I just learned of a whole new role in companies, Head of Remote. No one knows what it means. Sure sounds fancy. Remote work has been around my entire career, but it seems to have reached an inflection point.

There’s still lots of arbitrage in the system, hiring remote remains a competitive advantage. Job seekers view it as a significant perk. Anecdotally, opening a job on AngelList 4xs the number of candidates. And of course there’s the compensation arbitrage, you can get the best talent in Birmingham, pay them above local market rates and still come way under the standards in talent hubs like Bay Area and NYC.

This arbitrage won’t last forever. Eventually, more companies will adopt a remote work program.

So, as a people leader, are you going to be ready?

There’s a shift. Traditionally a people manager is focused on managing people. In a remote setting, you need to focus on managing processes and leading people. That’s a good modus operandi generally, but with a distributed team, it’s a must. Remote allows individual contributors to rock and roll. You need to set them up, define the goals, and get out of their way.

Here’s my simple approach to leading remote teams. Just enough process, individual growth, market vision. Let’s break that down.

Just enough process. I don’t want to manage anyone’s day-to-day, but you can't let people fend entirely for themselves. You have to provide tools and processes that help get the job done. Minimalism is good here, but it’s important to define goals and provide tactical methods.

Individual growth. Encourage and provide personal growth, and it’s really about learning. Let people learn new technical skills, encourage conference attendance and presentations, let them take on more responsibility and ownership. You get the idea. The people you want on your team are the ones that want to learn and grow, make that a core value.

Market vision. Finally, there should be a grand plan, a strategy, a vision. That should be rooted in your understanding of your specific market or customers. Why is your team doing what they’re doing? What’s the end goal? Do you understand your business and the market? Share that knowledge transparently with your team.

Just enough process. Individual growth. Market vision.

It sounds simple, but it takes plenty of work and learning of your own.

The best part is not only will you get to attract the best talent, but you’ll also retain it.