What’s your biggest fear about your remote team?

If you said productivity you’re in good company.

As the owner of a boutique creative agency, one of your biggest fears about having a remote team is likely around productivity. If that resonates, you're in good company - I hear this concern regularly from my clients who lead remote teams.

The fear of reduced productivity in a remote setting is valid.

Without physical presence, it can feel challenging to ensure everyone stays on track and delivers consistent results. As an agency leader, that's a heavy burden. You have your own work to crush, and being distracted by worries about what your team is doing disrupts your own focus and flow.

What's important to understand is that there are different types of productivity. 

The traditional view emphasizes efficiency and quantitative output - how many tasks get completed. But there's another powerful lens too: purposeful productivity.

However, there’s another type of productivity that is far more powerful and compelling. And it’s the type of productivity I help my client’s infuse into their workflow. It’s called Purposeful Productivity.

Purposeful productivity goes beyond just checking boxes. It's about aligning tasks and actions with your broader goals, values, and core intentions as an agency. It's more sustainable and impactful.

So how do you cultivate purposeful productivity with your remote creative crew?

Here are three ideas worth considering …

>>Shift to Outcome-Based Management
First, pivot from monitoring activity to measuring outcomes. Clearly define what success looks like with specific goals, priorities and expectations. That gives your team the clarity to self-direct their efforts productively.

>>Enhance Communication (The Right Way)
Communication is oxygen for remote teams. Have regular check-ins, and use face-to-face tools like Zoom to foster personal connection. But just as important as frequency is transparency - make sure communication flow is open in all directions.

>>Leverage Project Management Tools
Implement robust project management software to make workflows, responsibilities and progress radically transparent. Apps like Teamwork, ClickUp and Monday.com enhance accountability across your remote team.

Ultimately, an engaged remote team is a productive remote team.

When your creative team members feel empowered, valued and invested in, they'll show up with energy and innovative ideas.

If you’re wondering how to nurture that, here are three ideas:

1. Encourage autonomy by giving them true ownership.
2. Provide regular recognition and constructive feedback.
3. Invest in professional development opportunities.

Remote work isn't just the future - it's the present reality, especially for creative agencies like yours.

By being proactive about productivity and engagement, you can ensure your remote team's success.

It takes trust, clear communication, and an outcomes-oriented approach.

By removing your fears about the productivity of your remote team, and instead infusing purposeful productivity into everyone’s TO DO list, you’ll unlock that next level of creative excellence.

Empower your team with purposeful productivity, and watch them soar.

You’ve got this.