Have you got the right skills to think of a successful career working from home? Project management skills are in great demand these days from companies that try to reduce overheads and develop partnerships with strong leaders working independently from home instead. Let us see, have you got what it takes to embark upon such a career?
1. Are you good with technology and software?
If you know your way around a computer and smartphone, can setup a group teleconference without a hitch and are able to find an intuitive and easy-to-use online platform for project management, chances are you will be an awesome remote team leader.
Managing a business or a team in the online world is both simpler and more complex than in a real brick-and-mortar office building. There is less paperwork and less time spent with tasks such as restocking on water bottles and office stationery. In home-based work, everyone is using their own resources and so must you. There are no excuses such as “I can’t get this app to work properly”, or “the internet connection is acting up today”.
2. Can You Motivate from Afar?
If you need to stand in the doorframe and cast a freezing look over your team to set them working, you are probably not a good leader in general. Business leaders inspire by example and motivate by personal involvement. If you have necessary people skills, then you are equipped with one of the core abilities for working from home in project management.
3. Can You Listen to Your Team?
Active listening is critical if you want to work from home and be successful. Each member of your team is located outside your physical reach. The way they respond to the assigned task, what they say and what they don’t say are the raw data which you need to use to determine who is lagging behind, who is confused and who simply does not measure up to the work.
4. Can You Coach?
Home-based jobs require a lot of online coaching. You have various tools, such as live Skype video calls, screen sharing, e-books and online courses to build your team. Transfer of know-how from you, the leader, to your team is key to a successful business. You need to recognize each person’s learning curve, the natural skills they possess and their weak points (such as in using gadgets and online tools).
5. Can You Delegate?
This is probably the most important skill in team management, online or offline and is also the area where project managers fail the most. Be clear in your instructions and expectations when delegating tasks to your virtual team and provide them with both support and room to help them get the tasks done. Being a control freak will only stress out your team members. The true definition of a leader is a person who knows exactly who can do this or that task best and assign it to that person. This is not just true for working from home, but in any company which plans to grow and become successful.