21st Century Work Life

What contributes to team members trusting each other in virtual teams? In today's episode, we present a range of thoughts, questions and suggestions to help maintain trust in virtual teams. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com

"If we don't have the trust, eventually you don't have a team, you have a bunch of individuals that are sort of working together, but not really working together towards the same purpose." (Mark Kilby)

History of Virtual Team Talk and this project

06:50mins "What level of trust does my team need, right now, to be effective?" Calculated Trust: You follow the rules because the cost of not doing so is greater then the value of breaking the rule.

How Trust Emerges 13:10mins Self-Awareness: What helps us to build trust, how does my behaviour impact how others trust me You can read the blog post about the first meeting we had in virtualteamtalk.com

In this episode you will hear the voices of Mark Kilby, who's an agile coach working in a company called Sonatype, which is 95% distributed. They have developers all the way from Thailand to Alaska, working from home.

And Melanie Pürschel who is developing software for remote teams and she's currently working on the Team Mood Tracker. As a psychologist in IT she's interested in how to support teams through technology. And thanks to Terrance, Jochen, Kayt and Kevin for their thoughts and contributions to this project too.

16:34 mins Individual behaviours that help us trust someone or distrust them

06:50mins "What level of trust does my team need, right now, to be effective?" Calculated Trust: You follow the rules because the cost of not doing so is greater then the value of breaking the rule.

How Trust Emerges 13:10mins Self-Awareness: What helps us to build trust, how does my behaviour impact how others trust me You can read the blog post about the first meeting we had in virtualteamtalk.com

In this episode you will hear the voices of Mark Kilby, who's an agile coach working in a company called Sonatype, which is 95% distributed. They have developers all the way from Thailand to Alaska, working from home.

And Melanie Pürschel who is developing software for remote teams and she's currently working on the Team Mood Tracker. As a psychologist in IT she's interested in how to support teams through technology. And thanks to Terrance, Jochen, Kayt and Kevin for their thoughts and contributions to this project too.

16:34 mins Indiv

Trust and conflict. Can you be yourself? Can you trust others to call out unsuitable behaviour? Managers who want harmony all the time. Do we trust/distrust certain professions more than others? How is trust built in cross-functional teams?

27:04minsBuilding trust in new teams and the question of control 36:33mins Designing pairing opportunities to "do" something, the sense of camaraderie, purpose, alignment, can be brought out. 38:49mins Norm formation and trust emergence.

Trust as a broad corridor.

41:18mins Reliability "Is there anything else we should be talking about?" is a really important question. That can be turned into a process, something that we integrate into our meeting processes.

Trust is about understanding people's behaviour when it doesn't match our own.

48:10 Traits of people working remotely. Work life and Home life To screen or not to screen?

Some of the resources we talked about:

Blog post on discussion on trust https://virtualteamtalk.com/2016/11/05/trust-in-teams-1/

Live broadcast of this topic: https://virtualteamtalk.com/2017/02/14/we-continue-talking-about-trust/

http://www.retrospectives.com/pages/Anatomy.html and search the page for "Making the magic happen"

Drexler/Sibbet Team Performance Modelhttp://community.fansshare.com/pic118/w/high-performance-teams/1200/14499_drexler_sibbet_team_performance_model.jpg (104KB) https://runbook.freistil.it/operations/

https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-neuroscience-of-trust http://www.leadershipnow.com/leadingblog/2016/09/the_10_laws_of_trust.html NOBL newsletter http://us9.campaign-archive2.com/?u=e80c7e00182317ea114b75362&id=997a473a8c&e http://ldslights.org/brene-browns-formula-for-trust/

This is the full version of our live broadcast earlier in the year. For an edited version of the conversation, with other thoughts and reflections, and show notes, check out episode 117. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com

In today's episode, Lisette and Pilar continue their conversation about how the collocated space can evolve by adopting virtual teamwork practices.

(Don't forget to visit www.virtualnotdistant.com to check out our services and more blog posts and podcast show notes.) Quite a long catch-up today, but it's all related to our theme... How Sococo is now the first place where Pilar looks for Lisette when she needs to speak to her online and how the different rooms can induce a different mindset. (Hello, Terrance!) (Join Virtual Team Talk to experience virtual co-working and be part of a group of people championing great ways of working remotely with others.) Lisette met Voranc and Ralph in person at a Management 3.0 retreat and it confirmed how much of a bond they'd already built just through online communication. Pilar went to a launch party of a game she voiced and she noticed how strange it feels to watch photos of people working in the office together. We talk about this recent article in Quartz about the mandate from IBM to bring remote workers into the office, with some dodgy research. https://qz.com/924167/ibm-remote-work-pioneer-is-calling-thousands-of-employees-back-to-the-office/ Pilar's article in response: https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/blog/ibm-back-to-the-office 24:00mins Ways in which the Collocated Office can change by absorbing practice from virtual teams. Feedback Ongoing feedback vs performance management. If we only come into the office sporadically, will we take the opportunity to seek feedback when we are in the same physical space together? What works in virtual, might not work in collocated and vv (the processes, the tools). (We have a really old episode on Feedback, episode 5!) Celebrations Don't forget to get together to celebrate group and individual successes! (We have a really old episode on retrospective-style meetings, where we talk about celebrations, episode 19.) Meetings The virtual space accomodates the number of people at a meeting better than the office. eg you might have a large room and only a few people turn up, you can really feel it in the physical space, not as much on a video meeting tool. Starting on time and ending on time. Is physical presence enough? Is there more acknowledgement of who is there in virtual meetings? Can each person make the decision of whether they want to be present to contribute or just to be informed? Recordings and summaries. The end of presenteeism?

In today's episode, Pilar talks with Eva Rimbau-Gilabert about a recent piece of research on how "managing up" tactics differ between collocated and virtual workers (those in close physical proximity to the manager and those working away from the office). The research that Eva shares was conducted by Sebastián Steizel, who is Professor of Organisational Behaviour at the University of San Andrés (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Eva was director of the thesis. http://www.tdx.cat/bitstream/handle/10803/369313/Sebasti%C3%A1n%20Steizel%20Tesis%20Doctorado%20.pdf?sequence=1 Eva Rimbau-Gilabert's Twitter handle: @erimbau 06:20 Different tactics that people use to influence their boss and how they differ in use between virtual workers and collocated workers. Ingratiation Rationality Assertiveness Coalition Intermediation Upward appeal 13:00 The use of technology and how this changes when people try to influence their boss. Synchronous vs asynchronous. 16:54 The importance of synchronous communication to give team members the space to express the importance of what they're raising. 18:55 Networking within the organisation. 23:03 The question of career progression. 25:42 More on advantages and disadvantages of synchronous and asynchronous communication. And a summary of the tactics mentioned right at the beginning. 30:00 Initial stages on research on wellbeing of teleworkers and how leadership behaviour can influence psychological wellbeing. 35:11 Final thoughts on the diversity of remote teams and the degrees of "virtual"

Pilar introduces the concept of Cognitive Tunneling, after a couple of things that happened yesterday to her. And she recommends "Smarter, Faster, Better" bu Charles Duhigg, once again... visit www.virtualnotdistant.com

In this episode, Pilar and Lisette talk about how having a remote set-up and a flexible workforce affects how we work in the office. 55mins

visit www.virtualnotdistant.com

What is "remote" anyway?

Even people working across different floors perceive themselves as being distant from each other. Another great advocacy point for adapting the office to remote working. It will benefit teamwork that happens across floors, not just those working outside the building.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/SupportingDistributedTeamwork.pdf

• Where is the information rather than who has the information. http://blog.idonethis.com/remote-company/

This doesn't just make us more productive, it also stops hierarchies forming around who holds the information. Not to mention that people can leave on holiday (or leave the company) without leaving gaps of information in the team.

Can some behaviours around availability and reflection become more acceptable?

It seems to be more acceptable not to be available when you're working away from the office than when you're physically present there.

What symbols and signals can we use in the office to ask people not to disturb us? How can offices be designed to offer an environment for focused work?

Isaac said: "Listening to your "learning in virtual teams" podcast. Really enjoying your thoughts on taking time to let things "sink in" during the working day. That is what I like the most about my work from home days. I am super productive (I control my distractions) and because of that I feel ok taking the extra time to "process" what I'm experiencing. In the office, "processing" time is often seen as wasted time."

http://www.onofficemagazine.com/interiors/item/4663-airbnb-s-low-tech-and-flexible-portland-office

• Autonomy and autonomous decision making. Be careful if you start enabling people to have flexible work schedules: are they also being given the autonomy usually associated with that?

• The question of transparency.In virtual we have to make more communication open and thinking process explicit. Can this translate to the office? https://thefutureorganization.com/balance-employee-freedom-organizational-control/

We'll carry on in episode 116!

In this episode, Pilar talks about what happens when people speak different languages in the office, how many people still reject having online interactions and the difficulties of working out loud in virtual teams. Get in touch with your thoughts through www.virtualnotdistant.com When speaking a different language in the office is a problem. Finding out whether it's a sign of something else going on. Having informal conversations and avoiding directives. Pilar mentions this Today programme http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08g2ty8 which talks about how The Care Quality Commision in the UK has issued a warning about two online doctor services, which can also prescribe medicines. If you want to read more about this particular issue, go here: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/mar/03/cqc-warns-online-doctor-services-may-pose-risk-to-public Leaving the whole unreliability of some services to one side, and the state of the health service, why are we not embracing online video interactions?

A video call might be great for a status update team meeting; a phone call might be the best way of checking the status of a decision before we move on with our work; an online collaboration platform might be the best way to explain a problem you need help with.

When you first begin to work in this way, it might seem strange because you might need agreement on some of these decisions, but as long as the tech is working (and I know that sometimes that can be a big IF), at one point you won't even realise that you're switching between tools – you'll just notice that you're switching conversations. And if you're in the same location, plan for time in the same physical space: no-one is forbidding you. But plan for that and try to pick the right environment or locations.

How does the tool affect your team interactions? Blog post on the benefits of working out loud

https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/blog/a-problem-shared-is-a-problem-identified

The difficulties of working out loud. Get in touch with your thoughts through www.virtualnotdistant.com

In today's episode, Pilar and Lisette share some of the ways in which they learn about themselves, their work and their colleagues. Online Learning does not mean watching videos!

(1) Overview

What do we mean by "learning"? Kolb's cycle. Involves change. A lot of our learning is experiential.

Experience (concrete experience) Reflect (reflective observation) Theorise, generalise (abstract conceptualisation) How could it work next time? Plan. (active experimentation)

From "How do I use the tool?" to "How do I approach you?"

Just in case (most formal learning) vs Just in Time (most informal learning)

(2) Informality Spectrum

Social aspect of learning - learning from others through their point of view; building empathy

From chatting over coffee to structured events.

(3) Specific examples of learning through Virtual TT

Trust - learning about topic but also about turning knowledge conversations into content. Formal - learn about trust; informal, learn about others, myself

Lean coffee and mentoring - formal / self-directed by your own topic Informal/directed by others by observing, listening, empathy

Organise events - learn about the people and dynamics.

As we work with others, we adapt and learn about ourselves, about those we work with and the world around us.

Sam Mednick introduces herself. She's an audacious journalists and also a member of the Happy Melly team.

Sam talks about what it's like to work in Happy Melly One. It seems difficult to separate happiness at work from happiness in life in general. It's ok now to admit that what happens in life affects our work and viceversa. What makes trust possible in this virtual team? Sam talks about sharing values and having honest conversations and touching base with each other on video. Pilar mentions "Faster, Smarter, Better" by Charles Duhigg and psychological safety. Executive Coaching and current challenges executives face. The nature of coaching, it need not be remedial. Check out Sam's website: Blueprint Coaching. Sam's podcast series around Courageous Conversations Sam shares what has helped people to have these difficult conversations. (Yes, step by step...) Sam's "appointment with herself". Why does she do it and what is this "high-level meeting"? What drives Sam to conflict zones? What does she actually do when she gets there? How does she find the stories? How does Sam organise her time to manage to juggle all the different things she does? Sam's journey through radio and how it's different to podcasting. Check out Serious About Happiness, the podcast Sam hosts.

Feedback in virtual teams - "permission" to give and ask for feedback. Are we afraid to ask for feedback? Sam tells about her experience getting feedback in Happy Melly. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com

Duncan featured us! http://banoffeesolutions.co.uk/archive/podcasts-for-remote-working/ Programming and Data Science blog by Duncan Thomson

We recommend that you watch The Newsroom Join us for Virtual Team Talk. Sococo has a new "meetings" feature, which makes it easy to organise meetings in the space and also to tap someone on the shoulder to let them know you want to talk to them, and they can easily refused.

We're looking at security from three points of view. From the organisation: Can I trust the people? Can i trust the tools? And for both organisations and individuals "Am i/Are we safe?"

Having a policy. Remember that people can look over your shoulder and read your emails... Can employees from the external tools we use read our data?

Business Daily Protecting Your Online Data, 1 Feb 2017 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04qnwh4

In Business How Safe Are your Secrets Aug 2016 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07myxkw

What's the deal with IT? Are they lazy or are we not making the case for choosing our own tools? Beware the hackers: Usb sticks being left on the pavement outside offices; emails from people in our organisation, that are not really from anyone we know...

Jailed by Skype! http://metro.co.uk/2017/02/03/judges-will-soon-be-able-to-jail-people-over-skype-6426263/

http://snip.ly/5rn3f#http://leavingworkbehind.com/introduction-to-digital-security/