Learn How To Manage A Distributed Development Team

Team Management
Learn How To Manage A Distributed Development Team

What does a distributed development team mean?

Undoubtedly, a distributed development team means that a team that is working together is not working together under one roof but they are connected virtually on phones and social media platforms. Well, it is not a newer concept that the companies have offered.

Thus, Earlier too, they offered a very flexible work environment in the form of Work from home jobs. Not everyone is comfortable working in a full-time office. Hence, to retain a good workforce and further, manage teams gracefully, it is very important to learn skills to manage freelance developer’s teams.

It is obviously, not an easy task to manage a team of remote workers.

You are not aware of the work culture of the people whom you appointed.

It will be the task to manage a team of remote workers.

Many think that it’s not possible to manage a team without its face-to-face existence.

Indeed, this is not the case.

If you have the required skills to be a team manager you can easily handle your team without fail.

Managing a good team requires:

1. Patience

Finding the right workers for your work and looking for the most honest and reliable worker you need to be patient. Searching for good talent requires time. For the cream, you have to wait and search for the right time.

2. Check your communications

When you are managing a team of remote workers, you will obviously face challenges on the part of the communications being held. These challenges come when your team is distributed globally and has linguistic problems. When you are working in a full-time office environment, your communications are held over a cup of coffee or at lunch. But with remote workers, this is not the case.

You need to understand the culture in which they are living and adapt them so as to make things go smoothly on your part.

3. Manage Deadlines

In every team, the manager is strict towards the deadlines set by him towards achieving a particular goal. Furthermore, remote workers can be managed easily because they have the flexibility to work in a very silent environment, from their homes.

4. Build up the team spirit

Building up the team spirit enables your remote workers to develop a feeling of togetherness among themselves. They will feel motivated. Hence, team spirit enables them to stay focused on their goals and meet the deadlines of their work.

Continuously monitoring and evaluating their progress is a must. They should be given tasks to finish within a limited time frame.

Also, they should be asked to update the reference links they are using to know whether their research is being held up in the right manner.

Thus, having a remote team is of utmost benefit as it reduces traveling time and commuting stress, which keeps the remote workers well energetic and focused on their work.

One of the great advantages of having a remote team is that you don’t have to search within a limited area, you can search globally and hire the best worker who best suits the job. If you are managing a remote team for the first time, you must be careful with your words. You should not be a dominating person. It has a high risk of having a disconnect from your team. You should be able to manage your team in a friendly way which will lead to having an improved boss-worker culture.

FAQ

Q1. How do you manage a team?

Ans- 

  1. Communicate directly and transparently. Employees dread miscommunication because it causes confusion and stress. 
  2. Offer a clear vision. 
  3. Encourage team collaboration. 
  4. Delegate with care. 
  5. Provide constructive feedback and recognition. 
  6. Overcome remote work challenges.

Q2. What is a good term leader?

Ans- They plan, organize, delegate, arrange resources, and ensure the completion of the team's responsibilities. The team looks to the leader for clarity on what to do and what matters most. They should be able to look across their team and anticipate what will be needed in order to achieve the team's goals.