Lessons from managing a remote team who lives in a war
Listen
Be quick to listen and slow to speak. The most practical advice I’ve read to turn this proverb into a habit is from Greg Koukl.
Never make a statement when a question will suffice.
— Greg Koukl.
Call don’t text
We technical leaders have a tendency to depend on text for a great proportion of our communication, however miscommunication and misunderstanding easily happen when text is the primary basis of a relationship, especially across cultures and languages. Open a meeting or huddle. you'll build stronger more resilient relationship. The added benefit is that with that stronger relationship your text communication will improve as well.
High standards, add grace
People want to know that their work has purpose. If you as a leader downplay the importance of getting work done, you are defeating the purposefulness of their work. However, they are also experiencing rocket attacks and infrastructure failures. Let them know you care that they missed a meeting, to reinforce their work is important, but summarize the content for them and make sure they are supported in their work.
Do not try to understand
Conflicts have deep, historical and cultural backgrounds you cannot hope to understand. Instead, simply listen. When given the opportunity to hear theHistorical context, listen and Grow your empathy.
Don’t share news you heard
Perhaps you see some news that appears positive, however you cannot possibly know the tradeoffs that took place for that seemingly positive report. Your information is likely biased or at a more macro level than your team, hence probably largely irrelevant to the daily stresses and challenges your team faces.
Bring fun
You, their manager, can be a safe source of peace and enjoyable distraction. Loneliness is already a persistent specter for remote employees, add the additional stress of international conflict and there may be no other individual in their life they can talk to who is independent of those stressors. Be a rock for them. Be open to share stories about funny memes, or tv shows as a hopeful distraction.
It's not about you
As a leader, it's not about you, it never is. It's about respecting your team and allowing them to deliver value. The best mental model I have for a good manager is an interpreter. An interpreter unbiasedly translates between two languages on someone. Listen to the needs around you, convey the information clearly, and be transparent to the process. Allow others to shine, you are just the facilitator.