How to impress manager who is in a different place?

Question

I'm a software developer, have been hired in this position for 6 months now.

My problem is that my team and I work in a separate office than our manager, he doesn't see us.. so, I find it hard to let the manager know what value I'm bringing to the company and to the development team.

We communicate via email and phone of course, but that is just not enough for him to know who's solving the problems, who's professional, who's a leader, who's wasting his time talking... etc

So, what can I do to show him that?

Note:

●we send him daily tasks card to list the finished tasks

●one of my colleagues is a "competition" for me, and I really seek the Team leader role (we don't have a team leader yet)

Thanks

Answer 1

I manage a group of people all over the world. Mainly dev and graphics. In no particular order what impresses me the most:

• clearly communicating any upcoming obstacles before we are in crunch time. It is one thing to say (2 weeks before a deadline) we are going to be 3 days behind because of XYZ. That is fine, but I would rather hear 5 weeks before deadline, "If the video group does this we are going to have to do this and this and this could make us 3 days behind." Someone who sees the big picture and how their contribution effects it.

• do stuff when you have nothing to do. I do not overwork my dev because I like them to have ample time for personal development and just playing around with new tech. So during a downswing there is nothing better than getting an surprise email with a solution about something we didn't even have on the current docket.

• take care of manager stuff well. One of the great things about most of my team now is they represent our larger group well. Most of my dev guys could be a manager. They might jump in on higher level meetings or deal with a difficult project manager (are there any other kind). Love seeing emails that say something like, "Talked with Kyle (PM) and made sure he was aware that are schedule wasn't aligned with the search team. He is giving us an extra week and we are introducing our new site to search."

• be available, not only to me but others. I don't expect my team to be online 24/7 or answering emails all the time. But it sure is nice when we have someone in London having a problem and a quick email from someone in Manila turns a half day ordeal to a 10 minute no-problem. This is for emergencies not answering regular emails. Those that answer emails all day worry me.

• get your stuff done right and on time. It can be ultra frustrating dealing with an employee getting stuff in late or in poor quality. You aren't there so you don't understand what the circumstances are or if they were working hard or not.

I personally don't care about daily tasks or when an email goes out or other things like that. Some managers might so nothing wrong with sending it if required.

Answer 2

Completing difficult and important tasks well and rapidly will impress most managers even if you're remote ... but you need to be a bit proactive in making sure they know what you're doing and how it's going. There have been past questions on telecommuting whose answers have touched on this; you miht want to review those.

Answer 3

+1 for ambition, only 6 months there and you want recognition and a promotion.

Your manager is (probably) not stupid, he might not be physically looking over your shoulder, but he will be monitoring how you go and your work ethic, competence and professionalism. That's his/her job to know what is going on.

Do your work diligently and professionally and it will be recognised. But 6 months is not a long time to impress management with in your position. Be proactive and give the manager regular and well thought out updates when needful, it's all about creating a confident and competent impression to your boss. Don't push it too much.