You're leading a remote team with limited face-to-face interaction. How can you establish trust effectively?

In our remote setup at Phoenix, we're intentional about this. - We have virtual meetings where we casually catch up with each other aside from discussing work. - We remember small details like birthdays, professional and personal milestones, and welcoming new team members. I always remain accessible to my team. I don’t allow myself to get lost in a sea of emails and messages. And I’m thankful that our entire team also shares this commitment. Additionally, I do my best to lead by example. If I make a mistake, I own it. If I’m struggling, I say it. People aren’t looking for perfect leaders; they want leaders who are honest. Bottom line: if you want to build trust with your remote team, show them that you genuinely care.

Building trust in a remote team requires intentional effort and consistent communication. Here's what leaders could do: 1. Create a Culture of Transparency – Set clear expectations, share decisions openly, and encourage honest dialogue. 2. Prioritize Regular Check-Ins – One-on-one and team meetings help strengthen relationships beyond work tasks. 3. Foster Virtual Presence – Use video calls for deeper engagement and casual conversations to build rapport. 4. Empower Ownership & Accountability – Trust your team with autonomy while providing the right support. 5. Recognize & Appreciate Contributions – Acknowledge wins, big or small, to reinforce a sense of belonging.

Establishing trust in a remote team hinges on consistent, transparent communication. Prioritize regular virtual check-ins, both for work updates and informal connection. Utilize video conferencing to foster a sense of presence. Clearly define expectations and deliver on promises to build reliability. Encourage open feedback, actively listen, and show empathy. Celebrate team successes and acknowledge individual contributions. By cultivating a culture of transparency, dependability, and genuine care, you can bridge the physical distance and forge strong, trusting relationships.

My teams have been virtual and remote for years, well before Covid made it the norm. I feel that you have to start with the right type of team members. They must be self starters and motivated by the work we ask them to do. In short, you have to recruit the right people. Once you have the team built, delegate to the members and check on their progress in regularly scheduled meetings. Another good way to keep remote employees involved is to have them participate in Customer Staisfaction Surveys or Meetings. When you can get your remote team to put themselves in the shoes of your remote customer, they get a better understanding of what the customer expects and why they chose to work with us (remotely)!

Turn those expectations into agreements. Often a reason for a team member not meeting their goals is because there is a dicrepancy in expectations.

Set Expectations: Right from the beginning, be clear about each team member's role, responsibilities, and goals. When everyone understands what's expected of them and what they can expect from others, it helps build trust and gives the team a sense of direction and security.

Touch base with your high performers! Too often, we focus on adjusting behavior and don't make time for reinforcing and encouraging those who are meeting or exceeding expectations.

Autonomy thrives when people know they’re supported, not micro-managed. Regular check-ins should feel like collaboration, not surveillance. Be sure to ask for input, celebrate wins, and make sure everyone feels heard. A culture of trust isn’t about constant oversight - it’s about showing that you believe in their abilities and decisions.

Make it safe to share challenges and workload issues, which can be even more invisible in a remote environment. Set expectations and opportunities to collaborate on solutions without creating complaint sessions by focusing on what's within everyone's control.

Recognition is more effective when it's specific. Instead of saying, “Great work,” say, “I really appreciated how you handled that client concern with patience and professionalism—it kept the project on track and deepened our client relationship.” That makes a much bigger difference and shows the person that we care about their result. When praise is aligned with team values and the bigger picture, it not only boosts morale but reinforces what success looks like. When people feel valued, they naturally want to go above and beyond. That mutual respect becomes a loop of trust, motivation, and results.

I’m a firm believer that people need to play together. Remote work can make that harder—but not impossible. Play is proven to build trust and strengthen teams. So the question becomes: How do we keep things playful in a way that doesn’t feel forced? 1️⃣ Make it a priority—not an afterthought. 2️⃣ Learn your team’s individual “play styles.” 3️⃣ Build from that, not from a generic template. If the future of work is remote, this becomes a core leadership skill. Not just for morale—but for retention, creativity, and real collaboration. For more on this, I’d recommend the work of Dr. Stuart Brown, especially his book Play. It’s not just about fun—it’s about how humans connect, learn, and lead together.

I’ve been chatting with a lot of leaders about this lately. With all the pressure to make every meeting super efficient, it’s easy to forget how important it is to build personal connections. I like to make sure my team and our consultants knows I genuinely care about them as people—not just coworkers. We do this by carving out time for lunches, happy hours (virtual when needed) and one on one calls. I believe it builds trust and a stronger sense of commitment.

My team members were spread across Sweden, Turkey, the USA, and India. They were all very senior and highly qualified, and they worked independently. Hence team spirit and mutual trust were missing. I started Monthly Digital Fika. Fika is a Swedish tradition of Coffee and Cake. We talked about everything under the sun except the work. I could see the quality of interaction moving north. From a formal exchange of greetings, we moved to an informal way of talking, sharing local stories, news, and events, and laughing together. This created a strong bond and trust among the team members.

Every relationship, whether personal or at work, thrives on trust. To build that trust and have some fun along the way in a remote team, why not create opportunities for informal hangouts? Virtual coffee breaks and team games are great ways to connect! At least that was the case in most remote teams I was part of whether study or work-related. Let’s be honest—remote work can sometimes feel a bit robotic. It’s easy to jump from one Zoom meeting to another, and suddenly, a whole week flies by without any real connections. That’s why it’s so important to carve out time for those casual interactions. Think of it as the digital version of running into someone in the hallway or grabbing a coffee together.

Trust in a remote team isn’t built by proximity—it’s built by consistency. Foster open dialogue where transparency is the norm. Set clear expectations so everyone knows their role and impact. Provide consistent feedback, balancing guidance with encouragement. Empower autonomy by trusting your team to make decisions. Recognize achievements to keep motivation high. Most importantly, build relationships beyond work—genuine connections create a strong, unified team, no matter the distance.