IĀ work at ManyChat, where I'm the Head of Content.
IĀ run the content program which includes managing a team responsible for:Ā
How big is it?
We have the following on our content team
Where are your teammates located?
We are located all over the United States and even internationally. Team members are based in California, Colorado, Texas, Arizona, Maryland, New York, Mexico, England, Australia, Moscow.
What does your team do? What are you responsible for?ā
The content team is responsible for creating educational content as well as organic content that engages the audience to learn and take action. We manage social, SEO, blogs, PR, copyediting, video, podcasts, and much more.
Communication is essential!ā
I tell my team to communicate to me how they are feeling, how the workload is, what blockers they are having, etcā¦
In addition to communication, I make sure I make myself available to my immediate team. So whenever they need to get a hold of me, I am there so I can make sure they feel heard.ā
Itās also important to have tools in place for easy communication and respect each otherās boundaries. So, we use Slack as our form of communication. But we ask each other to use the status of when weāre working āoffice is openā, in a meeting, focus hours, or not working. And, when on vacation, use a vacation status. AND to respect one another when we are in focus hours, offline or vacation. Thank goodness for Slackās scheduling feature.
Strong remote cultures are built on strong connections.
Strong connections are built with Hailey.
I think a happy and engaged remote team starts from the top down. So, I do my best each meeting coming in with a smile and positive attitude. I do let the team know when I am a little stressed or burnt out - Iām human and I want them to feel comfortable expressing the same to me.Ā
I also make sure we use our zoom meeting time wisely. Agendas are crucial! In every meeting for our content team, I start the meeting with 5-10 min of ācoffee talkā where we just chat about whatever, then we get into the details of the agenda.Ā
And lastly, I find itās very important to let each report know how appreciative I am for their hard work. Letting people know how you appreciate them and thanking them goes a very long way.
I find itās very important to let each report know how appreciative I am for their hard work.
The biggest challenge as a remote leader is dealing with all the time zones.ā
Some of us have to sacrifice early mornings or late evenings. We try to find a balance between the two as well as rotate so one time zone isnāt always the early morning calls.
Other than that, I have to say my team is amazing and itās not too challenging leading the team. I respect each individual and I think because I show my appreciation for them, in return, they show theirs by showing up when needed.
I am planning a virtual bingo happy hour.
Usually it starts with āwhat did you do over the weekendā or āwhat did you do last night?ā.ā
Sometimes I start the zoom with my dog on screen...who doesnāt love a puppy face?
Once a month I do professional development and I start the meeting off with āName one thing you learned over the past month or find interesting.ā
We have a Kudos app in slack we use as a company. So, I use that from time to time.
But what I find is the best is writing a handwritten note to my reports and sending that to them. Sometimes I send little thank you gifts, like a gift card to Amazon/Starbucks. I sent one of my consultants a coffee mug with a cute pun about writing along with a thank you note for their hard work.
I have a mentor that I speak with regularly for leadership growth. Iām part of a womenās leadership group that also offers guidance, Iāve read a lot of books, and, of course, trials and errors.
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