There are two facets in product design that textbooks do not cover: First, the challenges of language barriers, cultural differences, and multiple timezones. Second, the challenge of teams collaborating with various levels of design acumen.
These are the unspoken conditions of working with remote teams that design leadership negotiates to ensure that the product development process delivers on agile, lean, and user-centric methods.
In my experience, ineffectiveness to manage these dynamics comes from a failing of getting to know the strengths and weaknesses of team members. If I had to do it over, I’d initiate on-going team-building discussions to foster better alignment.
If your startup needs help with this, contact me on Slack.