Managing a Hybrid or Remote Team

Remote work isn’t harder.
It’s just different.

What makes someone a great in-person manager won’t automatically translate in a hybrid or remote environment. Communication habits, trust-building, and accountability all need to evolve.

The best managers don’t treat remote work like a barrier—they treat it like an opportunity to lead with clarity, intention, and trust.

Culture: Intentionality Is Everything

Culture doesn’t live in an office—it lives in how people treat each other. That means it can—and must—exist in hybrid and remote settings.

Take GitLab, a fully remote company with thousands of employees around the world. Their culture is built on documentation, transparency, and async collaboration. They don’t rely on watercooler moments—they design culture intentionally.

✅ Strategy: Define what culture looks like when no one’s in the same room. Write it down. Talk about it. Reinforce it.

Retention: Trust Is the Foundation

Micromanagement doesn’t work in remote settings. People can sense when they’re being monitored instead of supported. Managers who default to control lose trust—and talent.

At Dropbox, when they shifted to “Virtual First,” they trained managers to focus on outcomes, not activity. That shift gave teams more flexibility—and showed employees they were trusted to deliver.

✅ Strategy: Focus on what success looks like, not how it’s achieved. Let people own their time, as long as they own their results.

Productivity: Clarity Beats Proximity

In hybrid and remote teams, you can’t rely on hallway chats or casual check-ins to stay aligned. You have to lead with clarity—about priorities, expectations, and communication norms.

✅ Strategy: Use regular check-ins, shared goals, and clear documentation. Don’t assume alignment—create it.

How to Lead Remote and Hybrid Teams Well

✅ Over-communicate, then refine
✅ Use tools to support transparency, not just check boxes
✅ Be available—but set healthy boundaries
✅ Celebrate wins—publicly and often

Don’t:
❌ Assume silence means alignment
❌ Try to “recreate the office” online
❌ Forget to invest in connection

Remote work reveals your leadership gaps.
Hybrid teams demand more clarity, not more control.