Everyone remembers their first bad manager.

It’s almost a rite of passage in the working world. Just like your first day at a new job, your first year-end party, or your first promotion.

But you see, the memory of a bad manager sticks differently. It stays. It lingers. It never really leaves you

You remember the passive-aggressive emails. The constant micromanaging or the complete absence, followed by surprise demands. You remember how tense and overlooked meetings with them made you feel. At some point, you probably questioned your abilities. Worst of all, you remember how that experience chipped away at your confidence. In your skills. In your judgment. Sometimes, even in your career path.

Now add remote work into the mix. No hallway chats to clear the air. No quick clarifications by your desk. No body language to soften harsh feedback. Just Slack threads, video calls, and long emails that sometimes leave you wondering if you’re doing enough or if anyone even notices.

Sadly, this is common. According to Flair HR, 16 percent of remote and hybrid employees feel invisible to their managers. That feeling of being unseen doesn’t just affect morale. It affects performance, career growth, and team culture.

Remote management asks for a different level of awareness. A different kind of presence. Bad managers leave a mark, but so do good ones. Their impact might be quieter, but it runs really deep.

You remember the ones who took time to check in, not just on tasks, but on you. The ones who gave you space to figure things out, without making you feel like a mistake would cost you everything. The ones who made remote work feel less isolating and more human.

So what sets those managers apart?

Here are seven characteristics that help them lead well, even from miles away.

They Lead With Trust, Not Control

As cliche as this might sound, you have to trust the employees you’ve hired. If you’re not willing to trust the people you employ, what’s the point in hiring them?

As a manager, you might relate to these forms of micromanagement – double-checking every update, requesting to be copied in every email, or staying on every Slack thread just to “make sure things are being done the right way”, etc. 

But it’s worth noting that micromanaging has more negatives than positives. It makes your employees resentful and especially in a remote setting, it creates a culture of fear and second-guessing. People feel that they’re being watched constantly because they’re not good enough, and in the long run, it does not empower them to do their best work. 

Good managers understand that trust forms the foundation of any good working relationship. They do this by giving clear direction, and letting their team get on with it. They don’t chase for hourly updates or try to schedule every moment of the workday. Instead, they create space for autonomy, and check in with intention.

They Overcommunicate The Right Way

Let’s be honest, communication is the real backbone of remote work. 

In a traditional office, you can swing by someone’s desk or catch them in the break room to clarify things. But when you’re working remotely, you don’t have those little moments. So you have to be intentional  and sometimes that means overcommunicating.

Now, we don’t mean sending ten Slack messages in a row. 

We mean being thorough. 

Spell things out.

Repeat what matters. 

Revisit the goals. 

Give examples if necessary. 

Make sure no one’s guessing. Because silence in a remote team? That can be misinterpreted really quickly. People start to wonder, “Am I doing this right?” or worse, “Is something wrong?”

So if you’re assigning a task, don’t be afraid to give a bit more context than you normally would. Walk them through your thinking. Invite questions. Clarity is kindness, and when your team doesn’t have to second-guess you, everyone works better and faster.

They Don’t Treat Everyone The Same

A big mistake some managers make is trying to apply a one-size-fits-all approach to their team. But people are wired differently. What works brilliantly for one team member might completely stress another out.

A great remote manager knows how to read their team not just in terms of output, but personality, work style, and communication preferences. 

Maybe Employee A works well when everything’s planned down to the hour, while Employee B prefers a loose structure and space to be creative. Maybe Employee C rarely speaks in team meetings but drops gems during one-on-one. Different strokes for different folks. 

You just have to pay attention. Remember not to play favorites too. Playing favorites might make your employees try to copy the employee you are favoring. So learn to adjust your leadership style depending on who you are talking to.

They Give Feedback Early And Often 

Feedback is a normal part of the management process. In fact, it’s one of the most powerful tools a manager has. But when it comes to feedback, it’s better for it to be consistent and constructive. You can’t just give it randomly or only when something goes wrong. It has to be clear, timely, and purposeful.

Some employees might dread the idea of getting feedback on their work and that’s usually because they’ve had bad experiences in the past. Maybe the feedback was harsh or came too late to be useful. A good manager can change that narrative.

They create an environment where feedback isn’t scary but it’s an expected process which will be extremely helpful to their work. Also, timing matters. Giving feedback weeks after the fact isn’t helpful. If someone’s heading in the wrong direction, tell them early enough so they can adjust. And if they nailed something? Say it now, not three months later when it’s forgotten.

An employee can only know what’s not working when it is pointed out to them and to avoid resentment try to point it out as politely as possible. 

They Create Visibility For Their Team

Remote work can be isolating. You can easily have someone doing amazing work quietly, consistently  and no one even knows. 

That’s a problem. 

As a manager, it’s your job to make sure every single person on your team is seen and every effort no matter how little is noticed. Whether it’s a two member team or a team of forty, every team member is as important as the next and creating visibility for each and every one of them is very important.

One thing Arwana knows as a remote first company is that it’s easy for certain people to fade into the background. Some individuals are naturally quiet, or maybe they just haven’t had the right medium to showcase their contributions. Whatever the case, it’s a manager’s responsibility to make sure their team members are seen.

Most times as a manager you need to go out of your way to shine a spotlight on the hidden members of your team. Visibility opens doors. It helps with career growth, builds confidence, and reminds people that their work matters.

They Care About Their Team’s Growth

The best managers don’t just care about performance. They care about people  and where those people are going. When you ask someone, 

“What do you want to learn next?” 

Or

“Where do you see yourself in a few years?” 

Remote or not, career development is still a huge deal. It’s just easier to forget about when you’re not seeing your team every day. But good managers keep growth top of mind. They help their team set learning goals, recommend courses, suggest stretch projects, or even just act as a sounding board.

People remember that kind of support. Even long after they’ve left your team. It tells them, “I see you, I believe in you, and I’m willing to invest in you.” That’s the kind of leadership that sticks.

They Give Credit Where It’s Due

Nothing builds confidence faster than giving people credit where it is due. Managers that are great at managing know this secret and they make it a habit to appreciate their employees when it is deserved. 

It’s easy for a manager to take credit for a team’s success. After all, they’re the ones managing the project, right? But success is a team effort, and a good manager knows this, that’s why they share the credit with their team members.

Public praise does something powerful to one’s ego.

It makes people feel appreciated and it creates a culture where people are motivated to go the extra mile not because they’re chasing validation, but because they know their efforts won’t go unnoticed.

Wrapping Up

Managing a group of people is never easy, especially when you’re dealing with individuals from different cultures and backgrounds. Sometimes, situations could get misinterpreted, and things might get a bit messy. But if you’re intentional about being a good manager and open to learning more about how to effectively manage your employees, then little mistakes here and there shouldn’t faze you. Instead, they should be seen as opportunities for growth and improvement.

The effort you put into understanding and supporting your team will not only benefit them but will also elevate your leadership skills and the success of your team as a whole.