The New Era of Remote Work: Managing Teams from Afar

By Kraig Kleeman
Founder & CEO, The New Workforce

In the past decade, remote work has evolved from a niche perk to the standard for many businesses. As someone who’s led high-growth companies and managed remote teams, I’ve experienced firsthand the unique challenges—and incredible opportunities—that come with building and leading remote teams. While working remotely has clear benefits, such as flexibility and cost savings, it also comes with its own set of hurdles. From communication issues to lack of team cohesion, remote work can be tricky to navigate.

The key to overcoming these challenges lies in effective management. As a leader, it’s your job to create an environment where remote teams can thrive, stay connected, and work toward common goals, even if they’re miles apart. In this article, I’ll walk you through the most common challenges of managing remote teams and the solutions that can help ensure your team performs at its best.

1. Challenge: Communication Breakdowns

Effective communication is the backbone of any successful team. However, in a remote work environment, communication can easily become fragmented. Without face-to-face interactions, nuances can be lost in emails or messages, and team members might feel disconnected or uninformed.

Solution: Leverage Multiple Communication Tools

One of the first things to address is the communication tools you use. Remote teams need access to more than just email to stay connected. From instant messaging to video calls, ensuring the right platforms are in place for both formal and informal communication is crucial.

• Video Calls for Meetings: Tools like Zoom or Microsoft Teams allow your team to maintain face-to-face interaction, which helps with building rapport and keeping the communication clear and effective.
• Instant Messaging for Quick Chats: Slack or Microsoft Teams can be used for instant communication, allowing team members to quickly ask questions or share information without the formality of emails.
• Project Management Tools for Transparency: Asana, Trello, or Monday.com help organize projects and tasks, ensuring everyone knows their responsibilities and deadlines. This adds clarity and minimizes misunderstandings.

A key strategy here is to encourage asynchronous communication when possible. While live meetings are necessary, using tools that allow people to work at their own pace—without waiting for a meeting to occur—can help remote teams stay in sync while still respecting different time zones and work schedules.

2. Challenge: Maintaining Team Cohesion and Culture

Team cohesion is often one of the first casualties of remote work. In a physical office, spontaneous interactions, team lunches, and quick check-ins can create a sense of camaraderie. Without those moments, team members can feel isolated, disconnected, or even detached from the company culture.

Solution: Prioritize Team Bonding and Build a Strong Remote Culture

Building and maintaining a strong culture in a remote environment requires intentional effort. Without face-to-face interactions, you must make it a point to create regular opportunities for team bonding and social connection.

• Virtual Team Building Activities: Schedule regular virtual happy hours, game sessions, or “watercooler” chats where your team can relax and connect outside of work tasks. This helps recreate the informal bonding that happens in a physical office.
• Establish Clear Core Values: Make sure your team understands the company’s core values and integrates them into their daily work. Reinforce these values through every interaction, meeting, and task, so they become the foundation for your remote team culture.
• Frequent Check-ins: Regular one-on-one check-ins not only help you understand the well-being of your team members but also reinforce their connection to the organization. Use these check-ins to ensure employees feel supported and valued.

By intentionally cultivating team culture, you can create an environment where remote employees feel like they’re part of a strong, united team, even from miles away.

3. Challenge: Lack of Accountability

In a remote environment, traditional methods of tracking productivity, like physically seeing employees at their desks, are no longer an option. Without clear accountability structures, it’s easy for team members to fall off track or for work to go unnoticed.

Solution: Set Clear Expectations and Track Progress

Accountability is crucial for remote teams to stay on top of their tasks and deadlines. However, this doesn’t mean micromanaging. Instead, it’s about setting clear expectations, providing the right tools, and measuring progress.

• Clearly Define Roles and Responsibilities: Make sure every team member knows exactly what their responsibilities are and how their performance will be measured. Clear role definitions prevent confusion and ensure everyone is aligned with company goals.
• Use Project Management Tools: Platforms like Asana, Trello, or Monday.com make it easy to track the progress of tasks and projects in real time. These tools allow managers and employees to see what’s expected, who’s responsible, and where things stand.
• Foster Ownership and Accountability: Empower your team by giving them autonomy and the responsibility to manage their own tasks. Trust your team to get the job done and support them with the right tools and resources.

When you create a clear structure for accountability and use tools to measure progress, remote team members are more likely to stay on track and feel a sense of ownership over their work.

4. Challenge: Time Zone Differences

Managing a team across multiple time zones can be one of the biggest challenges in remote work. The difficulty in coordinating meetings and the lag in communication can create frustration and lead to missed opportunities.

Solution: Embrace Asynchronous Work and Be Time Zone Aware

The key to overcoming time zone differences is embracing asynchronous communication. While synchronous communication (live meetings and calls) is necessary for certain tasks, much of remote work can be done asynchronously, allowing employees to work when it’s most convenient for them.

• Use Collaborative Tools for Asynchronous Work: Tools like Slack and Google Docs allow employees to collaborate and provide feedback at their own pace. Rather than waiting for a scheduled meeting, team members can contribute to projects in real time, even if they’re not online at the same time.
• Be Time Zone Aware: As a leader, take time zone differences into account when scheduling meetings. Use tools like World Time Buddy or Google Calendar to find overlapping hours that work for everyone. When this isn’t possible, rotate meeting times so the burden of odd hours doesn’t always fall on one group.

By building a system that supports both synchronous and asynchronous work, you’ll mitigate the challenges of time zone differences and create a more flexible and productive remote work environment.

5. Challenge: Employee Well-being and Burnout

One of the most underrated challenges of remote work is burnout. When the office is your home, the line between work and personal life can blur, leading to overwork and mental fatigue. As a result, employee well-being can suffer, which impacts motivation, productivity, and morale.

Solution: Promote Work-Life Balance and Mental Health

As a remote team leader, it’s crucial to prioritize your employees’ mental and physical health. The key to avoiding burnout is establishing boundaries and encouraging regular breaks, time off, and mental health support.

• Encourage Regular Breaks and Time Off: Make sure your team members take regular breaks throughout the day and use their vacation time. Encourage a culture where employees feel comfortable stepping away from work without guilt.
• Create a Healthy Work Environment: Promote work-life balance by setting clear expectations for work hours and respecting personal time. If your company is highly demanding, consider offering mental health days or additional wellness programs.
• Check in on Mental Health: Regularly ask your team how they’re feeling, both professionally and personally. A simple “How are you doing?” can go a long way in showing that you care and are committed to their well-being.

By actively supporting your team’s health and well-being, you’ll reduce the risk of burnout and create an environment where employees feel valued and motivated.

Conclusion: Leading Remote Teams to Success

Managing remote teams comes with its own set of challenges, but with the right strategies, these challenges can be transformed into opportunities for growth and innovation. By fostering communication, building strong accountability systems, prioritizing team culture, and supporting employee well-being, you can create a high-performing remote team that drives results and stays engaged.

As a leader, your ability to adapt to the unique demands of remote work will determine your team’s success. Embrace these solutions, and your remote team will be set up for long-term success, no matter the distance between you.

About Kraig Kleeman

Kraig Kleeman is a highly successful entrepreneur, author, and showrunner. If his accomplishments and aspirations were to draw inspiration from natural icons, he could be described as a fusion of Elon Musk’s visionary approach to business and Mick Jagger’s electrifying stage presence. He possesses keen business acumen and a flair for captivating performances that awe audiences.

Kraig’s entrepreneurial spirit is boundless, as evidenced by his track record of founding a tech company and taking it from nothing to $30 million in sales, in less than four years. His newest venture, CEO Branding Worldwide, is growing by triple digits, quarter over quarter. While some may liken his abilities to a Midas touch, others prefer to think of it as transforming companies into profitable ventures instead of turning things into gold!