Leading Remote Teams

“I’ve long been a fan of remote work,” said Rory Sutherland, executive vice chairman of Ogilvy and Maher. Rory’s book, Alchemy, is full of counterintuitive wisdom. The opposite of a good idea, he’s fond of saying, can be another good idea.

Sutherland introduced remote work for his team years before Covid-19 sent everyone home.

But, “when I told my team of fifteen people they were free to work from home nobody did."

The problem was the perceived cost. People thought they were using up their goodwill, reputation, and status if they were to work from home.

The solution had to come from the top.

Sutherland said that going forward, one day a week would be a work from home day. Once it became standard, once the perceived costs evaporated, people bought in. Once the boss did it, it became okay.

It’s up to the leadership to set the culture of expectations. The promises you make to yourself spill over and become the promises you make to each other.

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