7 Best Practices To Lead And Coach Remote Project Management Teams
Does your remote project management business have a strategic plan for communicating, training, and delegating? Does it run on seamless systems and processes? And what about your team members — are they doing great work individually and as a team?
If you answered NO to any of the above questions, we’re here to help.
Before we share some best practices to help you lead and coach remote project management teams, let’s review some challenges you may already be facing.
Challenges Of Leading A Remote Project Management Team
Leading and coaching a remote team is tricky. But leading and coaching a remote project management team is even more complex.
From working with unrealistic deadlines to dealing with scope creep, remote project management teams face unique challenges.
Here are some more challenges of leading a remote project management team:
- Poorly defined goals can throw an entire project off track
- Working across time zones can make it difficult to stay on the same page
- Not having the right project management software can lead to poor project visibility
- Not being able to detect or manage conflict can lead to poor team morale
- Poor project delegation can lead to performance issues and an inability to deliver results
7 Best Practices To Lead And Coach Remote Project Management Teams
Our top seven tips are:
1. Choose The Best Methodologies
Depending on the industry you’re in, you likely have a mix of project types. Some of them may be in-depth; others may need to just follow a series of simple stages. For some, you may have to develop everything from scratch.
You may have also tested a few methodologies and landed on one. Or perhaps you’re still figuring out what’s best for your team.
So how do you know which methodology is best for you?
Firstly, there are some methodologies that are better suited for remote work than others. Methodologies like Agile project management, Kanban, Scrum, and Scrumban work great for remote teams.
Secondly, having just one methodology isn’t enough. Using the same method to tackle all projects doesn’t work because every project is different. Project managers should consider segmenting their projects into types first and then allocating a methodology for each type.
For instance, if a project manager segmented projects into these three types:
- Highly Regulated: In-depth projects that need multiple processes and teams
- Moderately Regulated: Less complex projects that require just a few planned steps
- Highly Unpredictable: Unpredictable projects that don’t need to follow a rigorous schedule or regulations
Then, they may choose these three methodologies to tackle each type:
- Scrum: To tackle highly regulated projects in small pieces
- Kanban: To work through moderately regulated projects in three stages: To-Do, Doing, and Done
- Agile: To work flexibly on highly unpredictable projects in development cycles that last two to four weeks
Understanding and segmenting project types is the first step to choosing the best methodologies for your projects.
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2. Create A Communication Plan
Communication difficulties can be one of the biggest struggles remote workers face today. Although we have more ways to connect than ever before, not having a solid communication plan in place keeps project management teams stuck.
Having a communication plan can help your team:
- Communicate across time zones
- Spot and address conflict in a healthy way
- Get on the same page concerning individual tasks and project work
- Prevent wasted time from communicating with the wrong people
- Set realistic workflow and collaboration expectations
- Build trust and foster relationships
What to Include in Your Communication Plan?
When creating your communication plan, be sure to include:
- How you’re going to spot and address conflict?
- A list of team members, their roles, and how to contact them
- How you’re going to communicate across time zones?
- Your plan for video meetings and check-ins
- What communication tools and apps you’re going to use?
- A detailed definition of “clear communication” and other loose terms
- Your communication expectations
- How you’re going to communicate feedback?
- Your plan for working across different languages
- How you’re going to prevent information silos?
3. Build A Team Charter Together
A team charter is a document that outlines how a team is going to tackle a project together. Project charters define each project’s scope and team charters put that work into context.
They explain what the team needs to accomplish, why they’ve been selected for a project, what resources they have, and what constraints they may face.
With a team charter, project teams know how to orchestrate a project from start to finish.
They understand:
- How they’re going to work together?
- Why they’re using certain processes?
- Who’s involved in the project?
- How to flow through a project with ease?
- What they need to do and when they need to do it by?
- How to put a project’s scope into context?
Team charters are usually created in group settings, so all team members can be involved. This also helps foster transparency, trust, and accountability among the team.
What to Include in a Team Charter?
When building a team charter together, make sure to:
- Summarize the project, explain why it’s been initiated, and identify stakeholders
- Define what project success looks like
- Define the project’s budget, resources, constraints, training options, and budget managers
- List each team member’s role, authority-level, responsibilities, skills, and managers above them
- Outline your team’s organizational structure, enter strategy, and exit strategy
- Outline the project’s scope and how team members will participate in it
- Outline the project’s activities and milestones
- Have all team members sign and date the charter
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4. Use The Right Tools And Create Seamless Workflows
You can’t lead your team seamlessly if you don’t have tools that keep you as efficient as possible.
When choosing productivity software, look for an all-in-one productivity suite that offers:
- Custom workflows
- Multiple project view styles
- Time tracking
- Document sharing
- @ mentions
- Triggers and automations
- Delegation features
- Real-time updates
- Integrations to your favorite apps
- Client portals
You’ll also need to be vigilant about data security. Be sure to use a virtual private network, like NordVPN to prevent exposing your data to cybercriminals.
Once you know what tools you’re going to use, create custom workflows and automate as much as possible. This saves time spent on mundane, repetitive tasks and can prevent costly project errors.
Then, decide on workspace administrators (the employees who will operate the backend of the software) and who will operate the front end.
You’ll also need to decide what tools team members have access to. For instance, an assistant probably won’t have access to work requests like an account manager does.
Then, decide what view styles and integrations you’re going to use and set up your client portal.
You’ll also need to decide what data-driven insights you’re going to track and what you’re going to do with that information.
Finally, set up your project timeline and schedule, assign tasks, and include any time tracking or time blocking details.
5. Make Training And Coaching An Ongoing Commitment
Providing access to online learning resources is essential for the continued growth and education of remote teams. Resources like StuDocu allow you to access thousands of university course materials online.
You can also create your own training courses, hire a training team, or set up mentorship programs for your team members.
When deciding what kind of training to offer, you’ll need to assess every employee’s current learning level. Are they project management experts or are they still learning the basics?
Create an exam or a survey to collect information about what your team members currently know and where they need to go. Then, segment your employees according to their learning level. This way, you can customize training according to their individual needs.
The Importance of Giving and Receiving Feedback
Not only should you make training an ongoing commitment, but you should also integrate regular feedback into your communication.
When giving feedback, be kind and constructive. The goal is to celebrate a team member’s wins and coach them in areas where they can improve.
When receiving feedback, practice active listening. Then, use your employees’ feedback to improve your processes.
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6. Assign The Right Projects To The Right Team Members
Your project’s success is based on your team’s efforts — but not everyone is cut out for a remote environment.
When staffing a project, make sure to pick the right people for the job. Look for employees with a strong work ethic, technical competence, and leadership qualities.
In other words, staff a project with doers. Doers get stuff done with no need for hand-holding, micromanaging, or guidance. They react to new assignments quickly and feel motivated to get to work immediately. Non-doers, on the other hand, will carry on with their day-to-day work until asked to do something.
It’s also crucial to find people you can trust when recruiting for a project. It’s good to check-in and monitor your team’s work when needed, but you should feel confident in their ability to handle tasks independently.
Once you know which team members are cut out for the job, look for niche soft skills that set individuals apart from the rest. If you’re staffing a revenue acceleration project, look for team members who specialize in growth hacking. If you’re recruiting for a company rebrand project, look for team members who specialize in brand identity.
It’s also important to look out for any hard skills that could make the project more efficient — got an employee who’s great with numbers? Invite them to help with budget management. Know an employee who has a background in coding? Ask them to help with your app creation project.
7. Nurture Relationships With Your Team
What does the cast of the TV show “Friends” have to do with project teams?
A lot, actually.
Although the sitcom has been winning over hearts since 1994, some viewers may not realize it’s not just good acting that made this show a success.
The show thrived due to the close-knit relationships the cast had with one another off-set. The strong bonds they shared made them look forward to working with each other and bringing their best foot forward.
In other words, internal relationships are gold mines.
When project managers and project teams have strong connections with each other, team interactions are seamless. When there’s trust, collaboration is easy.
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To nurture relationships, take time to listen to your team’s concerns and help them overcome problems. Add a personal touch whenever you can. Even a simple “thank you” or “good work” goes a long way. You can also give small gifts of appreciation, whether it’s a coupon to their favorite shop or a personalized mug. And be sure to encourage healthy team bonds by arranging coffee chats and other fun virtual events.
Wrap up
Leading and coaching a remote project management team requires strategic processes, well-defined roles, and careful delegation. Using these seven practices will help you establish successful systems so your team can flourish.
Always remember: With the right approach, there’s nothing your project team can’t do.
Author Bio:
Joanne Camarce is a digital marketer focused on growing and strategizing B2B marketing and PR efforts at uSERP. She loves slaying outreach campaigns and connecting with brands like G2, Wordstream, Process Street, and more. When she’s not wearing her marketing hat, you’ll find Joanne lost in the world of Japanese music and art, or just being a dog mom.
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