Why most remote/hybrid teams fail

And what great managers do instead

Hey team,

Before we get going… it’s been my birthdayyy woop. I’m officially 30 and couldn’t feel more grateful, excited and energised about life.

This community has made the last stretch of my 20s feel so meaningful. Your replies, your support, your leadership stories, they’ve all been part of it. Here’s to the next chapter. Let’s make it a good one 👊

Now back to the reason we’re all here…

We’ve just lived through one of the biggest workplace experiments in modern history.

Practically overnight, millions of people shifted to remote work. Offices emptied, Slack channels multiplied, and the daily commute was replaced with Zoom.

Some teams adapted quickly. But for most of us, five years on, we’re still figuring it out.

What we’re left with is a messy middle: a hybrid world of office days, remote policies, and wildly different views on what “productive” really means.

I’m not here to debate office days, we’re past that. This is about how to lead a team you rarely see, across screens, time zones, and limited face time.

I work with managers all over the world, and these are the most common struggles with remote work. Which one hits home for you? Drop it in the comments:

1. “I worry I have no idea what’s really going on day-to-day if my team are even working.”
   (Struggle: Lack of visibility & passive communication)

2. “I’m constantly checking in, because I don’t know what else to do and panic i’m dropping standards”
   (Struggle: Accountability vs. micromanagement tension)

3. “Everything feels so reactive. Stuff’s falling through the cracks and I’m always playing catch up.”
   (Struggle: No clear systems or structure)

4. “Giving feedback on Zoom just feels... cold. I worry I’m being too harsh or not clear enough. Or my tone isn’t coming across well”
   (Struggle: Fear around remote feedback and emotional nuance)

If you’re felt any of all of those, you’re not alone.

Here’s how to actually lead a remote or hybrid team without losing control.

A Harvard Business Review article said:

Leading remotely is like driving on the wrong side of the road…. the destination hasn't changed, but your signals, cues, and rhythms have.

Let me tell you about a client of mine who is a marketing leader running a hybrid team. He once said to me: “Everyone’s online. Everyone seems busy. But deadlines keep slipping, and I’m always the one chasing people.”

One person was tweaking pitch decks for days, another rewriting campaign copy five times over. Everyone seemed to say they’re “busy,” yet nothing was moving forward.

What he was dealing with is something we call ghost productivity -it looks like work is happening, but the results are non-existent.

When we looked deeper, the biggest issue is no-one had agreed on what “done” and ‘high standards’ truly looked like.

This wasn’t laziness or incompetence. It was an invisible ambiguity.

In an office, you overhear quick chats that clear things up. When you’re remote, those small course corrections vanish. If your expectations aren’t painfully clear, your team can easily spiral into quiet confusion.

Without these 3Cs, you’ll always be chasing

1. Clarity – Defining exactly what success looks like

2. Cadence – Setting consistent rhythms for communication

3. Culture – The behaviours that hold your team together when no one’s watching (and YOU hold them accountable to)

Clarity: Spell It Out

I once worked with a sales team where 'follow up with the client' meant something different to every person.

• One thought it meant an email within 24 hours.

• Another logged a note in the CRM and moved on.

• Someone else waited a week and then made a call.

See the problem? You cannot afford assumptions like this.

Clarity means making expectations concrete:

• Document exactly what “done” looks like.

• Ask explicitly:
  “What would success look like here?”
  “What’s the finished version of this task?”
  “What would ‘great’ look like in your view?”

If your team can’t describe the outcome the same way you can, your instructions weren’t clear enough.

Cadence: Create a predictable pulse

Most managers either over-communicate or under-communicate. Both lead to chaos.

You need a steady rhythm, something your team can rely on:

• Monday: Team huddle (live or async) to set priorities.

• Friday: Slack channel ‘wins of the week’

A regular cadence isn’t to put pointless meetings for the sake of it, but done well, will create predictability which, in turn, creates safety. People can focus on their work, knowing exactly when and where to report back.

And the kicker is… Outside of these meetings, you have to leave them alone.

Culture: Build it deliberately

Culture is your invisible manager. It’s what shapes how people behave when you’re not around.

In remote teams, culture fades fast if you don’t actively maintain it.

Here’s a simple way to start:

• Publicly recognise wins in Slack or Teams.

• Build rituals (like the “win of the week”) every Friday.

• Share your own challenges openly to encourage honesty.

• Be direct, fast and clear with feedback when something slips.

You can’t rely on passive culture-building online. You have to design it.

The illusion of control

In remote teams, most managers swing between two extremes… Over-controlling everything or vanishing completely.

Both stem from a well-known cognitive bias: the illusion of control a.k.a our brain’s tendency to overestimate how much influence we have over events, especially in uncertain environments.

The less we see, the more we try to grip. And ironically, the tighter we hold on (or the more we let go), the more chaotic things become.

So we either check in constantly to feel in control…
Or we step back entirely, assuming trust will carry the weight.

But real leadership is never about control.
It’s about designing systems where clarity, rhythm and trust replace the need for constant intervention.

Like a weekly Slack thread where everyone shares what’s done, what’s next, and what’s stuck. No chasing. No guessing. Or 30-minute 1:1s that follow the same rhythm every time, so your support becomes predictable and useful.

Final Thoughts

Managing remote and hybrid teams isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing better.

Better clarity.
Better cadence.
Better culture.

It’s about swapping vibes for systems and building a workplace where people thrive, wherever they are.

Because remote or not, great leadership always leaves a trace.

Now it’s your move.

H

P.S. If you want to see 5 more habits you can do TODAY that helped me become a great manager, watch this: