Loud Thinking

How to Connect With a
Remote Colleague

It’s challenging to work with someone you don’t chat with every day at the coffee station. But you can still build strong connections and work successfully together. Here’s how:

Talk openly about the challenges. Discuss obstacles on both sides. Clarify expectations up front, and agree on how you’ll communicate.

Use technology. Include someone in a meeting with a laptop and Skype. Use Google Docs to simultaneously work on a file and watch one another’s edits or comments in real time.

Err on the side of over-communicating. Set up regular times to catch up on the phone. Keep a running list of things to discuss and share important announcements. Communicate even little details — the fact that someone has had a death in the family, for example, or is under pressure with a big project deadline.

Today’s Management Tip was adapted from the
HBR Guide to Managing Up and Across.