No news is bad news. Remote leadership requires multiplying your feedback cadence.
Let's face it, if something isn't prioritised it's unlikely to happen. In a remote scenario, where regular incidental conversation is less likely, it's even more important to ensure deliberate and regular feedback on performance because people naturally assume if they hear nothing, then everything's fine.
But no news is bad news. Analogously its akin to the lost Japanese soldiers hiding away for decades in the islands of Asia and the Pacific unaware the war had ended. Hiroo Onada was found on a Filipino island in 1974 and Shoichi Yokoi was found in Guam in 1975. Without regular feedback your team will be blissfully unaware of their performance and assume nothing has or needs to change.
Remote team feedback model
By way of illustration I want you to think about a scenario that many in the corporate world will have faced at some point - the annual performance review. In many organisations this historically has been an opportunity for the employee to tout the numerous unrecognised achievements they feel they accomplished throughout the year; and for the manager to dredge up accounts of small to medium long forgotten issues. The manager walks away thinking their employee is delusional and the employee leaves the conversation deflated and disappointed. This interaction serves no purpose and adds no value; even worse the employee had up to a year of zero visibility into the managers perception of reality nor an opportunity to address the concerns.
Contrast the annual review experience with the findings of a recent research into real-time performance feedback [1]. The researchers found scientifically quantifiable evidence of increased performance, engagement and a perception of controllability, when feedback was real-time. Moreover, they found an increased desire for and positive response to feedback as it satisfied the psychological need for closure.
How do tackle this problem? It depends on where you are in the model.
Regardless of the medium (in person or virtual) the core principles of constructive feedback stay the same; they must be balanced and regular, the core difference is that remote feedback must be more frequent. And just like in person feedback it must be conversational and face to face as this is the only way to ensure the feedback is understood, allows for clarification and agree response. In other word’s don't hide behind an email.
The remote team feedback model - responses
If you’re in the top right-hand box; well-done. Get out there and help your peers!
And there you have it. Remote leadership requires more frequent feedback - Scientifically proven to increased performance and engagement and leaving your team feeling more in control of their performance and desiring more feedback.
Source:
[1] Lechermeier, J., Fassnacht, M. and Wagner, T. (2020), "Testing the influence of real-time performance feedback on employees in digital services", Journal of Service Management, https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-10-2018-0341