I’m currently doing some work helping managers think about how they manage staff whose work base is different from theirs.

 It is my custom when approaching a new work stream (or in the case re-visiting an old one) to gather my thoughts, do some mind mapping of the issues and then research through some of the better management websites, perhaps reading some of the new titles on the subject.

 When it come to Remote Management I’ve found myself surprised and delighted that the issue has been a richer area of study than I thought and – I would go as far as to say -  has challenged my whole approach to people management!

 Firstly I came across the notion that somewhere not seeing your staff all the time was somehow wrong or inferior to watching them all the time. Alright, some may agree with this sentiment but if you look closely there are some significant self-defeating and illusory issues which arise.

 You just can’t trust anyone therefore I need to be around all the time. If this is true then you are in trouble regardless on whether your staff are in the next room or in the next county.

 Managers must be in complete control – a pretty exhausting proposition which will set up unreasonable expectation of yourself and others

 We are doing this because of the technology - there is no doubt that technology has enabled quicker communication across the globe, leading to new opportunities for working together. However it’s the rules relating to the old technology which will help keep people on track

 Managing remotely is different – we’ll see that this may not be necessarily true; in fact we may conclude that all management is remote management…

 More later…

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