So what can managers and leaders do to encourage tight-knit, high-performing teams when people are spread out? For insights, we can draw on the experience of managers who led remote teams for years before the pandemic.
I’d like to share one example. I’ve heard of this technique, or variations, from different teams but I’ll use the example of a friend who managed a remote team for years.
His team was spread around the world—some staff were located in New Zealand, others in Australia, the USA, and Europe. Their work was highly interdependent and he knew his staff would perform better and get more enjoyment if they worked as a team. To encourage this, he introduced a routine called “cheers and tears”.
During the weekly team meeting, time was set aside for everyone to share a couple of updates about their week. They were encouraged to thank, praise, or otherwise acknowledge good work by their teammates (cheers), and to share something they themselves had messed up, couldn’t accomplish, or was worrying them (tears).
There are two important caveats: the updates did not have to be work-related; and the manager in question went first. He made a point to share, in an unvarnished way, the mistakes he had made (tears) and to express gratitude for help he received or successes he noticed (cheers). Then he encouraged his team to join in.
As an experienced manager and a management academic, I have no trouble believing this helped create a tight-knit, high-performing team in which staff trusted and appreciated one another. And this technique may be particularly valuable for teams working remotely that rarely spend time together in-person. Organisational research can shed light on why.
We know that “psychological safety”, the sense it’s safe to share thoughts and contribute without fear of embarrassment or rejection, is a vital component in high-performing teams. It supports creativity, team learning, engagement, and proactivity.
By sharing his own weaknesses, the manager demonstrates mistakes are accepted, thereby encouraging psychological safety. It’s important the team doesn’t try to solve problems in the meeting (this can lead to people feeling they need to defend themselves). Instead, mistakes and concerns are accepted, perhaps commiserated with, and the team moves on.
Sharing mistakes, failures, and concerns serves another important purpose for remote teams. When we work remotely, we have less information about people’s day to day lives—information that might help us contextualise their behaviour. It’s also more difficult to see when someone is struggling and could use our help.
In the “tears” section, people might share work-related mistakes they’ve made, apologies (“sorry I’ve been a jerk for the last week”), or things bothering or distracting them (“we’re waiting on my kid’s blood tests, I really hope she’s okay”). This allows the rest of the team to understand what might be motivating someone else’s behaviour and reduces the chance of misunderstandings. Instead, the team can respond with empathy or later offer help and expertise.
“Cheers” also serves an important function for remote teams because it provides an opportunity for feedback. We underestimate how much we rely on small, daily interactions—what I call “micro-feedback”— to let us know we’re doing a good job, that we fit in and we’re valued.
What’s missing with remote work is not the usual feedback from the manager. It’s the daily interactions and positive reinforcement we get from our team—the smiles and jokes, the nod of thanks, the satisfaction of helping with ad hoc problems.
None of these is individually important but they add up to a sense of belonging and value. Without them, it’s easy to begin to question yourself and your role. Creating a conscious opportunity for the team to give each other thanks goes some way to compensate. It also models success for the team and lets the team see it’s succeeding.
However, this technique comes with another important caveat: the reason the manager goes first is because they are already the safest person in the team by virtue of their position.
Anyone new to the team (or the workforce) or who may feel marginalised—for example, women in male-dominated industries or anyone who may feel their identity puts them “on the outside”—may not be comfortable with this extra level of vulnerability. For that reason, “cheers and tears” is best presented as an opportunity to participate, rather than a requirement.
Using “cheers and tears” (or something like it that fits the organisation and team culture) can be a valuable way to encourage a sense of psychological safety, understanding, helping, and feedback in both face-to-face and remote teams. It can add particular value in remote teams as it helps compensate for the specific challenges of this work.
Dr Downes and her colleagues are conducting further research in early 2022 on remote work. If you’d like to find out about your organisation participating, contact rebecca.downes@vuw.ac.nz.
Dr Rebecca Downes is a lecturer in management in the School of Management at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.
Read the original piece on Newsroom.