Running a global remote content team

At Adoreal, I lead a 23-person team across the U.S., Mexico, Latin America, the U.K., Europe and Ukraine. We work across many time zones, cultures and languages and serve plastic surgery practices in several countries.

People ask how that works. It takes more structure than a team in one office.

Write everything down

When your team is spread out, the hallway conversation doesn't exist. If a decision lives only in a meeting, half the team missed it. So we write things down: briefs, decisions, feedback and process.

For a writing team, this should come naturally. It still takes discipline.

Good documentation also helps new hires ramp up faster. Instead of waiting for someone in the right time zone to answer a question, they can find the answer themselves.

Overlap hours are precious

There are only a few hours a day when most of the team is online at the same time. I protect those for things that need real conversation: kickoffs, tricky feedback, problem-solving. Everything else can happen on each person's own schedule.

That means fewer status meetings. Updates go in writing, and live time goes to decisions and collaboration.

Systems do the heavy lifting

A global team can't depend on one person checking everything. That's why I built a platform for our practices and automations for every channel. The systems carry the repetitive work and the quality checks, so people can spend their time on the work that needs them.

It's also how my team delivered for 13 practices, plus our own brand, in a single week.

We use ClickUp to keep projects visible across regions. Anyone can see what's in progress, what's blocked and who owns the next step, without waiting for a meeting.

“A global team takes more structure, not less.”

Local knowledge is a strength

My team catches things I'd never notice: a phrase that lands differently in the U.K., a cultural norm that changes how a practice talks to patients. I want people to speak up when something doesn't fit their market. The brand voice stays consistent while the delivery flexes.

I make that expectation explicit. New team members hear early that local insight is part of their job, not a favor. Some of our best improvements have come from someone saying, "That won't work here, and here's why."

Be clear about who decides

Distributed teams slow down when ownership is fuzzy. If three people think they're responsible, or nobody does, work stalls across time zones.

Every project has a clear owner and a clear approver. When questions come up, people know who to ask. That clarity saves more time than any tool.

Make people feel seen from far away

Remote work can get lonely. I make a point of recognizing good work publicly, checking in one-on-one and taking concerns seriously, including bringing them to executive leadership when they need to be heard there.

People do their best work when they know someone is paying attention.

I also try to respect personal time across time zones. Messages can wait until morning. A team that's always on burns out, no matter how good the work is.

Hire for written communication

On a distributed team, writing is the main way people work together. Clear messages, thoughtful updates and well-organized briefs keep projects moving across time zones. Unclear ones create delays that can stretch for days.

So I look closely at how candidates communicate in writing, not just at their portfolios. How clear are their emails? Do they ask good questions in writing? Can they explain a complex task in a few sentences?

Strong written communication matters for every role on a global team, from writers to designers to specialists. It's one of the best predictors of who will thrive in a remote environment.

Bring people together when it counts

Most work happens asynchronously, but some moments still need real connection. Team kickoffs, major launches and celebrations are worth gathering for, even virtually and even when it means an early morning or late evening for some people.

I rotate meeting times when possible, so the same people aren't always making the sacrifice. Small gestures like that show the team their time matters.

Cultural differences show up in feedback, too. Some team members are very direct, while others soften every note. I talk about this openly, so people understand each other's styles and don't read tone into a message that was never there.

The short version

Write it down, and protect your overlap hours. Let systems carry the routine work, and make ownership clear. Use your team's local knowledge, respect their time and make sure everyone feels seen, no matter where they are.