Sometimes I had no idea what my team was doing, or that team members would “flake out”–they’d work effectively for a while and then their quality of work would taper off or they’d quit, or I get frustrated about not being able to communicate with them effectively, or I had many issues finding and hiring great people remotely.

Looking after a team of employees is something every manager should excel at, but the world of work is changing and managers need to learn how to deal with teams of freelancers if they want to survive in the gig economy.

Over the years, we’ve worked with many freelancers — writers, designers, engineers. Some have even come on board as full-time employees, though that’s not always the case, and we’ve faced our fair share of challenges when managing a team of remote workers. This article contains a few tips for keeping your remote workers engaged and motivated, along with a handful of mistakes to avoid.

Working remotely has a lot of advantages, but it’s far from perfect. Here’s what we’ve learned in our journey as a remote team.

Are you a good team manager? Many entrepreneurs are not. Trust me, I know… I used to be one of them.

As a manager, your day-to-day life is filled with communication: leading meetings, sending emails, making presentations, and stopping by your employees’ desks to chat.

How do you communicate with team members with a chip on their shoulder? What do you do or say when they are stubborn, constantly interrupting, unapproachable, or unwilling to accept feedback? Well, for starters, you are not alone.

Today, most workers are part of a work team. What are the qualities of good team members?