The Modern Leader
Remote management isn’t just "same job, more Zoom."
It’s systems for trust, clear expectations, and deliberate communication so people can do great work without sharing a room or a time zone.
Here’s what actually helps.
Set expectations and build trust
Remote teams run on clarity. You can’t rely on hallway chats to fix ambiguity.
What’s worked for us:
- Create “ways of working” docs for the team and “how to work with me” docs for individuals. Include preferred hours, response expectations, and escalation paths.
- Be explicit about what success looks like for roles and projects.
- Default to trust: measure outcomes, not green dots.
Communicate on purpose
Written first, live when it matters.
- Use async (Slack, project docs) for most updates; use video for big news and nuanced topics.
- Keep 1:1s regular and structured. Store agenda, decisions, and action items in one shared place.
- Document decisions publicly so remote folks aren’t guessing.
Document early and often
Documentation is your memory and your safety net.
- Capture goals, feedback, and commitments continuously, not just at review time.
- Keep private notes for sensitive items; keep shared notes for agreements and next steps.
Documentation is your memory and your safety net. As Emma put it:
“Things are going really, really well for someone and they're going to go for promotion in the next year. Document everything early and often. And if things are not going well and you've noticed it's a pattern of behavior, also document it because you will need a paper trail for HR.”
Time zones without martyrdom
Time zones can enable follow-the-sun or silently burn people out.
- Publish coverage expectations and rotate on-call by region to spread load fairly.
- Avoid region-specific heroics: don’t let one geography carry outages because customers are awake there.
- Record key meetings; summarize decisions in writing so no one has to join at 11 p.m.
Protect boundaries and model them
Remote blurs lines. Managers set the tone.
- Encourage flexible hours, tied to outcomes and required meetings.
- Schedule-send after-hours messages and state response SLAs (“within 24 business hours”).
- Intervene when you see chronic overwork.
Emma’s guideline is simple:
“I don't expect you to be sitting at your computer for 40 hours a week.”
And my line on support vs therapy:
“I am a trained therapist, but I am not their therapist.”
Keep connection intentional
Culture doesn’t happen by accident online.
- Pair programming and PR reviews together for hard workstreams.
- Lightweight rituals: async prompts, rotating socials, occasional games or learning sessions.
- Build a shared library of talks/demos for onboarding and knowledge transfer.
Hybrid isn’t a free pass
If some are in-office and others aren’t, design for remote by default.
- Make decisions in written channels; avoid “hallway vetoes.”
- Treat office time as a collaboration boost, not a privilege tier.
Try this
Run a remote norms audit this week:
- Add response-time and after-hours policies to your team “ways of working.”
- Turn on schedule-send and document where decisions live.
- Rotate one meeting per week to an async update with a crisp template.
If you do only one thing, make decision summaries a habit.
What to read
📚 Zapier’s Guide to Remote Work — practical playbooks on tools, rituals, and management for distributed teams.
📚 You’re Not Listening by Kate Murphy — sharp, applicable advice on listening to understand, not to reply.
Listen to the full episode: Managing a Remote Team of Engineers