Building a Culture of Goal Alignment in Remote Work

Executives and employees continue to tussle over return-to-office and AI adoption. Mandates aren't working, but neither does individual chaos. There's a better path forward. I've been working with senior leaders navigating both workplace flexibility and AI adoption, and here's what's striking: the organizations succeeding at one tend to excel at both. Those struggling? They're making identical mistakes. We're repeating the same management failures: Only 25% of managers are trained to lead distributed teams. Only 22% of firms have clear AI adoption plans. After working with dozens of companies, talking with hundreds of leaders and listening to employee and experts, I've identified four pillars that drive success: 🎯 Talent Strategy: Know your "why" and your "who" before mandating anything: am I after top talent, does deep engagement matter, and if so are we willing to invest in human-centered leadership? 📊 Outcomes-Based Management: Measure results, not badge swipes or tool usage. Clear goals and transparent communication unlock alignment, build momentum, and enable trust. 👥 Team-Centered Approach: Teams are where real transformation actually happens; managers and employees building norms and redesigning how they work together. 📚 Learning Culture: Building learning mindset organizations requires investments in experimentation, iteration and support -- and a mindset that knows you're never "done" getting better at how you work. The companies thriving five years from now won't be those with the "right" hybrid policy or "best" AI tools. They'll be the ones that built cultures capable of evolving with whatever changes come next. But I need your input: Which of these four pillars is your biggest challenge right now? Are you struggling with unclear strategy, activity-focused metrics, top-down mandates, or one-time policy thinking? Full framework and diagnostic tool: https://lnkd.in/gyc9ucNA What am I missing? Where do you see organizations getting this right? #FutureOfWork #Leadership #ChangeManagement

“You can’t spend a lot of time hiring grown-ups and then treat them like children.” – Katarina Berg, Spotify CHR Well, what's great about children is they have the most creative minds, endless energy, love to communicate and are generally pretty happy! That said, I'm actually very much in agreement with Spotify's statement on remote work. At SponsorUnited, we embraced a fully remote / distributed model from the very beginning - Entrusting nearly 𝟯,𝟬𝟬𝟬 individuals—many still in college or just starting their careers—to help lead us from a time when we had no website or platform for that matter, to becoming the 𝟭𝟰𝟱𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁-𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮. Today, we’re trusted by over 𝟮𝟱𝟬 multi-billion dollar companies valued, including 𝟵𝟵% of all pro sports franchises and leagues and the world’s largest brands. We didn’t achieve this by micromanaging or treating our teams like children. In fact, our teams have delivered over 𝟮 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 of work in an environment where no one was physically watching them. Every single person who’s been part of SponsorUnited has contributed immensely to our success. So, how did we do it? We built our foundation on trust, supported by the following key traits: 1️⃣ 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Ensuring we know what matters to people, what they care about and what genuinely will get them excited. 2️⃣ 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Investing in making everyone smarter, sharper, and better (starts with a commitment from the top) 3️⃣ 𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Fostering alignment and teamwork to make collaboration seamless (how you treat the little things is what ultimately impacts the big things) 4️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Clearing obstacles and focusing on what truly matters (reminding people what really matters both in work and life) 5️⃣ 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Demonstrating that what seems impossible is actually possible (easier said than done, but encouraging the sharing of wins, triumphs and tribulations helps) 6️⃣ 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Leveraging platforms to share, align, and continuously improve (we use Slack, Zoom, ClickUp, Atlassian, Salesforce, Figma amongst others) Yes, it’s hard. But so is running a company with an office, which can often be a crutch as well—you may assume the important things (like communication or alignment) are happening simply because everyone’s in the same room. But you can't assume that. Time in office doesn't equal effectiveness or happiness. When you strip offices away, you’re forced to be really intentional, to strengthen relationships, and to truly weave trust and accountability into the fabric of your team. At the end of the day, success in today’s world is going to look different than in the past. The next generation builds relationships and communicates in ways that the generation before may not fully understand—but when you embrace trust, motivation, and accountability, incredible things can happen.

The "If, Then" leadership style has come back in remote and hybrid work decisions. Here's why it doesn't work and what people leaders can do to get it right. It is that old formula: If you prove you’re more productive, then you get flexibility. The problem? This isn’t leadership. It’s a warranty policy, and it’s got cracks. If you treat people like adults, then they will treat your mission like theirs. If you lead with trust, then the future of work is yours to own. We’ve seen this play out before, even pre-pandemic. There were two flavors of this with different outcomes. The learnings give us insights for success. _______________ Flavor 1. Large established companies flavor. It wasn't clear who got approved for remote work and why. Those who were lucky to get it often became second-class citizens. They faced a persistent need to justify their worth. They had to step up more than their colleagues who were in the office. They were often passed over for promotions and key roles. This was a failure of leadership. It did not build high-performing teams with a strong culture. They lost top talent. _______________ Flavor 2. Startups that were nimble and forward-thinking. They asked, "What if we make remote work the foundation of our growth? We could fund ourselves for longer. If we set clear expectations, accountability, and support for distributed teams, we can make it work. We won't be tied to one location or locked in talent wars in overcrowded cities. And guess what? They thrived. _______________ Here’s the so what for people leaders today: The if-then warranty policy isn’t going to cut it. Three steps to get it right: 1️⃣ Set clear, shared goals with your team. These need to be outcomes for the team to achieve. 2️⃣ Empower your team to set flexible work norms. They should suit both individuals and the team. They should help deliver the desired outcomes. Good people make things work for their teammates. This helps build psychological safety as well. 3️⃣ Be transparent about accountability. Provide real-time feedback if things go off course. Adjust as needed. We can't take flexibility and results for granted. What you will achieve: Your team will not just meet expectations—they will out perform.

Meetings aren’t for updates - they’re where your culture is being built… or broken. In distributed, remote, & hybrid teams, meetings are key moments where team members experience culture together. That makes every meeting a high-stakes opportunity. Yet most teams stay in default mode - using meetings for project updates instead of connection, ideation, debate, and culture-building. Fixing meeting overload isn’t just about having fewer Zooms. It’s about rewiring your communication norms: ✔️ Do we know when to communicate synchronously vs. asynchronously? ✔️ Are we using async tools that give transparency without constant live check-ins? ✔️ Have we aligned on our team values and expected behaviors? 💡 3 ways to reduce meetings and make the remaining ones count: 1️⃣ Co-create a Team Working Agreement. Before you can reinforce values, your team needs to define them. We’ve spent hundreds of hours helping teams do this - and have seen measurable gains in team effectiveness. Key components: ✔️ Shared team goals ✔️ Defining team member roles ✔️ Agreed-upon behaviors ✔️ Communication norms (sync vs. async) 2️⃣ Begin meetings with a connection moment. Relationships fuel trust and collaboration. Kick things off with a check-in like: “What gave you energy this week?” Or tailor it to the topic. In a recent meeting on decision-making norms, we asked: “Speed or certainty - which do you value more when making decisions, and why?” 3️⃣ Make team values part of the agenda. Create a ritual to recognize teammates for living into the team behaviors. Ask the question: “Where did we see our values or team agreements show up this week?” And check in on where could the team have done better. Culture doesn’t happen by accident - especially when your teams are spread across time zones, WFH setups, and multiple office sites. Your meetings can become a powerful tool to build culture with intention. Excerpt from the Work 20XX podcast with Jeff Frick

Remote work challenge: How do you build a connected culture when teams are miles apart? At Bunny Studio we’ve discovered that intentional connection is the foundation of our remote culture. This means consistently reinforcing our values while creating spaces where every team member feels seen and valued. Four initiatives that have transformed our remote culture: 🔸 Weekly Town Halls where teams showcase their impact, creating visibility across departments. 🔸 Digital Recognition through our dedicated Slack “kudos” channel, celebrating wins both big and small. 🔸 Random Coffee Connections via Donut, pairing colleagues for 15-minute conversations that break down silos. 🔸 Strategic Bonding Events that pull us away from routines to build genuine connections. Beyond these programs, we’ve learned two critical lessons: 1. Hiring people who thrive in collaborative environments is non-negotiable. 2. Avoiding rigid specialization prevents isolation and encourages cross-functional thinking. The strongest organizational cultures aren’t imposed from above—they’re co-created by everyone. In a remote environment, this co-creation requires deliberate, consistent effort. 🤝 What’s working in your remote culture? I’d love to hear your strategies.