When just starting out, startups typically wrestle with many occurrences, with founders being their main source of power. However, as startups grow, the founders need to learn to delegate effectively, especially when working with remote teams.
Effective delegation translates into empowering team members and maintaining productivity — the goals not easy to achieve. Nevertheless, there are many approaches to consider in this context, and we’ll hereby consider their most important elements.
Why Delegation Matters
Delegation is a fundamental management skill. Surprisingly, many startup founders struggle with it. This typically stems from their reluctance to delegate tasks due to them wanting to maintain control. Sometimes, there’s even a lack of trust to deal with.
This kind of mindset, however, leads to burnout and can stop startup growth for good.
The belief that doing everything personally is the right way simply doesn’t hold true. For one thing, when founders delegate, they can focus on strategic decisions rather than on day-to-day tasks. Delegation also encourages the professional development of teams and boosts their morale and productivity.
This is of critical importance when it comes to remote teams, which can often feel undervalued. In fact, the biggest obstacle when managing remote teams is building a cohesive startup culture. Delegation can help in this aspect massively.
However, efficient delegation should transcend mere task assignments. In fact, it should take into account each team member’s strengths and weaknesses and provide necessary resources and support to bring out the best out of the team.
When successful, delegation can contribute to a more dynamic, agile, and scalable business model.
Building Trust With Remote Teams
Without the daily face-to-face interactions, remote teams need to rely on trust to function properly. For startup founders, building and maintaining trust is, therefore, of critical importance.
One of the first steps in building trust is transparent communication. Founders should establish regular communication channels and be open about their expectations and goals, and make sure to provide regular feedback. Digital tools such as Slack, Zoom, or Microsoft Teams can strengthen real-time communication and help bridge the physical distance between team members.
Next on, startup founders need to actually believe in the team’s abilities. They should resist the urge to micromanage and instead give team members the autonomy they need to complete their tasks efficiently.
Recognizing and celebrating the team’s successes is equally important. Founders who acknowledge achievements — whether big or small — are more successful in building a supportive, motivated culture.
Setting Clear Expectations and Goals
One of the biggest challenges in delegating to remote teams is ensuring that everyone is on the same page. Clear expectations and goals are essential to ensure that tasks are completed to the required standards.
For starters, startup founders should clearly articulate the objectives of each task. This includes outlining the desired outcomes, deadlines, and any specific requirements. Detailed briefs can prove rather useful in this regard.
Further out, it is critical that founders schedule regular meetings to make sure that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities. During the meetings, they should provide clarifications and listen to the team’s feedback.
Founders should offer constructive feedback on the team’s performance as well. The practice helps team members understand what they are doing well and where they need to improve.
Empowering Remote Teams
It’s no rocket science that empowered teams are more motivated and resilient. That’s why startup founders should focus on providing remote teams with access to tools and training required for them to succeed.
In addition, personal guidance and assistance should be readily available, but they shouldn’t be coupled with micromanaging. Instead, founders should encourage a culture of autonomy and trust. This is best done by delegating decision-making authority in addition to tasks. In other words, allowing team members to take ownership of their work is the fastest way to empowering them.
However, since startups are a specific entity, empowerment should be presented in a collaborative environment. Remote work tends to feel isolating, so it is important to create opportunities for collaboration and teamwork.
There are many ways to do this, the most typical ones of which include virtual brainstorming sessions, collaborative projects, and regular team meetings.
Deploying Technology for Efficient Delegation
Obviously, remote teams depend on new tech more than office workers do. Efficient delegation relies heavily on streamlined communication and project management anyway, but there’s a pronounced need to add collaboration tools to the mix.
That’s why founders should pick the finest of tools and provide proper training on how to utilize them.
Overcoming Challenges in Remote Delegation
Delegating to remote teams comes with its own set of challenges. These can include communication barriers, cultural differences, and the lack of face-to-face interaction.
Communication barriers are a typical occurrence. Namely, without the benefit of in-person interactions, messages can be misinterpreted. That’s why some founders prefer video calls for important discussions, but there are other solutions, too. What’s important is to listen to team members’ feedback to pick the right approach.
Cultural differences are another potential issue remote teams may face. People from different cultural backgrounds may have varying expectations and work styles, which founders need to understand in order to delegate successfully.
Finally, the lack of face-to-face interaction can lead to feelings of isolation and disconnection. This issue is typically addressed by creating team-building opportunities and virtual social events.
Overall, there are multiple factors affecting effective delegation in the context of remote teams. Startup founders need to be versatile, open-minded, and avoid micromanaging. Listening to team members’ feedback is always recommended, too, so combine these elements to come up with the best solution.
