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When I started in cybersecurity in the 1990s, the process of partnering with companies in other parts of the world, while maintaining current working relationships, required major changes on both a business and personal level. Geographical distance was a much bigger obstacle — so much so that after Microsoft acquired my security startup GIANT Software, my wife and I moved from the East Coast to Seattle with our newborn daughter to continue our mission.
In 2022, however, the situation is very different as our expectations of office versus employee location have changed and the popularity of the hybrid work model has grown exponentially. It’s no wonder the nature of running a business has changed dramatically.
Related: How to Run a Global Business in 2022?
As CTO of Reason LabsBased in the United States but with offices also spread across Europe and Asia, I’m not entirely sure I could have predicted how we would work as a global team in this decade. Fortunately, the development of technologies to manage the drastic changes in office lifestyles, as well as a greater appreciation for being able to meet face-to-face and travel when possible, has meant that the metamorphosis into 2022 is challenging but also exciting.
While our teams are widespread, I believe there are certain aspects that we should focus on:
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Prioritize strong communication habits
It has never been in my best interest to be a distant leader or just a figurehead – maintaining and building relationships with my teams is a top priority. The evolution of remote working has redefined the difference between office and offshore meetings. In the office, natural small talk already takes place outside the conference room, meaning meetings get going as soon as they start.
In contrast, global video meetings should take into account the lack of natural human interaction and let these meetings be a little less formal so that people can connect and feel comfortable. Many employees may never have met their manager in person, so these remote conversations are an opportunity for both parties to impress.
This is also why I would emphasize making time for things that matter. Everyone has busy schedules, but meeting my international teams, chatting on Slack channels with employees around the world, and joining HR-managed work functions, even if it’s through Zoom, are all part of the connections I care about most. give . That’s why when choosing the technology for your business, I recommend choosing programs and apps that are universally available.
After overcoming the time zone hurdles and settling down for a meeting, I increasingly find that engaging in open discussions with employees, be it R&D, QA specialists or marketing teams, is always inspiring. Never be so aloof that it stifles the creative flow – sharing ideas with global teams will always be an eye-opening experience.
Related: 6 Rules for Effectively Leading Your Globally Distributed Team
Security, security, security
Security is at the heart of a successful global team. Employees need to feel that someone is behind them, especially when working remotely. A distributed team means a distributed network and distributed tools. If someone is compromised, your entire team could be affected.
For example, phishing scams peaked in the past 24 months, with employees citing distractions at home, lack of cybersecurity training and threat actors using pandemic chaos and confusion to their advantage as some of the top reasons.
Your security situation should be a major business focus: updating your security systems, antivirus and EDR providers, choice of VPN and password manager is imperative. In addition, endpoint security of company-wide devices is just as critical. With many employees using more than one screen, as well as personal devices to check their corporate emails, instilling clean digital hygiene habits across the company should be a constant theme.
At Reason Labs, we practice what we preach as our IT and DevOps teams are constantly improving our internal cyber practices and OPSEC. This task is challenging enough for a single office – but when we work all over the world, with offices in different time zones, plus people working independently from home, this challenge grows as we rethink our assumptions and continuously improve our infrastructure.
In addition, we strongly believe in the dog food of our own cyber solutions within the company, both because we believe they add value and also to see where we can make improvements. The advantage of already being a global company means we can test these products on other continents and see how their efficiency is affected.
Related: Telling Time: How to Keep Your Teams Synced Across Time Zones
Individual well-being
While people were working from home before 2022, the scale of cybersecurity needs in that area is now much greater. This has led to more awareness about how we work remotely, rather than assuming that people will only work from the office. In the same way, it is imperative to protect all technology endpoints within the company, as well as our entire infrastructure, so the well-being of individuals within the company is also at the heart of how we operate.
It’s the little things, like being able to take your dog to work or providing benefits to employees to build out their home workplaces. Appreciating employees’ personal milestones also makes such a difference in how people approach their workplace and how comfortable they should feel in their remote work environment.
There are, of course, many other factors that come into play in leading global teams, be it cultural awareness, clear work ethic, setting achievable goals and managing expectations. Ultimately, trusting your instincts and delegating are two of the biggest perks you can use – and of course, if you’re able, it’s always worth taking those business trips to spend time with your teams.
Janice has been with businesskinda for 5 years, writing copy for client websites, blog posts, EDMs and other mediums to engage readers and encourage action. By collaborating with clients, our SEO manager and the wider businesskinda team, Janice seeks to understand an audience before creating memorable, persuasive copy.