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Justin Mitchell

EQ & Remote Managers 2020 Report - Learnings from 180 interviews with remote managers

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Meet the largest report on remote leadership and EQ. We interviewed 180 managers from 110 remote tech companies from January 2020 until now. Learn what remote managers struggle with, the impact of COVID19, and best practices for building culture.

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Yen Tan
Maker
We never expected remote work to take over the world. By chance, we started interviewing remote managers two months before mandatory WFH began. Between January 2020 and now, we've interviewed over 180 remote managers from 110 of the biggest remote companies. We put all our learnings into this report. Managers are struggling, and it's not just because 2020 sucks. 21.5% of managers had less than a year of experience before mandatory WFH began. Roughly 77% said their biggest challenge was the softer aspects of remote work, namely relationship building and communication. As it turns out, EQ makes or breaks remote work. We collected everything we could on how managers work in this pandemic, plus best practices for building EQ and culture. Read on and you'll find: ⚒️ Most common tools & practices of post-COVID tech teams 💪 Average experience level and team size by role 🌎 Comparing async & sync communication 😷 COVID19's impact on remote transition and stress 😓 Manager struggles by async adoption, role function, and experience 🤝 Best practices for building team EQ, trust, and culture 💖 The impact of psychological safety 🐶 A guide to improving your remote EQ This report took 7 months to make, and we couldn't be prouder of how it turned out. We can't wait to hear what you think in the comments:) Have more feedback? Email sidpandiya@g.ucla.edu.
Andrew Zhou
Maker
@itscorine Hey all, excited to FINALLY share this with you all! It's been in-the-making for SO LONG, & it feels great to finally put it out there. Enjoy!
Siddharth Pandiya
Maker
@itscorine Hey everyone, we made this because we think EQ is the most important skill you can have on a remote team. It's also the one that's the hardest to build! We talked to hundreds of managers and realized that most people struggle with the softer side of leading a remote team. That's why we decided to write this report. Interestingly, we started working on it BEFORE the pandemic, and so there's a ton of stuff in there about how things have changed with respect to EQ on remote teams. Hope you like it :)
Yen Tan
Maker
We've hit 100 upvotes! 😱🎉 To everyone that's supported us so far, I recorded a thank you for ya. We appreciate you! <3 https://twitter.com/itscorine/st...
Ruban Rengaraju
This report was super insightful, and I really enjoyed finding out more about what the Sike team has put together. Thanks @pandiyasid
Yen Tan
Maker
@ruban_rengaraju Glad you liked it, Ruban!
Siddharth Pandiya
Maker
@ruban_rengaraju Thanks a ton! Glad to hear it was useful. Would love to hear more feedback - do reach out at sid@sikeinsights.com if you have any further thoughts.
HK
Wow. Awesome work!! @pandiyasid @andrewthezhou
Siddharth Pandiya
Maker
@andrewthezhou @thehksk Thank you! Glad you liked it :)
Suraya Shivji
woah this is so cool and useful! did you guys find any differences in terms of building team eq and trust for small vs large teams?
Siddharth Pandiya
Maker
@surz Yes! It was actually really interesting - we found that managers found it much easier to build trust on a small remote team. Especially when new hires are onboarded fully remotely and join a team where the manager didn't specifically hire them - that's where we see leaders struggle the most.
Harrison Wang
Kona helped me communicate more efficiently and comfortably with my remote team than ever! Thank you guys for making the transition so seamless from working in person to at home.
Siddharth Pandiya
Maker
@harrison_wang2 Great to hear that you've used Kona! You know it better than we do - transitioning from in-person to remote is hard, especially if you're leading a large team. We're trying to make that easier :)
Cindy Zheng
Working in a remote team can be hard, glad to see you guys building solutions that help foster good remote working relationships!
Yen Tan
Maker
@cindyrzheng Thanks so much, Cindy! It's crazy how difficult it is to build trust and relationships online. Hopefully this report provides a helpful tip or two!
Arnav Mathur
Super interesting stuff guys - it’s really exciting to see quantified statistics on the impact that COVID has had on productivity given that even as the pandemic subsides, many firms will continue to explore the viability of prolonged (and perhaps even permanent) work from home. Teams like Sike make this transition feasible!
Yen Tan
Maker
@arnav_mathur Thanks so much for the high praise, Arnav! We got super lucky when it came to timing, we ended up conducting most of our interviews right when COVID19 caused mandatory work-from-home worldwide. Super excited to hear your feedback once you dive into the report itself! Thanks again!
Tyler Sellhorn
This is pointed at a huge pain point for remote teams and teams generally. This is really well done by some caring and thoughtful people.
Yen Tan
Maker
@tyler_sellhorn Thanks so much, Tyler! We sure think so. You rock!
Jay Mishra
Really insightful read. Enjoyed learning about the many challenges presented by remote work. Great job by the Sike team!
Yen Tan
Maker
@jaythemishra Thanks so much, Jay! It's been 7 months in the making, so we really appreciate the kind words!
Laurie Tan
This is so cool! I love Sike Insights!
Yen Tan
Maker
@laurie_tan Thanks Laurie! We appreciate you<3
Vivek Nair
This report is so cool - great work you three. Loved this recommendation particularly - "celebrate zoom interruptions by family members and pets"
Yen Tan
Maker
@vivek_nair Thanks Vivek! We got that tip from our friends at Gitlab!
Siddharth Pandiya
Maker
@vivek_nair Thanks Vivek! Yes, hearing other people's "life sounds" are one of the many benefits of remote work. It doesn't have to be so formal! You're the best :)
Dan Symonds
Excellent report from the top team at Sike Insights.
Yen Tan
Maker
@dan_symonds Thanks so much for the kind words, Dan! We appreciate you!!
Yash Moondhra
Great work, Sike team. Looking forward to hearing about more findings in the future
Yen Tan
Maker
@yash_moondhra Thanks so much, Yash! We've got a big product in the works, so stay tuned:)
Victor Tan
Need for product in remote work settings
Yen Tan
Maker
@victor_tan We sure think so!
Donald Morton
This is a jam packed report. Can definitely see all the hard work that was put into this - Great job @sike team!
Yen Tan
Maker
@donald_morton Thanks so much, Donald! It was a labor of love:') Thanks so much for the high praise!
Emily Noronha
Wow, this report is SUPER easy to read and understand, I love all the graphics and work that was put in! Can't wait to see what comes from Sike Insights next. :)
Yen Tan
Maker
@emily_noronha Thanks so much, Emily! We put a lot of time making it ~~ a e s t h e t i c ~~ and we're really happy you liked it!
Iulia Istrate
I love Kona. And the report is very insightful!
Yen Tan
Maker
@iulia_istrate Amazing! We based Kona on all our interviews, so we're thrilled you like both!
Justin Mitchell
Hunter
The Yac team has been using the Kona Slack bot from Sike Insights for awhile now and it’s clear the team understands this space. Excited to hunt this today and pumped to see where this company is going.
Yen Tan
Maker
@jmitch You and the Yac squad are the best. Thanks for the constant support!
Jill Tiutan
I really appreciate the work put into this guide. It helps me quantifiably understand the work environment that I, my coworkers, and other tech employees are in during this remote-heavy period. Thanks for making this!
Yen Tan
Maker
@jilltiutan Amazing! Thanks so much for the kind words, Jill. We're so happy you found it useful!
Minh Mai
Wow this is a super insightful report for all managers & non-managers adjusting to the remote workplace. Great work, I can't wait to see how Sike continues to foster better workplace relationships!
Siddharth Pandiya
Maker
@minhiam Thanks a ton Minh! Glad to hear that you liked it. Yes, totally agree - EQ is something that's only recently started to be recognized as important for remote managers.