As a manager, you might wish to empower your team members to become self-sufficient. But how can you help them do that if they’re working remotely? You need to learn about the tools for remote mentoring and coaching and then apply them appropriately. In this post, we’ll give you seven tips for creating an effective remote coaching program.
1. Weekly 1-on-1 Meetings
You should set up a weekly 1-on-1 meeting with every member of your team, as well as your manager.
It’s important to have regularly scheduled meetings with each person on your team because it helps keep everyone accountable and avoids missed or late meetings. The best way to make this happen is by using a calendar app that lets you create recurring events so they show up in the same place at the same time every week (or whatever frequency you decide). This way, all participants know what their schedules look like over the course of a month (or quarter or year) and can schedule other meetings accordingly.
You can schedule these meetings in different ways:
- In the morning if it works better for both of you; this works well for some people who are more productive early in their day—but if someone prefers later hours then don’t force them into an earlier slot just because that’s what makes sense for someone else!
- At lunchtime so you don’t miss meals together; again this depends on individual preferences but could work well when both parties find themselves eating lunch alone at similar times each day anyway–just make sure not to schedule anything immediately after lunch because food can sometimes make people sleepy!
2. Half-hour Daily Stand-Ups
One of the most common ways to keep your team on track is through daily stand-ups. These meetings are a great way to get everyone on your team up-to-speed about what’s happening in their department, and how they can help each other out. The more you add these into your routine, the more effective they’ll be at keeping your team moving forward.
3. Team-Wide Happy Hours
- Team-Wide Happy Hours
If you’re not doing it already, start organizing social events that bring your team together. A team-wide happy hour is a great way to build camaraderie and help everyone feel more connected to each other—not only is it fun, but it also helps employees get to know one another better outside of their work environment. These events are especially important if you have people working remotely because they can help create an office atmosphere even when the majority of your employees aren’t in the same location as each other on a daily basis.
4. Quarterly Team Retreats at Home Base
A quarterly team retreat is a great way to get your remote team together. They can be held at home base or some other location. The important thing is that they’re scheduled quarterly, not monthly. A few days of uninterrupted time together is better than an afternoon where everyone has something else to do—and will likely feel guilty about it afterward!
5. Biweekly Office Days
Biweekly Office Days
Of course, you’re not going to be able to physically meet with your team members every day. But biweekly office days can be a good way of staying connected and making sure that you’re always on the same page with one another. Try to have these meetings at the same time each week so that people don’t have to adjust their schedules just for this meeting.
If possible, try not to schedule any other meetings during this time unless they are absolutely necessary—the whole point of these meetings is so you can connect with your team members face-to-face. In addition, if someone has an upcoming deadline or project coming up, it’s great if they can use this opportunity as an informal check-in before tackling their work head-on!
Make sure everyone knows about when these meetings are happening so there aren’t any scheduling conflicts; also make sure everyone understands why these meetings are important and what kind of deliverables will come from them (like having everyone give updates on what they’ve been working on).
6. 5 Minute Check-ins Each Day with the Wide Angle View
As a leader, you should be checking in with your team regularly.
In our experience, the best practice is to set up a recurring daily check-in with each member of your team. This could take place via video chat or over the phone (or even through email).
The goal of these check-ins is to give people a chance to share what’s going on in their lives and how they’re feeling about things as well as give them an opportunity to get any questions or concerns addressed by you directly.
When conducting these check-ins, focus on asking open-ended questions such as “How are you doing today?” and “What do you need from me today?” If someone shares something that seems like it will require more attention than can be provided during the course of that particular conversation, schedule a follow-up time later in person or via video conference so that everyone gets what they need from each other without feeling rushed or pressured.
7. Self-Assessments and Reflections
Self-assessments and reflections are an important part of the coaching process. It is often difficult for people to know how well they are doing, so having a coach who can help you assess your progress is essential. Your mentor or coach will also provide feedback on your self-assessments in order to ensure you stay on track with the goals that you have set for yourself.
It’s important that you regularly do a coaching exercise with your team, as this will allow you to reflect on what has been working well and identify areas where improvements could be made. You should also keep in mind the fact that most of us have blind spots when it comes to assessing ourselves, meaning that we need someone else’s perspective in order for us to get an overall picture of our progress.
Remote coaching is an important part of creating an effective team
There are many different ways to coach, but the most important aspect is to have a clear understanding of what coaching actually is. Coaching is a process of helping people improve their performance by drawing out their potential at work and in their lives. A good coach understands that life and work are not separate from each other; they’re both parts of the same whole. Coaching requires trust, empathy, and respect for one’s client if it’s going to be effective.
When done well (and when we say “done well,” we mean as often as possible), it’s a very rewarding experience for both parties involved: The employee gets better at whatever they need help with while learning new skills along the way (and hopefully they’ll feel like they’ve learned something useful that will make them happier/more productive). The employer gets better employees because they’ve empowered them with those aforementioned skills!
Conclusion
This can be a challenging process, but it’s unavoidable if you want to build a strong remote team. There are many ways to approach this and no one-size-fits-all solution. The important thing is that you’re taking action towards creating the kind of culture where all members feel comfortable expressing themselves and contributing their insights towards projects or tasks at hand.