What: The Economist review a book providing tips on remote management, which aims to be practical and down to earth

Why it is important:  The true nature of work and human relationship does not change between face to face meetings and virtual ones. Going virtual does not have to involve the gamification or yield to an increased surveillance as we have seen in recent examples, as workers remain workers, and should not be infantilized with gimmicks and other tricks.

The Economist reviews Leading at a distance, a book written by consultants from Spencer Stuart, which provides guidance on how to manage remote workers. The authors are convinced that remote working can compete equally with face-to-face work, however, some rules are to be followed to avoid gimmicks and wrong postures:

• Building rapport is all about finding the right balance between regular communication to show the manager’s presence without the employee feeling that she/he is being monitored,
• Emails are useful tools but do not convey nuances, in which case virtual meetings are much better,
• Virtual meetings should be either 20 or 50 mn, not the usual 30, and should aim at only one goal out of the following four: solve problems, make decisions, gain support, build relationship.

The Economist has a critical approach towards the book, stating that some of the tips are offbeats (for instance, displaying one’s interior as a background screen to create proximity). For the magazine, the most important, in a probable future where work will be hybrid (a few days at home, a few days at the office), is to avoid gimmicks, as workers are not game-show contestants.

How to lead from afar The Economist