Managing Remote Teams Can Make You a Better Leader

Essential Lessons from Remote and Async Work — Actionable Insights for Remote Leaders

Dec 15, 2024

Managing remote teams isn’t just different—it’s harder. However, it can be a transformative journey. The challenges you face can reshape you into a more effective and inspiring leader.

Look, the first time I led a distributed team, I felt overwhelmed. I was more lost than a Zoom call without the host. I thought leadership was all about being physically close to people, solving problems face-to-face, and staying “in the loop.” However, when my team expanded to engineers across different countries and time zones, I realized how much more intentional I needed to be.

Over the years, I’ve worked in various remote setups—managing across offices, co-building a product from two cities, leading entirely from home, and now running fully remote, async teams. Each of these experiences has been a learning process, shaping me into a better leader, one lesson at a time. Here’s how.

My Remote Leadership Journey

Leading a Distributed Team: UK and Bulgaria

The Setup: When I became a Lead Engineer in the UK, I led a backend team in the London office until we expanded to include engineers in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The Challenge: I quickly found that managing across two locations was more complex than just adding calls. Miscommunication surfaced, and maintaining team cohesion became challenging.
The Lesson: This experience underscored the critical role of clarity and trust in distributed leadership. I learned the value of overcommunicating priorities and fostering a sense of belonging, even across distances. It reshaped my approach to leading remote teams, emphasizing the importance of regular in-person meetups to strengthen team bonds.

Co-building a SaaS Product: London and Barcelona

The Setup: Years later, I tried to co-found a product startup while living in London with a business partner from Barcelona.
The Challenge: Building a SaaS product while being in different cities meant we addressed every decision and issue over video calls, chat messages, and emails. While time zones weren’t a problem, alignment was crucial.
The Lesson: This chapter in my career highlighted the potential of remote work and the importance of strong relationships for success. I realized that effective remote collaboration goes beyond tools and communication; it requires building trust and aligning efforts to establish a solid foundation for teamwork, no matter the distance.

The Remote Outlier: From Principal Engineer to Manager

The Setup: After moving back to Spain, I found a job that allowed me to work from home in Majorca for a growing Spanish startup where most employees worked in the Madrid office.
The Challenge: Working from home left me feeling disconnected from my workplace. Meaningful discussions happened informally at the office, and I often learned about decisions afterward. I had to work hard to stay in the loop and prove my contributions without the visibility of being present.
The Transition: Fortunately, the company adopted a remote-friendly culture over time. I seized the opportunity to transition from Principal Engineer to Engineering Manager. While working as a remote individual contributor was manageable, leading a team remotely presented a new challenge.
The Lesson: Working from home while most of the team is in the office is not ideal. Everyone needs a proper setup and effective documentation practices to improve this situation. These measures will ensure equal access to information and facilitate collaboration, fully equipping the team for remote work. I also learned that Zoom fatigue is real. Trying to replicate in-office meeting habits remotely isn’t practical. Cutting unnecessary meetings, like replacing daily standups with a focused weekly sync, significantly impacted energy levels and productivity.

Managing Multiple Teams: Fully Remote and Async

The Setup: After that experience, I joined a global, fully remote company with a diverse team spread across various countries and time zones. This company excelled in remote and asynchronous work (where team members don’t need to be online simultaneously). They had well-designed policies, tools, and a culture that supported this way of working.
The Challenge: Transitioning from a remote-friendly synchronous work environment to a fully remote asynchronous setting was a significant change. Managing multiple teams in this new context required me to master clear and transparent communication while fostering trust and autonomy. I adjusted my leadership style to ensure alignment, build team cohesion, and drive results while navigating cultural and geographical differences.
The Lesson: This experience taught me how to lead effectively in a fully remote and asynchronous environment by prioritizing clear documentation, setting unambiguous expectations, and empowering teams to take ownership. By focusing on outcomes rather than activity, I saw firsthand how minimizing interruptions fosters deep work, driving extraordinary productivity and innovation. Embracing an async foundation also highlighted respecting individual schedules and time zones, creating a more inclusive and sustainable environment.
The Takeaway: Managing fully remote and async teams has been a transformative chapter in my leadership journey. It reinforced the critical importance of clear communication, intentional culture-building, and the ability to inspire and align teams without physical proximity. This experience has not only elevated my management and leadership skills but has also reshaped my perspective on what it means to lead effectively in a borderless global world.

Why Managing Remote Teams Can Make You a Better Leader

Managing remote teams challenges traditional leadership habits built for in-office settings. Offices naturally enable quick clarifications, non-verbal cues, and informal updates that align everyone. Remote work strips away these conveniences, forcing leaders to rethink how they communicate, align teams, and build trust.

This shift isn’t just about adapting—it’s about growth. It pushes leaders to prioritize clarity, outcomes, and meaningful connections over activity and convenience.

From Implicit to Explicit

In a remote environment, leaders must make implicit messages explicit. The clarity in communication and focusing on clear expectations, updates, and feedback are not just important; they are the keys to effective leadership. Replacing ambiguity with precise, actionable communication fosters smoother collaboration and avoids confusion.

Intentional Communication

Remote work emphasizes that communication isn’t about simply speaking—it’s about being intentional. Leaders must ensure their messages land as intended through a chat message, written update, or video call. This shift requires a focus on not just the content but the delivery, fostering greater understanding and alignment across teams.

Impact Over Activity

Remote work shifts the focus from busyness to meaningful outcomes. Success is no longer measured by hours spent but by the impact delivered. This mindset helps teams move away from performative habits and align around tangible results, fostering greater efficiency and a shared sense of purpose.

New Dynamics, Greater Respect

Remote environments create opportunities for more thoughtful and inclusive team dynamics. Written communication encourages deeper reflection and more considered ideas, often leading to higher-quality outcomes. Sync time becomes intentional and focused, ensuring meetings are productive and respectful of everyone’s time and energy.

Growth Through Challenge

Managing remote teams is more challenging and requires tremendous effort and intention, but the rewards are noteworthy. Leaders need to overcome weaknesses such as dependence on proximity and reactive decision-making. This environment pushes leaders to become more proactive, intentional, and outcomes-driven, fostering growth in ways the traditional office never could.

Remote leadership doesn’t just make managing teams possible—it makes great leaders even better.

Actionable Strategies for Remote Leaders

Leading and working remotely goes beyond just adopting new tools—it requires embracing a mindset that prioritizes trust, clarity, and intentionality.

Here are some practical tips to help modern leaders succeed in a remote and async environment:

Trust and Autonomy
- Empower team members to own their work and make decisions independently.
- Focus on outcomes and results rather than hours logged or physical presence.
Clarity and Precision in Communication
- Provide detailed, actionable updates and instructions to avoid ambiguity.
- Be explicit in expectations, timelines, and outcomes to reduce unnecessary back-and-forth.
Documentation as a Foundation
- Maintain a centralized repository (e.g., Notion, Confluence) to document decisions, guidelines, and key information for easy access and alignment.
- Ensure all team members can easily access the information they need to contribute effectively.
Outcome-Driven Leadership
- Measure success by impact and results rather than activity or availability.
- Align teams around clear, measurable goals to ensure accountability and focus.
Respect for Time Zones and Flexibility
- Structure workflows and team dynamics to accommodate diverse schedules and time zones.
- Encourage team members to align their work with their most productive hours, taking necessary breaks to recharge.
Communication with Intention
- Be proactive and deliberate in how and when you communicate.
- Use the right medium (e.g., Slack, Loom) based on the complexity of the message.
Async & Deep Work
- Encourage focused, uninterrupted work by reducing unnecessary meetings and interruptions.
- Default to async work and communication whenever possible, reserving meetings for critical discussions.
Inclusive Collaboration
- Foster a culture where all team members feel included and valued regardless of location or working style.
- Be mindful of cultural differences, communication styles, and time-zone constraints.
Structured Feedback and Updates
- Establish regular cadences for sync or async check-ins, progress updates, and feedback loops.
- Use tools like Linear or written reports to provide detailed updates and track accountability.
Tools and Technology for Efficiency
- Leverage tools like Slack, Zoom, Loom, Notion, and Linear to streamline collaboration and communication.
- Choose tools that support async workflows, enabling access to information anytime, anywhere.

Final Thoughts

Managing remote teams isn’t just a shift in logistics—it’s a transformation in how we lead. Remote and async work challenge leaders to be more intentional, communicative, and outcome-focused, pushing us to grow in ways traditional office dynamics rarely do.

These experiences have taught me that outstanding leadership is more than managing—empowering people, fostering trust, and creating an environment where everyone can thrive. The lessons I’ve learned aren’t confined to remote work; they’re universal principles that apply to any team, anywhere.

As the future of work continues to evolve, remote and async work practices are becoming essential. Leaders who embrace this shift have the opportunity to adapt and become better leaders—more empathetic, innovative, and effective than ever before.

“If you can’t let your employees work from home out of fear they’ll slack off without your supervision, you’re a babysitter, not a manager. Remote work is very likely the least of your problems.”
― Jason Fried, Remote: Office Not Required

What steps will you take to elevate your leadership in a remote-first world? Let this be your call to action to grow, adapt, and lead with intention.

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