How I’m Committing to My Remote Team’s Growth in 2019
There are hundreds of unique scenarios and challenges that leaders of remote and distributed teams experience.
As the founder of a 100% remote team, I’ve seen just about all of those challenges. Do you relate?
Not unlike many traditional leaders and managers, as a leader of a remote or distributed team, you hope to cultivate a spirited culture and provide a remarkable experience for your team within their work environment.
Absolutely, but cultivating a winning culture is tougher when face-time is rare and people are working in different time-zones and juggling various commitments. How can I possibly control the culture when most of our interactions are Slack messages and emails?
Related: Use Loom to Create a Winning Culture Within Your Remote Team [Video]
You probably create workflows and processes that require collaboration within smaller work teams or require cross-departmental functionality.
Yes, but syncing schedules and working creatively together seems to take twice as long with a remote team. Finding the right tools and developing streamlined processes can feel a bit daunting.
You want your new hires to quickly harmonize with the existing team and to become a genuine representation of your brand when interacting with each other and your clients.
Is that even possible with a remote or distributed team? How do I continue to scale my business without losing sight of what matters most?
If you are a leader of a remote team, you likely can relate to this dialogue. Leaders of remote workers face unique challenges that often require especially creative solutions. If we’re being honest, remote leaders have a harder job than their counterparts leading teams within four walls. It’s already lonely at the top, but you can feel isolated from top to bottom and sideways when you are leading a remote team!
And then there’s the never-ending challenge of preserving your personal life and relationships when it’s so convenient to work whenever and wherever you are in any given moment—even when you absolutely love the work you do, taking time away from the business is critical for your health and sanity.
Okay…I’ll just come out with it. This post is not just about YOU, fearless leader of a virtual workforce.
It’s definitely about me.
And that’s why in June 2019, I am traveling to the other side of the planet to Bali, Indonesia to gather with some of the most successful remote leaders in the world at The Running Remote Conference.
Of course, I’m excited about being in freaking Bali! But the main motivation for me is a keen awareness that I do not yet know all I need to know to be successful in the next chapter of Trusty Oak’s story.
Before founding Trusty Oak, Amber spent five years at a rapidly growing digital agency based in Austin, TX. Four of those years, she was responsible for hiring and leading both local and virtual teams while working closely with clients ranging from CEOs to bestselling authors to build their brand online. As VP of Operations, Amber helped lead the company’s growth to #15 on Austin Business Journal’s Fast50 List in 2014.
As a female founder and leader of a company that has quickly established a recognizably special culture within a non-traditional workforce, Amber has energized and empowered women from diverse professional and personal backgrounds to go against the grain of historically standard female roles in business, technology, and leadership. Trusty Oak provides an opportunity for experienced admin and marketing professionals to work independently as freelancers, but with a supportive internal network consisting of other ambitious and resourceful remote workers.