21st Century Work Life

We have a packed show for you today, looking at strategies and tactics for successfully "working out loud" – We hope you're enjoying our new-style podcast format, we'd love to hear what you think, do tweet us @VirtualTeamW0rk, or just pay us a visit at https://virtualnotdistant.com

And don't forget, booking is open for our great FREE webinar in June, in collaboration with Trainingzone - https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/blog/webinar-remote-teams-how-to-lead-them-confidently-and-successfully - helping your team transition to remote, and helping you as a team leader to transition from supervisor to ecosystem DJ or spider! All will be revealed in the webinar… So secure your space today.

And before our main interview, a point to ponder: If only we could do exit interviews before people decide to leave – maybe even instead of? We could learn so much from a 'pre-mortem'. A great conversation took place about this in https://virtualteamtalk.com, so do come and join us there if this kind of learning exploration interests you.

6.25 Featured interview: Jochen Lillich, Founder and CEO of Freistil IT.

Our guest today is the voice behind this blog: https://blog.freistil.it/working-out-loud-doesnt-mean-being-noisy-c71010e0d236 -

He manages the distributed team at Freistil IT, who are web hosting experts, large complex sites for needing active management. So they have to find ways to share and communicate effectively and continually. They use a lot of tools, especially Slack (see below), – but needed to find ways to manage the information overload and noise. Jochen blogs to build relationships and trust, to go beyond the transactional nature of business, but internally they use more real-time ways to communicate.

Aside from daily standups, one of their most used tools is a Slack channel called DIRECT – which stands for Decisions, Insights, Results, Emotions, Contacts, Troubles – where they continuously share things which might affect either the team or the work.

Jochen talks to us about being intentional about sharing on distributed teams, the fact that you need to do more of it, more consciously, than you might imagine.

Enjoy the interview and the original blog post, and if you want to learn more about how the team at Freistil work together, their operating manual is freely available here: https://runbook.freistil.it/

20.58 – Wellbeing: How do we "step away from the screen"?

It isn't easy, because screens are everywhere. How do we unplug, in a world of 24/7 connectivity? This is not just an issue for remote workers either. We can start by being more aware of it, and how our use of screens affects us.

One strategy both Pilar and Maya use is to read on a dedicated non-backlit e-reader (you know the brand we're talking about – but don't forget you can email any document to it, it isn't just for reading books bought from that same monopolistic retailer). It really is worth investing in a separate device for this even if you have the apps on your tablet or phone, and you'll notice the difference in sleep quality when using it at night particularly.

Or there is always that really strange static format of paper itself. Just from time to time, and do remember to recycle!

How do you maintain healthy screen habits, and protect your eyes and your sleep? Tweet us at @VirtualTeamW0rk #remotewellbeing

26.28 Oh NO: My teams gone remote! And our relationships will suffer if all we do is type...

This is a valid concern. Typing might be great for introverts, and sometimes it's good to think through what you want to express first... But the lack of real-time feedback has real drawbacks. Remember we can use video and audio to add context and depth to our words, we don't have to depersonalise all of our asynchronous conversation.

There's evidence that emotional or controversial topics are much better received in audio than written form, and this does support the way that online comment threads and email conversations can quickly deteriorate:

https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/you-should-never-ever-argue-with-anyone-on-facebook-according-to-science.html

Perhaps we should pick up the phone a little more often, when we're shifting to a remote workplace. Especially if we need to have a difficult or emotion-laden conversation - it's often far too quick and easy to fire off an email. Of course this is more challenging across timezones, but with a bit of imagination there are solutions we can use.

Written communication is best for concrete information sharing, but not for complex or loaded conversation. Which is why, as a team, you also need to communicate about communications: come up with explicit agreements about how you connect and how you have different kinds of conversation. And as a leader, be sure to model the kind of behaviour you'd like your team to adopt – including a nice smiley profile picture to accompany your instant messaging chat.

What do you think? We usually suggest you tweet or email us, but there is a phone number on our contact page!

33.28: Recommended tool: Slack (slack.com) Slack is an instant messaging app for business collaboration, for use in closed groups and teams. It's easy to manage, with channels for different conversations, and very granular control over notifications.

A lot of the functionality is free, and it's straightforward to set up and use on multiple devices, from tiny teams to big communities. If you'd like to take your first steps with Slack in a safe and welcome team, and you share our passion for remote working and flexibility, check out Virtual Team Talk (link in intro).

Maya recently discussed her history through the evolving world of online team chat in this blog post

https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/blog/upgrade-tools

We are continuing to mix things up with our new format, and today's podcast also revisits some earlier recordings and articles - we have so much great content in the archives at https://virtualnotdistant.com, so don't forget to visit us there soon!

In the introduction, Pilar talks about podcasting with Richard McKinnon who we featured back in October 2017 when we talked about psychological flexibility.

https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/podcasts/psychological-flexibility

Pilar will shortly be hosting a webinar with him on this important subject - are our emotional states in control of us, or can we master them?

And we're pleased to announce that booking is now open for a free webinar in June in collaboration with Training Zone - we're keen to ensure our podcast listeners get early access to this valuable resource, so you can learn more and register here: https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/blog/webinar-remote-teams-how-to-lead-them-confidently-and-successfully

10.25: Article discussion: Why Microsoft's new culture makes its stock a buy

Pilar and Maya discuss this piece in Forbes https://www-forbes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2018/04/09/why-microsofts-new-culture-makes-its-stock-a-buy/amp/ about the change in culture at Microsoft in recent years.

We often talk about culture at Virtual Not Distant, but it's often hard to correlate such a qualitative phenomenon with impact on the bottom line. However, it appears that Nadella genuinely has made the difference, by driving a growth mindset and a shift in how customers are valued - during a time, in his 4 year tenure, of incredible change in the office software environment.

Pilar and Maya both have Nadella's book, 'Hit Refresh', on their reading lists now, and you can learn more about that publication in two HBR Ideacasts, episode 596 Sept 28th 2017 and episode 585 July 13th 2017.

17.07 - Audio blog: Finding The Right Work-Environment Fit

Pilar revisits the Work 2.0 Conference of 2017, where she first heard the term 'shoulder-bag workers'. You can read the full blog post here https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/blog/four-cs-teamwork, where she explores in detail the how the work environment impacts on performance in both the physical and virtual space, and listen to Pilar's event podcast here: https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/podcasts/work-2-conference. It's good to reflect on what has changed over a year, and whether we're still talking about the same issues.

Welcome to our new format, magazine-style show! We hope you like it, and don't forget to visit https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/, for more great content, and information about our wide range of services for remote teams.

Today's episode is all about staying healthy, whilst working flexibly.

03.40: Feature interview: Paul Read, the Teapot Monk,

Paul teaches TaiChi online at teapotmonk.com, and has a new course specifically aimed at addressing the health issues remote workers may experience. Listen to the interview to find out how to win a voucher to access the course for free. learntaichi.online and Teapotmonk.comhttps://www.udemy.com/a-beginners-guide-to-managing-stress-with-tai-chi/

27.15 "Oh no, my team's gone remote!" - and I'm starting to feel like I never switch off...

In a world of push notification and multiple screens, how do we manage our boundaries, especially when managing others working remotely?

33.30 Recommended tool: Trello

Based on the Kanban workflow, Trello's deceptively-simple app of 'virtual post-it notes' is very powerful and versatile - and it's definitely Pilar's favourite. Find out how she uses it in every aspect of her work.

We look forward to your feedback on our new format, and would love to hear about the subjects you'd like us to cover.

*** Tweet @Pilarorti and @VirtualTeamW0rk with your thoughts ***

The last of our audio blogs, as next week we'll launch the new show format! In this article, we are reminded that people on remote teams also get sick, but that sick-leave might be more difficult to take.

These links might be of interest to you:

https://fitforwork.org/

https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/podcasts/psychological-safety

This is the audio version of one of our blog posts. You can read the post here: https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/blog/sickness-remote-teams

A short update on how we're getting on with the new format, followed straight by the audio version of one of our blog posts.

Some people don't like to brag about their achievements. Some managers don't want to disturb their team members and so, they rarely check in. This results in missed opportunities for recognition and development. To read the post, visit: https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/blog/sharing-success

Be honest: how often do you find the time to give and receive feedback in your team? In remote teams, it's very easy to avoid these kind of conversations, when they are some of the most valuable input we can receive from our team members. In this audio blog post we recommend a few ways in which you can embed feedback systems into your team's communications. This is the audio version of one of our Virtual not Distant blog posts. You can read the post here: https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/blog/feedback-in-remote-teams

In this episode, Pilar explains why the structure of the podcast is changing and the plans we have for the content. Also, you can now find the podcast in Spotify and as an Alexa skill. Plus, we're thinking of launching an in-house podcast service for companies making the transition to remote, looking for creative ways of keeping the workforce connected. Do send us suggestions for content or any questions you have about remote work or other workplace trends/terminology. At around 11 minutes, you can listen to the audio version of the blog post, "Now that I'm Remote, Can Anyone See How Hard I'm Working?" If you're done listening and prefer reading, here's the link to the blog post: https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/blog/presenteeism-in-remote-teams

Should technology replace trust? Are there ways of using technology so that we don't have to rely on trust to get the work done in remote teams? How much do we need to trust each other and how much should we show our work? We try to answer these questions in today's episode.

visit www.virtualnotdistant.com

Are we going back to the good ol' days of clocking in and out by using timetracking software?

Can managers not go remote because their work is too important?!

Is there fear that people use collaboration platforms to have private conversations? Or that they will contact anyone in the organisation, at any level?

We mention this article from HBR https://hbr.org/2017/11/what-managers-need-to-know-about-social-tools

And this episode from HBR Ideacast https://hbr.org/ideacast/2018/02/make-tools-like-slack-work-for-your-company.html

Is middle management less prone to trust?

Is there a fear that organisational dynamics might change in a way we don't like?

The difficulty of making sure we achieve results without risking team members not feeling trusted.

How shall we make that work visible in a way that people don't think they're having to justify their work?

Can we trust that people know how to be productive outside the office?

There are different ways of showing how we're working – justifying our work in hours is one.

The difficulty of sharing our work in progress, or narrating our work – some of us don't like to show unfinished work. This article from Science for Work summarises some research done about trust in virtual teams: https://scienceforwork.com/blog/virtual-teams-trust/

Turns out documenting the work and our conversations helps us be more effective without relying on trust!

Does time tracking software have a place in remote work? Pilar talks to Rob Rawson, CEO of Time Doctor.

visit www.virtualnotdistant.com

In the introduction, Pilar mentions this article:

The CEO of Kronos on Launching an Unlimited Vacation Policy https://hbr.org/2017/11/the-ceo-of-kronos-on-launching-an-unlimited-vacation-policy

and refers to this video by Crossover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbRa2csUJA8

And these episodes of Management Café, the podcast for managers.

#5 The Psychological Contract https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/podcasts/management-cafe-5-psychological-contract

#12 Borrowing from Self-Management https://managementcafepodcast.com/2018/02/04/self-management/

Pilar speaks to Rob Rawson, CEO of Time Doctor.

How does Time Doctor work and who uses it?

Does this mean we don't trust people?

Are some people more trustworthy than others?

Is trust a barrier to going remote or to employ virtual workers?

Is the software promoting presenteeism? Do companies where there is a lot of communication need this kind of software?

Should we trust people more or less depending on their salary?

Can this software help employees who want to start working remotely?

What about security issues?

Can the software be used to increase productivity?

How Rob uses the time tracking software to track his time and see who he needs to hire.

The benefits of hiring remotely.

How Rob's management style has changed – from allocating tasks to allocating roles.

How communication has evolved.

How their weekly meetings are run: action points and discussion points are jotted down during the week in a live document, which is then used during the meeting.

Should the conversation be equally distributed amongst people in meetings?

Rob and Pilar disagree about the fact that you can't build as strong relationships in a remote team as in a colocated one.

Check out the Running Remote conference https://runningremote.com/

And Time Doctor https://www.timedoctor.com/

Penny Pullan, author of "Virtual Leadership" talks to Pilar about how project teams operate in the virtual world and the skillset that individuals need to lead them.

visit www.virtualnotdistant.com

Penny is the author of Virtual Leadership: Practical Strategies for Getting the Best Out of Virtual Work and Virtual Teams Penny's story, how she was thrown into the deep end of virtual work.

What does leadership look like in a virtual team? All those involved in a project will need virtual leadership skills. Setting up the team. Freelance teams and organisational project teams. What's the connection to the project manager? Spaghetti teams! Let people know your preferences. Sort yourself out before starting to work with others: what are your strengths, your preferences, your values, etc? What virtual identity do you want to have? Some reflection questions to help your leadership style. Making sure people are being treated equally... How to deal with competing commitments in the office when you have are leading a virtual team. Visual facilitation and narrative to engage people in meetings. Learning how to use a tablet and pen for drawing and annotating. If you need help with drawing, check out Graphicsmadeeasy.co.uk How Penny helps people learn visual facilitation. Makingprojectwork.co.uk