Top 9 business books on managing remote teams
If you’re reading this, you’re likely a business leader new to managing distributed teams and looking for practical advice. Or maybe you’ve been doing it for years but still haven’t found the right approach to leading an international workforce.
We know your struggle. Without a proper strategy, building or extending your team thousands of miles from your headquarters can be (very) challenging.
To make your life easier, we’ve prepared a list of the best nine books on managing remote teams. These publications will give you all the hands-on tips and insights you’ll ever need:
1. The Year Without Pants: WordPress.com and the Future of Work — Scott Berkun
A staggering 43.5% of all websites use WordPress. Yet, the team behind the success and popularity of this CMS is surprisingly small. As a subsidiary of Automattic, WordPress runs with just around 160 employees who are spread across the globe, rarely use email, and still manage to stay at the top of their game.
So, how is this company, with a fraction of the resources of a tech giant like Google, having such a significant impact on the Internet? How do they work? The Year Without Pants answers them all.
Written by former Microsoft veteran, author, and speaker Scott Berkun, this book discloses all the secrets of WordPress’s success while working remotely. Berkun also shares insights on work culture, productivity, creativity, and leadership.
If you’re part of a small organisation dreaming big, this is one of the books on managing remote teams you should add to your reading list!
2. Virtual Culture: The Way We Work Doesn’t Work Anymore — Bryan Miles
Some companies still cling to an outdated corporate culture that feels stuck in the last century. They invest in upgrading software and buying new gadgets to modernise the workplace but overlook a new way of working that could transform their organisations for good…
In Virtual Culture, visionary entrepreneur Bryan Miles points out that the future of business is virtual and that remote work is here to stay.
The book highlights the simple principle that productivity comes from people completing their tasks on time, not from mandatory attendance in a sea of cubicles. When you create a result-oriented virtual culture, respect your employees’ time, and give them freedom, you can see great results — and that’s exactly what this book conveys.
3. Remote: Office Not Required — Jason Fried & David H. Hansson
Remote: Office Not Required challenges the ‘under one roof’ work model and calls for action to end the oppression of being bound to a physical workspace.
The book combines an entertaining narrative with simple yet profound ideas to teach business leaders how to work with distributed teams the right way. With fun chapters like ‘Talent isn’t bound by the hubs’ and ‘The virtual water cooler’, Remote: Office Not Required will change your perception of remote work and the benefits it can bring.
4. Work Together Anywhere: A Handbook on Working Remotely — Kirsten Janene-Nelson and Lisette Sutherland
Today, organisations are embracing remote work like never before. While employers benefit by saving resources and capital, employees enjoy telecommuting, are more productive, and have improved work-life balance.
However, managing a distributed team can be daunting, with challenges such as ensuring effective communication and maintaining productivity. Work Together Anywhere helps (exactly) with that.
This book is packed with information on maximising productivity when working remotely, collaborating on complex projects, and sharing confidential data and documents over the cloud. It also covers establishing positive communication practices, running online meetings, and attracting top talent.
Its actionable insights make it one of the best books on managing remote teams.
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DOWNLOAD GUIDE5. Virtual Possibility: How to set up, lead, and manage your own successful all-remote company — Shelly Spiegel
Shelly Spiegel, CEO & Chief Creative Officer at Fireworks Software (formerly Fire Engine RED), wrote Virtual Possibility to help aspiring entrepreneurs with limited funds to grow their businesses without an office.
With over two decades of experience leading Fireworks Software, Spiegel provides in her book a step-by-step guide on dealing with all the unique challenges of managing a fully remote business.
Virtual Possibility covers a wide range of topics, such as attracting the right talent and building a solid virtual organisational structure. It also teaches managers to motivate remote team members, measure productivity, handle operations, and select the right tools and technologies.
It’s a must-read for business owners!
6. The Remote Facilitator’s Pocket Guide — Kirsten Clacey and Jay-Allen Morris
Most people are intimidated by remote communication due to technical barriers and invisible social norms. The Remote Facilitator’s Pocket Guide aims to address these challenges and help distributed teams improve the quality of their remote meetings.
This book shows managers and remote workers that anyone can make virtual meetings engaging and effective with little awareness, planning, and practice. It contains powerful lessons on sensitivity to different cultures and personalities and on how to turn virtual meetings from awkward chats to powerful collaboration mechanisms.
7. The Long-Distance Leader: Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership — Kevin Eikenberry and Wayne Turmel
The Long-Distance Leader discusses the differences between in-person and remote leadership and gives managers practical advice on tackling isolation and frustration when working in an all-virtual environment.
The book is written by Kevin Eikenberry and Wayne Turmel, co-founders of the Remote Leadership Institute. The Institute was created to help leaders find real-world tools and practical training to develop human connections regardless of location.
Unsurprisingly, the book mirrors these thoughts.
The Long-Distance Leader introduces the ‘Three-O’ model — Outcomes, Others, and Ourselves — providing a concise framework for effectively leading remote projects. It explains how to lead oneself, engage others from afar, and use the right tools and processes to achieve desired outcomes.
8. The Async-First Playbook: Remote Collaboration Techniques for Agile Software Teams — Sumeet Gayathri Moghe
If you are a tech leader who wants to implement asynchronous communication practices in your organisation, The Async-First Playbook is one of the best books on managing remote teams you can read.
Through short and easy-to-read chapters, Sumeet Gayathri Moghe invites managers to ditch unnecessary meetings and focus on a strategy that prioritises working smarter, not harder.
His book challenges the traditional view that Agile methodologies work best when teams are co-located. Moghe insists that most communication in Agile can happen asynchronously, even in a remote setting.
9. Leading From Anywhere: The Essential Guide to Managing Remote Teams — David Burkus
New to remote work? Perhaps your company has recently switched to a distributed work model? If you are a manager and have answered at least one of the previous questions with a ‘yes’, Leading from Anywhere should be your next read.
This book is a survival guide for business leaders who want to learn how to tackle the many challenges of managing a remote team step-by-step.
Bestselling author David Burkus draws from his experience working with leaders at Adobe and NASA, among other organisations, to provide readers with insights on hiring the right people, building bonds, managing performance, and keeping teams happy and motivated.
Where else can you learn how to manage distributed teams?
At The Scalers, we’re on a mission to help CTOs and other tech leaders learn and access the best resources available to them so that they can improve their leadership skills and become better managers.
In addition to the curated list of books in this blog, you’ll find useful resources for managing remote teams and other valuable insights in our guides:
- Discover the best newsletters for CTOs and stay in the pulse of the latest industry news.
- Follow the top tech influencers for CTOs and get inspired by their content on LinkedIn, Twitter (X), and YouTube.
- Listen to the most entertaining podcasts for CTOs, featuring The CTO Advisor and Dev Interrupted, among others.
- And, if you’re an avid reader and need more book recommendations, you may be interested in the must-read books for CTOs.
Stay tuned for similar content, as we’ll be adding more CTO guides and resources soon to our blog!
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DOWNLOAD CASE STUDYFinal thoughts on the best books on managing remote teams
From Scott Berkun’s to David Burku’s, the books featured in this article represent the brilliant work of top thought leaders with deep experience in leading teams.
Each book serves a specific purpose: some are ideal for business owners, while others are perfect for those new to managing distributed teams.
Looking to build or extend your in-house tech team abroad? At The Scalers, we specialise in building dedicated offshore teams in Bangalore, India, tailored to your specific needs.
If you want to know more about how we can assist you in hiring, onboarding, and engaging an elite tech team, fill in this contact form. One of our senior executives will get back to you shortly.
