Someone asked me for my thoughts on how to deal when you have a manager who isn’t in the same office as you are. Reality is, this is becoming the new normal with people working remotely and location strategies as a way to reduce costs. The reality is that even when you’re in the same location, it can be hard to get time with your manager! The key is communication: using verbal, written, and face to face. Some lessons learned having remote bosses…..
- Written: a weekly email to help keep your manager up to speed: something that is consistent, to be relied on, that you control. An “end of the week” email, giving bullets to your manager of what the status of your various projects are with categories such as: progress to date, issues currently being resolved, upcoming key deliverables is a useful touchbase. The important thing is to be Goldilocks about it: not too much so that it’s a dissertation, not so little that it’s meaningless. The nice thing is that you own it, and your manager will be in the loop on what’s going on with you. It should be informative, but have no surprises.
- Verbal: Make sure you have time on the calendar to meet…phone works: I like weekly or bi-weekly one on ones. When I had direct reports, it didn’t matter where I was or where they were…we had a weekly one on one. Sometimes we could cancel it, but it was always on the calendar. It’s easier to give back time than to try and get it.
- Face to Face: When your boss is in town, or when you’re in your manager’s homebase, make sure to set up time for a catch up face to face. Don’t let those opportunities go by….face to face is still important. Even a quick cup of coffee will do.
- Be fast and available when you need to be: If you have a problem which would have made you find your boss, those instincts still count even if you’re remote. Being remote isn’t an excuse not to escalate when it’s needed. You also need to make sure your manager can get to you…if they’re used to walking into your office all the time, they’ll feel frustrated if they can’t reach you for hours.
- Share your concerns: Have an honest conversation with your manager about how to make remote work. If you pitch some of these ideas to your manager, you’ll come across as someone who wants to make sure that being remote doesn’t get in the way of being effective….and your manager might have some ideas too. Chances are, your manager is worrying about how to manage you.