For many companies, transitioning to a remote workforce earlier this year required stepping into uncharted territory.
Company leaders nationwide scrambled to pen down remote work best practices and readjust business strategies, but that didn’t seem to be the case for sales enablement company Showpad.
Prior to the pandemic, the company managed a partly remote workforce and had their own remote work guidelines already firmly in place. So while many companies quickly prepared their teams for a “new normal,” Showpad felt like very much at home in the remote work world. From the beginning, the company equipped its managers with the tools needed to keep their team members on track, both professionally and personally.
According to Senior Manager of Customer Success Carthey Van Dyke, the greatest tool Showpad gave its managers to lead their teams remotely isn’t an online platform. Rather, it’s “the encouragement to set boundaries” — for themselves and their teams.
Built In San Francisco caught up with Van Dyke to learn how she and other managers at Showpad prepared their teams for the future of work.
What steps have you taken to train your managers on how to lead remote or partially remote teams?
For as long as I’ve been a manager at Showpad, I’ve been managing a remote team. Even before the pandemic, we set our managers up with tools to make remote work simple, from our own Showpad Coach to Slack, Workday, Culture Amp and Zoom. And with the pandemic, Showpad has taken steps to ensure success with training and emotional support for leaders and employees as a whole. It’s been amazing to see the organization stick to our values as we tackle this new way of working.
What role does emotional intelligence play in managing teams remotely, and how do you support managers in improving their EQ?
Emotional intelligence plays such a huge role in managing a remote team. My current team is made up of almost all extroverts with a few introverts mixed in. While I have always been remote, many of my team members had never worked remotely full time before March. These individuals have had to take on a large mental, physical and emotional shift alongside other outside stressors. By staying open, truly listening, being honest and genuinely caring about how each team member is doing, a manager can quickly understand where someone is struggling, what coping mechanisms look like and where they are really succeeding.
A few ways I’ve been able to improve my EQ that I would recommend for other managers is to check your personal baggage at the door, learn to truly listen and understand how someone likes to be recognized. First, understand how your other relationships or past experiences may be impacting the way you show up as a leader for your team. Don’t let previous experiences get in the way of building trust with your team. This also goes hand in hand with listening. When you talk to your team, make sure you’re not just looking for things you have in common. Get to know the other pieces of their lives and learn about their views of the world. This will allow you to truly listen and connect on a deeper level with that person.
Lastly, understand how someone wants to be recognized. Not everyone responds in the same way to public praise, words of gratitude or affirmation. Figure out what works for each of your team members and cater your recognition of them accordingly. This helps keep your team motivated and driven.
Even before the pandemic, we set our managers up with tools to make remote work simple.”
What’s a new tool you’re providing managers to help them lead their teams remotely, and why has this tool been particularly impactful?
Fortunately, as a global company, our teams are used to working with colleagues across oceans and time zones, so we already had the tools in place to effectively lead teams remotely. But outside of technology, the greatest tool Showpad has provided managers is the encouragement to set boundaries for ourselves and our teams. We set designated work hours, encourage team members to step away from their computers to take lunch or a little break and ask them to sign off when we notice them breaking those boundaries.
