What remote work got wrong about team connection
I manage teams across four cities: Chicago, Madison, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis. Half of my important conversations happen over the phone or on video calls. The “return to office” crowd keeps telling me this is a problem. I disagree.
TL;DR: Physical presence is not the same as connection. Some in-office teams are more disconnected than distributed ones. The real issue is not where people sit. It is whether anyone is being intentional about communication.
The proximity illusion
When everyone sits in the same office, leaders assume communication is happening. People are near each other, so information must be flowing. That is the proximity illusion. I have seen teams share a break room and not share critical project updates.
Remote work did not create disconnection. It made existing disconnection visible. The teams that struggled most when offices closed were the ones that had been relying on accidental hallway conversations instead of intentional communication systems.
What distributed teams need
Scheduled one on ones. Not optional “let me know if you need anything” one on ones. Blocked time on the calendar every week where the only agenda is: how are you doing and what do you need? I run these with each of my direct reports across all four markets. Twenty minutes. Same day every week.
Written communication for anything important. If a decision gets made in a meeting, it goes into a shared document or channel within 24 hours. No exceptions. The biggest source of distributed team dysfunction is the person in the room who heard the update and the person on the phone who didn’t.
In-person time for relationship building, not business reviews. When I bring people together quarterly, we do not spend it staring at spreadsheets. We eat together, talk about non-work things, and build the trust that makes remote collaboration work the rest of the quarter.
What the debate misses
The return to office debate is a proxy for a harder conversation: most managers do not know how to lead people they cannot see. That is a management development problem, not a remote work problem.
If your team only functions when everyone is in the same room, your management system is too fragile. Build one that works regardless of location and you will have a team that outperforms in any configuration.
About Khary Penebaker
Khary Penebaker is a Regional General Manager at Great Day Improvements, overseeing operations across Chicago, Madison, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis. He previously built Roofed Right America from startup to $35M+ in revenue with 180 employees and founded Penebaker Enterprises, growing it from $1.5M to $15M. A gun violence prevention advocate and former Everytown for Gun Safety Fellow, Khary brings two decades of leadership experience in construction, operations, and civic engagement.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you build team culture with remote or distributed workers?
Intentional communication, not more communication. Scheduled one on ones, async updates that respect time zones, and in person gatherings two to four times per year that focus on relationship building, not just business.
Is remote work killing team culture?
Bad management is killing team culture. Remote work just made it more visible. If your culture depended on people sitting in the same room, it was not culture. It was proximity.
What is the biggest challenge with hybrid teams?
Information asymmetry. The people in the office hear things the remote workers miss. The fix is making all important communication happen in writing, not in hallway conversations.
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Last updated: March 13, 2026
