In this episode, we’re joined by the insightful Alicia Hughes, who shares her expertise on mastering remote leadership! Alicia dives into the unique challenges of managing remote teams, from fostering trust and connection to building a strong remote culture.
With actionable advice on intentional communication, creating cohesive leadership, and the future impact of AI, this is an episode you won’t want to miss!
Key takeaways
1. Build individual connections
There are no happy accidents in remote work.
It's easy for people to “disappear” when working remotely. Make an effort to spend one-on-one time with team members to foster relationships and create psychological safety. Be intentional about getting to know your team.
2. Make policies and procedures explicit
Make sure your policies and procedures...align with the expectations for remote work.
Cover basic expectations like logging-on times and camera usage. This should be covered early on in the onboarding process. Even though these things don't typically come up in brick-and-mortar offices, in virtual settings, ambiguity about expectations can lead to misalignment. Make every detail as explicit as possible.
3. Leadership training for remote workers
You almost need to require those face-to-face opportunities.
Try to avoid silos by ensuring leaders have a shared understanding of the organization's vision, goals, and culture. It is important for leaders to model behavior by embodying the cultural and operational standards they set.
Future trends in remote work
- AI integration: AI will continue to simplify administrative tasks, allowing teams to connect and collaborate more effectively and intentionally.
- People-centric approaches: Designing systems and processes around people’s needs will remain the cornerstone of success.
Actionable insights
To overcome remote work challenges, leaders should prioritize communication consistency and one-on-one connections to build psychological safety and prevent team members from "disappearing." Explicit policies, clear teamwork expectations, and scheduled team bonding activities are essential to sustaining a strong remote culture.
Mentioned in this episode
- Sparking Up Leadership
- Alicia Hughes’s LinkedIn
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Start for freeTranscript:
Dan Gorgone: Welcome back to the L&D Explorers Podcast from GoSkills. On today's episode, we speak with Alicia Hughes, founder of Sparking Up Leadership. She is an experienced educator, and administrator, a consultant for online teams who's going to be talking to us about Leadership Development for Remote Workers. So we’ll discuss the essential skills remote leaders need, how L&D team can provide the right training, and the importance of building a remote culture, even if you have to schedule those fun times. My name is Dan Gorgone from GoSkills, and I hope you enjoy this discussion.
Hey everyone, welcome back! My name is Dan Gorgone. I’m the course producer at GoSkills and I’m your host here for the L&D explorers podcast. Joining us here today is Alicia Hughes, the founder of Sparking Up Leadership. We're going to be talking about leadership development for remote workers. Alicia, welcome!
Alicia Hughes: Well, thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
Dan Gorgone: Awesome, awesome. I saw that, in addition to being the founder of Sparking Up Leadership, you started your career as a teacher. So, I want to say thank you for your service very much, as well as for your many years of experience in the world of education—both in-person and online teaching, as well as administration. You’ve really seen it all in the world of education, and that puts you in a unique position to share your insights. That’s why we’re very glad you’re here today, especially to talk about leadership.
Dan Gorgone: With the pandemic some years ago now, some companies have really established themselves with an online presence and workforce. The ability to work online—it’s a set of skills that still needs to be normalized and formalized in a lot of ways. And with that comes leadership, too—being able to lead a remote team or workforce. Sometimes these are people you never meet in your life. It requires a really unique set of skills.
So, let’s talk about that because there are definitely some unique challenges remote leaders face. What are maybe the most critical skills that online leaders need?
Alicia Hughes:
Sure. Well, having been in both worlds—both the brick-and-mortar and the remote world—I know they are vastly different. I think what happens so many times is leaders come into this space thinking, "I’ll just do what I did in the brick-and-mortar setting, and it will translate naturally." Nothing could be further from the truth.
There are definite skills needed and certain nuances you have to perfect in this space if you want to be effective. And number one is communication. That is the biggest challenge I see remote leaders facing. You have to communicate consistently, often, and with intentionality.
You may think, "My staff knows this, they understand this, so I don’t need to tell them." When you allow things to go unsaid, it tends to fester and grow into something you don’t want in the virtual space. So, having strong communication skills is key to success.
Dan Gorgone:
I would agree completely. One of the things you’re saying makes me think it may not be easy for some of those leaders out there. Some people are natural introverts. When you put someone like that in a position of leadership—whether it’s managing reports, project managing, or leading a group—it’s got to be challenging to ask someone who is naturally not much of a talker, maybe not much of a communicator, to be reaching out proactively. Is there a way to help build those skills or build the confidence of people like that?
Alicia Hughes:
Yes, absolutely. I found that, as a leader, it was crucial to spend individual time—much like we’re doing here today—with my entire school. Find moments to meet, get to know that person, and create a sense of safety.
Remember, in the remote space, like you mentioned earlier, you may never see this person in person. You won’t have the opportunity to bump into them in the hallway or pass them on the way in and out of the building. You have to create those opportunities to get to know your staff and allow them that feeling of trust, safety, and inclusion.
Then you have to know how to lead them in group settings. Because you’re right—it’s so easy for people to "disappear" virtually, whether that means turning off the camera or just not speaking or participating. You have to be, and I’ll say this word again, intentional in every interaction. There are no happy accidents in remote work where you bump into someone. So, being intentional, creating the spaces, and taking the time to proactively know your staff and their needs is essential.
Dan Gorgone:
And so let’s dig into that a little more because we definitely want to take this from an L&D perspective, especially on this podcast.
So, you’re an L&D professional, and you’ve been tasked with coming up with a learning program—not just for employees across different parts of the company, but also for leadership, focusing on specialized programs to help them succeed with remote leadership. If you’re an L&D professional and need to develop such a program, are there any best practices that come to mind?
Alicia Hughes:
Absolutely. The first thing is making sure your policies and procedures address the specific nuances of the remote world. It’s essential to ensure they align with the expectations for remote work.
A lot of times, we assume things. "Oh, everyone should know they need to log on at 7:30 because that’s when the workday starts." Or, "Everyone should know to turn the camera on during meetings." These expectations need to be explicitly communicated and built into the program.
Your course or program should set those clear expectations that might not need to be stated in a brick-and-mortar space. Communicating them to staff and training them on those expectations should be a big part of any course for remote workers. Again, it all goes back to communication.
Dan Gorgone:
Absolutely. Another thing that remote leaders are expected to do is build a strong organizational culture.
When we talk about culture, it’s about building trust and creating a sense of community. For remote leaders, what are some effective strategies or tools for building a strong organizational culture?
Alicia Hughes:
Absolutely. Again, I’ll use that word “intentionality” because you’re not going to eat lunch together in the break room or meet for happy hour after work. You must create similar experiences in the virtual space.
Some ways to do this are simple. For instance, start each Monday with a virtual coffee talk—schedule it on everyone’s calendar and invite them to casually share about their weekend. These are natural interactions in a physical office that don’t happen naturally in a virtual setting, so you need to create them.
You also need to define teamwork in the virtual space. Maybe there are required meetings for teams to attend together or shared documents on platforms like Google Docs or Canva for collaborative projects. Tools like Monday.com can help track project progress transparently and provide visibility into each other’s work.
Being visible and transparent, and creating those shared experiences, is key to building culture in a remote environment.
Dan Gorgone:
I love the idea of intentionality that way. You talk about that on your site—scheduling the fun, right? Can you share some simple but impactful examples of that?
Alicia Hughes:
Sure. As I mentioned, we had coffee talks, but we also hosted virtual happy hours—Thursday at 4 PM, bring your favorite beverage, and let’s just chat about the week.
We also did what I call "forced fun" once a month. On Friday afternoons, we’d spend the last hour of the workday doing something fun like trivia contests or scavenger hunts. For example, "Find a blue item in your house and show it on screen."
Celebrations were another big thing. They’re not natural to do offline, we’d have virtual award ceremonies to recognize achievements, like the highest passage rate of the semester, with everyone clapping and sharing emojis. These small but meaningful gestures bring the team together and create a sense of camaraderie. So again picking what you do in the office, and figuring out a way to adapt it and use it virtually.
Dan Gorgone:
And I'll ask one more thing, too. That's kind of connected to that. What is your stance on requiring cameras during virtual meetings?
Alicia Hughes:
My stance is clear—cameras on. Unless there’s a significant reason, like being very sick or dealing with a power outage, cameras should be on for all meetings, whether one-on-one, small group, or full staff.
When you turn that camera off you can do a hundred other things, or even walk away. It’s too easy for people to disengage—walk away, multitask, or even leave entirely. Having cameras on fosters accountability and engagement. At first, we had resistance: "My hair’s not done," "My office is messy," and so on. But we reassured everyone that we weren’t judging them. Over time, it became second nature. Cameras on became the norm and was a turning point for our organization.
Dan Gorgone:
That’s great to hear. We’ve had similar experiences at GoSkills. Initially, cameras were off most of the time. We’d only turn them on for special occasions, like welcoming a new employee. But eventually, we realized the value of seeing each other and made it the norm.
We’ve been very lucky at GoSkills to meet in person periodically once a year or every eighteen months or so. It’s a very special thing for remote teams to be able to that.
Meeting in person occasionally is another powerful tool. What’s your take on remote teams meeting face-to-face periodically?
Alicia Hughes:
It’s incredibly valuable. Even for fully remote organizations, nothing beats face-to-face interaction. In my organization, we were fortunate to have a central office within driving distance for most staff. We held periodic in-person meetings and encouraged staff to use the office for collaborative projects.
As someone who loves virtual space and knows the power that it has, I also know that nothing beats face to face interactions. If you’re a fully remote organization, it’s important to build intentionality around getting staff to connect, even if its just once or twice a year.
Dan Gorgone: Yeah, absolutely. I think a lot of these can really go a long way. Some of them are little things, like turning on the camera or a dedicated slack channel to fun or monthly trivia nights.
Training programs from the general population of your organization will look a lot different to leadership programs. What are some of the things L&D professionals can do to support their remote leaders in their organizations? For example, an online program, retreat, or bootcamp. How can leaders align their priorities and get on the same page.
Alicia Hughes:
Oh my gosh, you just hit it on the head right there: same page. Because of the nature of remote work, it’s very easy, if you do not operate as a team, to all be doing something different and be siloed. If an employee comes to you with a question, you might answer it very differently from the next person.
Ensuring your leadership team is cohesive and understands the expectations, the vision, and the mission is so crucial. You almost need to require those face-to-face opportunities. I know that's easier said than done depending on how your company is structured—whether it’s worldwide or even across the United States—but it’s so important to make sure everyone understands the goals, how we’re going to reach them, how we’ll communicate with staff, what the culture is, how to sustain it, and how to model those behaviors.
That only comes when you’re closely working together as a team. In our organization, we had weekly leadership team meetings, much like this—cameras on, agendas ready—and we did that for years to ensure all the leaders knew the expectations, were on the same page, and had time to discuss issues. It’s about intentionality, creating spaces, and building opportunities to connect, grow, and collaborate.
Dan Gorgone:
Moving forward, when we’re talking about leadership development for remote workers, what are the opportunities? What are the future trends? If you start to put on your hat or look at your crystal ball.
Alicia Hughes:
Well, I know AI will have a huge impact on remote teams because it will free up more time for leaders to do what we’re doing right now—talk, connect, and collaborate. If tasks and minutiae that usually come with leadership roles can be automated, it allows leaders to focus on their people. That was the hardest part for me—balancing all these tasks with knowing that connecting with people was the most important thing. AI will be crucial to allowing virtual and remote leaders this opportunity.
I also fear that as large companies implement return-to-office mandates, we’re missing out on a wonderful option for workers and organizations because time wasn’t spent building leaders. I worry that remote work might be pushed aside because we haven’t built the tools, processes, to make this work.
Dan Gorgone:
You’ve said on your site that you’ve developed some of the best professional relationships working remotely. How can we help L&D managers build that remote culture and develop better relationships?
Alicia Hughes:
It’s really pretty simple: people are everything. When you create a course, a process, or a learning experience, you have to put people at the heart of it. It’s not just about checking a box or completing a program—it’s about being people-centered.
Our organization succeeded because we poured into our people, even though they were spread across the state and the country. They, in turn, poured into our students. It’s about finding creative ways to build relationships and inspire and motivate. That’s the key to success.
Dan Gorgone:
I love that. Communication, intentionality, and keeping people at the center—powerful lessons for anyone in remote leadership. Thank you so much, Alicia Hughes, founder of Sparking Up Leadership. Where can listeners find you?
Alicia Hughes:
You can find me on my website, sparkingupleadership.com, or on LinkedIn—Alicia Victoria Hughes. I’m always sharing tips and insights on making the virtual space positive and productive.
Dan Gorgone:
Thank you again, Alicia. It’s been an absolute pleasure.
Alicia Hughes:
Thank you, Dan.
