How do you stay close to your team when they’re far away?

Staying close to the team

"How do you stay close when your team is far away?"

Here it gets even harder, because that interpersonal connection,is much easier when we're all in the same office.

In Bolt's case, we have a big business hub in Lisbon,where I'm based, and that helps.

There I have the Portuguese, French,and Belgian teams, but it's not that easy.

Right now I manage ten countries, and people are spread all over Europe.

And it is much easier to build that relationship when we're nearby,and if, culturally speaking, we can understand people's cultures,because that really changes everything.

What do I do to try to minimize that gap?I travel quite regularly,and I encourage people to visit Lisbon when they can.

We also use Bolt's events a lot to make that happen,meaning, when we have a global event,I try to gather my team when I'm somewhere, and we all go for dinner,but above all, the biggest challenge, I think, is getting to know people and understanding what's behind the person I'm talking to.

I talk every day with the country manager of Malta or Spain,or the Baltics, or the team lead in Germany.

We end up talking every day, but I don't see them, I can't feel.

I can't feel if they're doing well,when they walk into the office, whether they seem in a good mood.

They objectively tell me a bit of what's going on,but that personal contact is very hard for me to have,and it's really the manager who has to bring all the information from above and cascade that information downward.

I have to be responsible for transmitting that same information,those same goals, that same strategy, downwards.

And it's much easier when we're in the same physical place, because,for starters, I'm someone who tends to prioritize a lot,I have no problem showing my vulnerabilities,I'm laugh at myself,and that helps others feel more comfortable and open up.

When we're far apart, it's much harder.A phone call helps narrow that distance a bit.

That's why I put a lot of effort into that,making teams interact a lot,creating buddies outside their countries, outside their comfort zones.

When I have my weekly meeting with direct reports from different regions,and realize they've talked beforehand,it means the work is going well because,generally, the less I have to step in on specific matters,the better the dynamic is working.

My goal is to be important and influential in what truly matters to them,not on what might seem important to me at first.

And because, ultimately, they're the ones who will execute what we agree on.

So, distance is a challenge, but also an opportunity.

It ends up being an opportunity for everyone.Because if they didn't have to report to someone,who may manage multiple countries,they'd also be more focused on themselves and their global view would also be more limited.

And I think having our own bubble is super important.

Because who knows if one of them will end up in my position,I hope so,because it'll mean they are ready, and that I'm still growing too.

That's why I think it's about this dynamic, preparing people for constant growth.

Whether they are in a BSS, a place for Sales Juniors,where one can be Country Manager in no time.

Speaking of that, when I joined Bolt, there were only two of us,Me as Country Manager, and a BDM, a Sales rep,who now, fun fact, three years later, is Bolt's Country Manager for Portugal.

That really shows how the company helps and prepares people to grow.

He's not just Country Manager for Portugal, but Belgium as well.

Of course, all the credit is his, because he's an incredible person,But it also shows how the company can prepare people and make them grow,and use its best resources to help them grow.

But that happens because of the dynamic and the way we circulate information and let everyone contribute to every topic.