Street Journal article as the leader of a valiant World War II paratrooper company that became famous a half-century later in historian Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers. I first read the book while I was on active duty, and then later watched the HBO miniseries (about 10 times).

This is strange, Angela thought. Ben had never requested to meet with her alone.

She grabbed her notebook, went to the kitchen for a quick cup of tea and then into her meeting with Ben. It was slightly past 9:30am, as was customary. But, as unusual as it was, Ben was already sitting at the conference table. Angela noticed a piece of paper lying in front of him. Hmmm, Ben’s not usually
this formal.

We read about them every day – the charismatic, hard-driving leaders who have led their organization from the trenches into an amazing turnaround.

The leaders we don’t usually hear about are the humble, modest, reserved, gracias, mild-mannered, and self-effacing leaders that famous author and business Guru Jim Collins describes as Level 5 Leaders in his book Good to Great.

In almost any leadership book you read about, you'll hear that having a vision is important. But, for many people, the idea alone is difficult to understand. And, as a result, having a vision becomes elusive.

Getting clear about your vision for the team isn’t rocket science, and most leaders make it more complicated than it needs to be. It is simply being able to communicate the purpose of the team, where you would like the team to be, and how you would like the team to get there.

One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is leading by email (or by texting or by a project management tool or by chat or by some other technology) instead of Leading by Example. They provide feedback by email, delegate by email, and reset expectations over email. Even when their team members are sitting in cubicles right next to them!

I went to the dentist last week for the first of two visits to get a crown placed on a cracked tooth. Honestly, I hate going to the dentist. Don't get me wrong. My dentist is extremely competent, and I trust his work.

The thing about leadership is that its impact is often overlooked. In many organizations it's written off as "fluffy" or "soft." And, it's even less valued in companies where there is a heavy emphasis on engineering and technology. Boulder Denver

The problem with this perspective is that there is a real cost to organizations. The unaware leader who has no idea on how his or her style impacts team members is hurting employee productivity, engagement, and retention more than any other factor.

In Parts 1 and 2, I focused on how new managers can begin to make the transition from being a team member to being in charge.