“How do I know what my team is doing when I can’t see them?”
That was the question an engineering manager (EM) asked me recently. He wasn’t panicking – he was trying to lead responsibly in a world where trust and expectations can’t rely on physical presence.
The question came up because of that viral story about someone secretly working at 10 or more startups at the same time. Likely, you’ve seen or read about it. It’s a manager’s nightmare. Extreme? Sure. But it struck a nerve – people do double-dip.
But let me ask you a question: Have you ever seen someone coast in the office?
I have – side businesses, meetings dodged, and quiet underperformance. It’s nothing new.
People who want to avoid work usually find a way – remote or not. What remote work does is take away the illusion that seeing someone means you know what they’re doing.
That’s why visibility isn’t about presence. It’s about systems.
Here are eight leadership moves I’ve found make the biggest difference in building a remote culture that works.
1 - Lead change by modeling it
Right now, roles are blurring fast. AI is shifting how we think, ship, and solve problems. The typical boundaries between job titles are dissolving. Suddenly, everyone’s expected to be a full‑stack engineer, product thinker, project manager, and system debugger in one.
It’s a lot.
And while it’s easy to tell your team to adapt, the truth is, most people are already trying to keep up. What they need from you isn’t just direction, it’s example.
If you’re not adapting yourself, no one will follow. If you want people to take ownership, they need to see what ownership looks like when the ground keeps shifting.
It's not an easy change, I know.
Leadership in any team – remote or not – means being the first to try, the first to fail, and the first to adjust. Not perfectly, just openly.
2 - Manage yourself like you expect others to
I use the same tools and rhythms I recommend to my team:
- Pomodoro timers
- Time logs
- My calendar shows what I’m working on
- And my notes help me prepare and follow through
I use AI wherever I can to summarize, track, and plan. It’s how I stay focused and ahead of the chaos.
When you’re disorganized as a manager, your team feels it. Priorities shift without warning. Bottlenecks appear out of nowhere and you start reacting instead of leading.
So if you want to lead a remote team well, start with your own focus, consistency, and visibility.
3 - Focus on doing good work before defining the culture
We talk a lot about culture these days. But sometimes it gets ahead of the work.
When someone new joins the team and starts critiquing culture before they’ve shipped anything, that’s usually a signal. In many cases, they’re reacting to direct feedback:
- The code needed tests
- The design had flaws
- Or the work wasn’t ready – and someone said so
But instead of hearing the feedback, they hear hostility.
Culture isn’t about everyone feeling great all the time. It’s about how we work together to do great work. Feedback is part of that.
The people who care most about the work set the culture. My core team does that. They don’t need micromanaging. They raise issues, hold each other accountable, and raise the bar.
If you want a stronger team culture, hire people who care deeply about the quality of what they ship and how it affects the team – not just the function they were hired for.
4 - Make work visible
One of the most helpful things we’ve done is build systems for transparency.
Every task, estimate, and time log goes into our shared tools. It’s not policing, it’s clarity. So when someone asks: “What’s this person been working on?” we don’t speculate. We look it up.
This kind of visibility:
- Cuts down on confusion and second-guessing
- It gives better context for feedback
- And it makes meetings shorter and more useful
It also helps people tell their own story. Instead of hoping someone notices their work, it’s already there – visible, documented, and connected to the rest of the system.
You’re not doing this to control people. You’re doing it so nobody wastes time wondering where the work went. Or worse, assuming nothing’s happening when there’s just no signal.
When work is visible, feedback is faster, course corrections are easier, and trust builds naturally.
You don’t need a perfect system. You need one that removes ambiguity.
5 - Stay calm – especially when others aren’t
I used to meet intensity with intensity. If someone was emotional or frustrated, I matched their energy. I thought that meant I was being responsive. But it never helped.
I started noticing what stress really looks like:
- People get emotional
- Voices rise
- And arguments start over small things
Now I stay calm. I listen. I ask questions.
That doesn’t mean I agree with everything. It just means I’m not adding fuel to the fire. And that change in me shifted how others responded. People mirrored my tone and conversations got more productive.
Your emotional tone sets the default for the team. When you stay grounded, others follow.
That’s not soft – it’s strategic. Especially in remote work, where a single Slack message can carry unexpected weight, or where tension builds quietly behind a screen. Calm becomes a leadership asset. And when you show it consistently, it becomes contagious.
6 - Delegate with context, not distance
I want people on my team to say I don’t micromanage, and I hope they’d be right. But not micromanaging doesn’t mean disappearing.
I stay close enough to understand what’s happening, so I can step in if needed. But I give people as much context as I can so they can make decisions without me.
There’s a thin line between involvement and interference. You’ll cross it sometimes. That’s okay, it happens especially if you're technical yourself. What matters is whether your team feels responsible or abandoned.
Good delegation means:
- Here’s the why
- Here’s the goal
- I trust you to figure out the how
- And I’m here if you need me!
7 - Use one-on-ones to keep connection alive
One-on-ones are how I stay in touch with what’s really going on in the team. Not just the work, but how people are feeling, what they’re dealing with, and where things might be slipping. I can’t talk to everyone every week, especially in a larger team. But I do my best to stay close to the frontline and the leadership layer.
It’s not about trying to catch problems. It’s about showing people:
- There’s a direct line
- They can ask me anything
- They can tell me anything
- And there will be time and space for it
That’s what makes one-on-ones valuable. Not just for spotting issues, but for proving you’re a present leader. Someone who sees their work, hears the signals, and makes time for the team.
They also help me lead better. I prepare ahead of time, keep notes, and look for patterns across conversations. If someone’s mentioned the same frustration three weeks in a row, I know it’s time to act.
You won’t always have time to meet with everyone every week. That’s okay. But people need to know they have access to you and that there’s a place to talk.
8 - Make space to learn – even when it’s messy
We make time for deliberate learning.
Take AI integration. We started small – dedicated blocks of time for experimentation – and gradually grew the scope. It’s a deliberate practice. Expect it to be slow at first, with a lot of wrong turns. Especially if you’re dealing with a giant, decades-old legacy codebase! Tools don’t always work as expected, and integrations break.
But that’s the point.
When you're experimenting, you're not just testing tools. You’re reinforcing a culture of curiosity and adaptability. You’re showing the team that progress doesn’t have to be perfect, and that learning is part of the job – not something squeezed in after hours.
That kind of culture builds trust. It encourages people to ask questions, share what they’re learning, and support each other through uncertainty. And it turns the fear of falling behind into the momentum of figuring it out together.
You can’t iterate if you’re always trying to look perfect.
The short version: great remote teams start with grounded managers
Remote success isn’t about seeing more. It’s about leading better.
That means showing up with systems, habits, and signals that build trust – without relying on physical presence. These aren’t hacks. They’re the foundation of a remote culture people want to be part of.
Here’s how to start:
- Show the change you want: lead by example
- Start by managing yourself: set the tone with structure, steadiness, and follow-through
- Culture follows the quality of the work: people who care about outcomes will shape the team’s values
- Visibility beats assumptions: build systems that eliminate guesswork and make progress easy to see
- Composure is contagious: your emotional tone becomes the team’s baseline
- Delegation works best with context: Don’t disappear – stay present enough to support ownership
- Trust grows through consistent conversations: one-on-ones are a thread of connection, not just a check-in
- Create space to experiment: normalize exploration, wrong turns, and visible growth
Remote work doesn't succeed by accident. It needs clear communication, consistency, and leadership that’s present even when you’re not in the same room.
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Originally published on Medium.com
