Management Tip of the Day: How to Connect With a Remote Colleague

Are you having trouble viewing this email? If so, click here to see it in a web browser. HOME   |   TIPS   |   BLOGS   |   THE MAGAZINE   |   BOOKS   |   STORE RSS   |   Mobile APRIL 16, 2013 How to Connect With a Remote Colleague It's challenging to work with someone you don't chat with every day at the coffee station. But you can still build strong connections and work successfully together. Here's how: Talk openly about the challenges. Discuss obstacles on both sides. Clarify expectations up front, and agree on how you'll communicate. Use technology. Include someone in a meeting with a laptop and Skype. Use Google Docs to simultaneously work on a file and watch one another's edits or comments in real time. Err on the side of overcommunicating. Set up regular times to catch up on the phone. Keep a running list of things to discuss and share important announcements. Communicate even little details — the fact that someone has had a death in the family, for example, or is under pressure with a big project deadline. Today's Management Tip was adapted from the HBR Guide to Managing Up and Across. Buy the book and learn how to manage people who don't report to you » Share Today's Tip: FEATURED PRODUCT HBR Guide to Managing Up and Across HBR Press Book ARE YOUR WORKING RELATIONSHIPS WORKING AGAINST YOU? To achieve your goals and get ahead, you need to rally people behind you and your ideas. But how do you do that when you lack formal authority? Or when you have a boss who gets in your way? Or when you're juggling others' needs at the expense of your own? By managing up, down, and across the organization. Your success depends on it, whether you're a young professional or an experienced leader. ADVERTISEMENT Follow the Tip: PREVIOUS TIPS Allocate Your Time and Your Effort Act with Care When Someone Cries at Work Perfect Your Personal Elevator Pitch Use Personal Rituals to Make Changes Stick Get Customers to Advocate for You Choose the Right Chart for Your Slide Quickly Quiet Your Mind Evaluate Remote Workers Fairly Make Yourself an Expert Strike the Right Tone in Your Writing All Previous Tips BEST SELLERS HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations Ebook + Video Case Study HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself HBR's 10 Must Reads: The Essentials HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done Introducing Mobile ManageMentor Powered by the proven content of Harvard ManageMentor™ iTunes >> Android >> UNSUBSCRIBE   |   UPDATE YOUR PROFILE   |   MORE EMAIL NEWSLETTERS   |   PRIVACY POLICY Was this email forwarded to you? If so, sign up to start receiving your own copy. ABOUT THIS MAILING LIST You have received this message because you subscribed to the "Management Tip of the Day" email newsletter from Harvard Business Review. If at any point you wish to remove yourself from this list, change your email address, or sign up for other email newsletters and alerts, please visit the Harvard Business Review Email Newsletter Preference Center. OPT OUT If you do not wish to receive any email messages from Harvard Business Review, click here. ADVERTISE WITH HBR This enewsletter is read by thousands of decision makers every day. Learn more about connecting your brand with this audience. Copyright © 2013 Harvard Business School Publishing, an affiliate of Harvard Business School. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing | 60 Harvard Way | Boston, MA 02163 Customer Service: 800-545-7685 (+1-617-783-7600 outside the U.S. and Canada)