Remote work management best practices: leading distributed teams

Ninety-eight percent of workers in the U.S. want to work remotely at least some of the time. 

Learning how to manage a remote team requires different skills from traditional office leadership. But when done well, remote teams can often be more focused, efficient, and engaged than their in-office counterparts.

Redefining leadership for a remote environment

Remote leadership means more than shifting your one-on-one meetings to Zoom. It requires a total mindset shift from controlling to enabling and from watching the clock to facilitating outcomes.

Shift from supervision to enablement

In the office, it’s easy to conflate presence with productivity, but remote work exposes that trap. The real work of remote leadership isn’t checking in but clearing paths. 

Rather than just overseeing the work, you’re creating the conditions for great work to happen, which means your questions need to shift from “What are you working on right now?” to “Is there anything slowing you down?” or “Is anything unclear that I can help with?”

Outcome-oriented leadership unlocks autonomy and builds trust.

Leading with empathy and flexibility

It’s hard to spot burnout when you don’t pass each other in the hallway. That’s why emotional awareness is a key leadership skill needed when managing remote teams.

Remote work comes with its own challenges: blurred boundaries, quiet stress, and time-zone fatigue that builds slowly. Without visual cues or side conversations, it’s easy to miss when someone’s overwhelmed.

Instead of assuming things are fine, make check-ins a habit—and make them warm and approachable. Ask:

• “Are you clear on what’s most important this week?”

• “Getting enough focused time to actually do the work?”

• “Is anything harder than it needs to be right now?”

These aren’t performance questions. They’re permission to be honest. When you lead with curiosity and consistency, not just standards, you surface blockers early and remind people they’re not in this alone.

Pro tip: When a Slack feels too formal and a Zoom feels like too much, try sending a quick video message on Marco Polo instead. A simple face-to-face check-in like, “Hey, just wanted to see how your week’s going. Anything feeling heavy?” can go a long way in showing you care.

Communication best practices

Nothing breaks down remote teams like a lack of structured communication systems. When messages don’t land in the right place or at the right time, tensions may rise, collaboration may slow, and details can slip through the cracks. 

Here are some remote work best practices you can implement to keep these issues from surfacing. 

Establish clear communication norms

Remote work doesn’t fail because people stop caring—it fails because no one knows where or how to say what matters. A quick status update turns into a 30-minute meeting. A tricky client issue becomes Slack ping-pong. And before you know it, your team’s overwhelmed by communication that feels urgent, but isn’t.

That’s why remote communication needs a shared playbook for how to work effectively remotely. Not just tool access, but real agreement on:

• What actually counts as urgent, and how to flag it

• Which channels are best for what types of messages

• When to go async vs. live

• What a reasonable response time looks like (e.g., “Reply to Slack within four business hours” or “Check email twice a day max”)

It doesn’t have to be rigid. But it does need to be clear. When everyone knows how to communicate (and where), you save time, protect focus, and reduce misfires.

Pro tip: Use Marco Polo to share quick updates, context-heavy explanations, or anything that benefits from tone and expression. It’s a great way to keep things personal without disrupting anyone’s flow.

Use each tool for the right purpose

When remote tools are intuitive, communication becomes smoother and less exhausting. That starts with aligning the message to the medium. Not every update needs a meeting. Not every brainstorm belongs in Slack.

Choose platforms that integrate smoothly and support connection without adding unnecessary complexity, especially across time zones.

For each of your tools for managing hybrid teams, here’s a simple way to break it down:

• Live calls for team-wide planning, nuanced topics, or moments that need real-time energy

• Chat apps for quick asks, nudges, and surface-level updates

• Shared docs for collaborative editing, running feedback, or project-in-progress notes 

• Async video tools like Marco Polo for video updates that benefit from tone, clarity, and connection—like giving feedback, explaining a decision, or just saying, “Hey, here’s where I’m at.”

Your goal isn’t to replace everything with async but to replace the wrong things. When your tools have a clear job to do, your team stops context-switching and starts gaining momentum. 

Bonus points for tools that play nicely together. The more seamless your systems, the more bandwidth your team has for the work that matters.

Schedule regular touchpoints

Even the most self-directed teams need time to reconnect. But connection doesn’t have to mean stuffing calendars with meetings. The key is creating intentional space for alignment, accountability, and momentum, without creating meeting fatigue.

Make touchpoints predictable, purposeful, and lightweight. That way, people know when to show up and what’s expected, and no one dreads yet another block on their calendar.

Here’s a cadence that works for many remote teams:

• Weekly team stand-ups to keep priorities visible and make sure nothing falls through the cracks 

• Biweekly retrospectives to reflect on what’s working and where friction is building  

• Monthly all-hands to reconnect around company goals, progress, and culture

And remember, not every check-in needs to be live. A quick async update via Marco Polo can keep everyone in the loop, create room for thoughtful contributions, and build presence without pressure. The consistency matters more than the format.

Performance management in a remote context

Remote workforce management means letting go of office-based metrics (like seat time or green dots) and focusing on what actually moves the needle. Great managers of distributed teams lead with trust, clear expectations, and feedback that’s timely and thoughtful.

Remote working can save employers more than $10,000 per year per employee, but those savings don’t mean much without strong performance. 

When you’re not sitting in the same office, it’s tempting to measure performance by who’s online or how fast someone replies. But just because someone’s Slack is active at 8 p.m. doesn’t mean they’re contributing meaningfully. Outcome-based management flips the script by spotlighting what got done, not how long it took.

What outcome-first performance looks like:

• Client work delivered on time and to scope

• A process improved or made more efficient

• A handoff so smooth, no one had to follow up

Pro Tip: Use Marco Polo to give context and intent for what outcomes matter most at the start of a project. A short video beats a long email—and gives space for tone and nuance.

Seventy-seven percent of workers believe they’re more productive when working remotely. Trust your team to stay on task, and give them the autonomy to do the job their way.

Set SMART goals and expectations

Remote employees thrive when they know what they’re aiming for. And SMART goals are one of the best tools for creating that clarity.

Here’s how the SMART framework breaks down:

• Specific: What needs to be accomplished?

• Measurable: How will you track progress or results?

• Achievable: Is the goal realistic with the given time and resources?

• Relevant: Does it align with your team’s priorities and objectives?

• Time-bound: What’s the deadline or timeframe?

Example: “Draft and deliver the Q3 sales deck by July 15 with all stakeholder edits incorporated.”

When goals are clear and outcomes are agreed on, team members can self-manage with confidence, and leaders can support without hovering.

Give frequent constructive feedback

Without hallway convos or impromptu “Hey, great job on that deck,” remote feedback needs structure. Your team deserves to feel seen, even when they’re working independently, so don’t wait for annual reviews—build a cadence of connection. Be sure to always acknowledge what’s working, offer actionable input, and invite a two-way conversation. 

Try this:

• Use one-on-ones to surface blockers and wins

• Celebrate successes with a short Marco Polo shoutout

• Share challenges with kindness and context

Pro Tip: Give asynchronous feedback via Marco Polo so people can receive it when they’re ready, and respond with their thoughts when they’ve had time to process.

With consistent, proactive feedback, small teams can stay aligned and grow together even when they’re apart.

Building and sustaining team culture remotely

Culture doesn’t live in pizza parties or “virtual fun” Zooms. It’s built in the way teams communicate from day to day—how they show up for each other, how wins are shared, and how it feels to work together.

Building highly collaborative and connected remote teams requires effort. Culture is the direct result of how you handle daily interactions and celebrate wins publicly.

Pro Tip: Use Marco Polo to build connections through “Friday Wins” Polos or personal update threads. Consider recording a Polo every Monday morning with three things: an update, a shoutout, and a personal story from their week.

Supporting employee well-being and hybrid workforce engagement

Working from home impacts how employees feel in ways that are different from being in a traditional office. As a manager, it's your responsibility to tailor well-being solutions to your remote workforce. Here are some strategies for remote team success you can implement starting today.

Encourage work-life boundaries

The beauty of remote work is flexibility. The problem arises when that flexibility turns into a habit of never unplugging. Healthy boundaries help your team recharge and stay present in their work and their lives.

Here’s how you can set the tone for your team:

• Set clear work hours (like 8 to 5), and stick to them.

• Avoid messaging after hours unless it’s urgent.

• Normalize breaks, time away, and status messages like “heads down” or “on a walk.” That lunch away from the screen is a great chance to recharge.

Boundaries keep remote work sustainable. When teams feel trusted to step away, they come back motivated and reenergized. 

Pro Tip: Encourage leaders to start their messages on Marco Polo with simple prompts like, “What’s one thing you’re doing for yourself this week?” This opens the door for real conversation around balance, without the pressure of a meeting.

Offer wellness and mental health resources

Remote work can get lonely. Without hallway hellos or office small talk, it’s easy to feel disconnected. If you truly want to support the wellness of your team, go beyond check-ins and make real resources available.

Consider:

• Access to virtual therapy or mental health apps

• Wellness stipends for fitness, meditation, or other self-care tools

• Mental health days that are just as normalized as sick days

When support is easily accessible and free from judgment, it helps people bring their best selves to work wherever they log in.

Provide career development opportunities

Just because someone’s remote doesn’t mean they don’t want to grow. Remote workers often need more intentional support to stay motivated and connected to their career paths.  

Make development part of the plan with:

• A shared doc of development goals across the team

• One-on-ones to ask, “Where do you want to grow next?”

• Clear paths to advancement and promotions

• Mentorship pairings across departments or locations

• Stipends or time for online learning, workshops, or certifications

Professional growth is a big part of team satisfaction. Show your people working from home that they’re moving forward, too.

Pro Tip: Use Marco Polo to share a “learning log” where team members can drop short video recaps of what they’ve learned from a course or training. This builds shared knowledge and encourages continuous development.

Common mistakes to avoid in remote management

Even experienced managers can fall into bad habits and practices when learning how to manage a remote workforce. These mistakes stem from applying traditional office techniques where they no longer apply. Here’s what to watch for and how to steer clear.

Micromanagement and over-surrveillance

Micromanaging is the remote equivalent of breathing down someone’s neck. It tells your team you don’t trust them. So, it’s no surprise that this practice contributes to anxiety and resentment while harming remote team performance. In fact, 73% of workers cite micromanagement as the biggest red flag in a company. 

Don’t do check-ins just for the sake of checking in, and skip the “I saw you weren’t online at 3 p.m.” messages. Instead, focus on outcomes and allow your team to achieve them in their own way.

One-size-fits-all communication styles

Not everyone wants to talk in real time. Some think best out loud, while others need a minute to process. Remote management requires reading the room—even if it’s a digital one.

Make async communication part of your default. Let the thoughtful, slower-to-speak team members shine on their own timeline.

Pro Tip: Encourage meeting prep via Marco Polo. Send a pre-meeting video asking everyone to weigh in beforehand. You’ll get better input, and quieter voices get space to speak.

The bottom line

The best practices for managing remote teams focus on trust-building and outcome measurement over micromanagement. When you lead with trust, structure, and people-first systems, remote teams can be more focused, fulfilled, and resilient than ever before.

With Marco Polo, those “in-between” moments of connection aren’t lost—they’re made possible.

Key takeaways

• Lead like a guide, not a guardrail. Support outcomes, not activity.

• Use communication tools intentionally. Match the message to the medium, and align your team on when to show up live vs. async.

• Create space for culture daily. Don’t rely on events—build rituals.

• Measure what matters. Align on goals, not hours.

• Support well-being. Boundaries and flexibility aren’t perks—they’re what make high performance possible.