Managing Remote & Hybrid Teams

The unprecedented Covid lockdowns changed a lot of things (and people), not the least of which is the way we work.

Even in my most distributed teams, pre-Covid, the local reps generally were in-person for team meetings and those out of state, came into the Corporate HQ several times a year. I can already see some of that in-person interaction coming back, but not nearly at the frequency it once was.

The downside to this new precedent is the lack of that in-person social bonding that cannot occur in the 2D world of video. One of the upsides to this is that we have all become infinitely more productive as we have reduced or eliminated our travel time. The other upside is that we no longer have to hire under the same geographical constraints we once placed ourselves under.

The challenge of course, is how to manage and lead remote or hybrid teams. I saw many companies just apply their typical in-person meeting cadence to the remote work environment. Meaning, that if they had once-a-month meetings in person, they kept once-a-month meetings virtually. If they did once-a-quarter planning sessions in person, they kept once-a-quarter planning sessions virtually. While understandable, is that the right answer? I’d argue no.

The rules have changed, and we need to change with them.

For the teams I led throughout this transition, I found the need for more frequent, but shorter, check-ins. We forget that while employers were trying to implement business continuation strategies, we also had employees out there with a lot of fear about their futures and that of their families. I found having more frequent discussions, about varying topics, provided some foundation and footing to continue performing their job, albeit quite differently.

As a result, our days and weeks together looked a little different.

I moved monthly meetings to weekly, and quarterly meetings to monthly.
I added in OTF (on-the-fly) meetings that anyone could schedule for any reason.
I added weekly and bi-weekly scheduled check-ins. Less formal than the 1:1 planning sessions and generally centered on what they needed from me and for me to pass along best practices that I learned from others.
For one of my teams, we started doing Tuesday night cocktail hours. This was received very well and we had a blast just kicking back, telling stories and updating each other on our families and work happenings.

Yes, my schedule is far more packed than it used to be, but also much more rewarding and impactful. We are dealing with issues and opportunities in real-time and as a result, the energy that was sucked from everyone while in lockdown, actually spiked and is more sustainable over the longer term.

Sometimes things happen beyond our control. That’s life. How we react to those things and how we focus on the needs of our people, is what separates leaders and managers.

His guidance, leadership, and friendship are PRICELESS

He has mentored me to achieve amazing professional goals without losing sight of the most important part of my life as a wife and mother. His guidance, leadership, and friendship are PRICELESS!!

Brian is a Full Service Mentor

Over the years, Brian has not only mentored the sales team, but also our Department Managers throughout the corporation developing personal goals, department goals, leadership skills, and execution.

A Great Motivator

He has been a great motivator for me, my team, and our organization’s management team. Outside of the impressive sales increase, there is an abundance of projects and initiatives that Brian has successfully led I would like to highlight some of them that ultimately changed my life both professionally and personally.

Learned How to Grow Territory

During the time I work with Brian, he challenged me, showed me how to sell and how to win in almost any circumstance. Brian helped me grow my sales territory (Chicago) from nothing to a $1,000,000+ book of business.

The Summit Solutions is not a one-fits-all process

Is the Summit Solutions a one-fits-all process that will lead to selling more? No, there are plenty of national programs with regional support that will sell you on that. I will tell you from my experience, they are outdated, not personalized, and don’t work. They typically also only focus on the sales department. Brian’s method is to work with the whole organization, while stressing the importance of creating a company culture that people want to be a part of.

As the VP Sales Manager, I was initially skeptical

As the VP Sales Manager, I was initially skeptical and guarded as to why we had to bring in an outside sales expert. I perceived this as an insult to my abilities and the performance of our team. Today I can honestly say that the association, teachings, and concepts Brian presented were the BEST thing to happen to our Company, myself, and our team.

When we started with Summit Learning Solutions we had 62 employees

When we started with Summit Learning Solutions we had 62 employees mostly serving the state of Michigan. Now, we have nearly 200 employees serving 17 states; and we’re still growing consistently. Moreover, when we started with Summit we sold about 3-5 Million a year in new business; now we sell 13 Million a year in new business.

They sourced and hired our first-ever sales team

They sourced and hired our first-ever sales team and created the sales and marketing plan to start the process. They designed our sales team’s compensation plans, trained them on appropriate sales methodology, and lead our overall strategy. Candidly, we thought they were way too optimistic in their sales projections. It turns out they undersold the possibilities. The program was very successful, very fast.

We are a better, healthier, and the more performance-driven company

We are a better, healthier, and the more performance-driven company now thanks to Brian’s training and support. Most importantly, it’s more profitable.