21st Century Work Life

In today's episode, Pilar talks to Caroline Crampton, Assistant Editor of the New Statesman magazine. Get in touch through www.virtualnotdistant.com Caroline explains her role as Assistant Editor of the New Statesman, where she works mainly on the print version of the magazine.

What does a "hybrid publication" look like? How does it sustain itself?

Caroline talks us through the different tasks that make up her role and gives us a brief history of the New Statesman.

Caroline's podcast with Anna Leszkiewicz, the SRSLY podcast. Why she started the podcast and how she engages with her listeners through live events.

Listening for pleasure or professional interest: work/life integration

From podcast listener to podcasting and Caroline's Podcast column in the New Statesman. http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/podcasts/2016/10/why-it-s-time-start-writing-about-podcasts-culture

Caroline mentions one of her latest posts: http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/podcasts/2017/02/who-tells-your-story-how-hamilton-fans-are-coming-together-through-podcasts

Caroline's No Complaints newsletter; how and why she shares the articles she comes across during her research and work http://carolinecrampton.com/

A short, on the go episode inspired by a recent conversation from a manager who had been told that people "could now work from home".

Find out what works, don't rely on your experience when you do it on ad-hoc basis.

You can't just say, "Ok, you can now work from home". You need to lay down a new infrastructure.

It's a change programme!

In this episode, we talk about the four areas of teamwork you should address in your remote team.

RSI and general health when working with so much tech.

More or Less 3 Jan Does Sweden Really have a Six Hour Day? http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04n7vlg Pilar mentions Companies Without Managers, the episode from In Business that talks about the Buurtzorg model. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03045tx

We talk about the introduction of Slack threaded messages and the importance of revising your communication norms; pros and cons for teams and communities. https://slackhq.com/threaded-messaging-comes-to-slack-417ffba054bd#.gx6t5ndmt

Lisette mentions this episode 46 from The Future Work podcast https://thefutureorganization.com/forget-work-life-balance-its-all-about-work-life-integration/

If you would like to join Virtual Team Talk: https://virtualteamtalk.com/

Zoom's cash injection: http://blog.zoom.us/wordpress/2017/01/17/ceo-announcement-zoom-partners-with-sequoia-in-100-million-funding-round-releases-zoom-4-0/

The Main Conversation: Simulating the office online, how we create the team agreement. What's infopresence? Culture in virtual teams. What is normal behaviour for our team? Diversity in teams. Reference to the earlier episode on Communication in Virtual Teams. http://virtualnotdistant.com/communication-remote-team/

How do we avoid basic misunderstandings by creating team agreements.

Hosting pain-free online meetings where everyone contributes. "We're going into a new medium but we're not adapting." Giving and receiving feedback in remote teams. (You can listen to Lisette and Pilar's first ever conversation in Collaboration Superpowers episode 4.) http://www.collaborationsuperpowers.com/4-humanizing-remote-work-pilar-orti/

"All mediums are not created equal." We also refer to the last episode on facilitating virtual meetings: http://virtualnotdistant.com/facilitating-virtual-meetings/ Showing appreciation. Find out more about Working from Anywhere: http://www.collaborationsuperpowers.com/

In this episode, Pilar Orti talks to Nancy Settle-Murphy about how she facilitates online and hybrid meetings. Having conversations in public when you meet someone for the first time.

Being a coach/trainer/facilitator Who does Nancy work with?

Hybrid meetings. Nancy talks about one of her clients and why they decide to hold hybrid meetings. Involving people calling into the in person meeting in activities. Using the technology wisely.

Making online team meetings work. Does splitting responsibilities in a meeting translate into how the team operates outside of meetings? Should roles be assigned by the manager?

The changes that Nancy has seen throughout her 22 years working as a virtual meeting facilitator.

Are there more international teams now in corporations? It's the ability to collaborate asynchronously that's evolved and changed how we operate.

The assumptions we make when we're using the same language.

"The hope is that we mean the same things when we say something, but in the virtual world we need to find shared understanding and that takes time."

The absence of visual cues is still a barrier to understanding in virtual teams. The need to take the time to understand silence. Making assumptions about others. Nancy shares an anecdote.

Why are more people not using video? - Bandwidth, infrastructure (national, company-wide) -"Bad hair days" - Screen-sharing takes priority - People don't want to be caught out multitasking. - Lack of tools and technology. Lack of choice.

Should outsiders challenge the team to use video? Or rather, when should we encourage the use of video?

The stage of the team, the kind of conversations they're having or need to have.

Ask thoughtful questions that will get people talking. Have a note pad where you take notes down. Creating a team photo with names and faces. Be aware of who's participating. Consciously allow time for reflection. Avoid only rewarding the people who speak first. Ask questions to pull people in. Not "Anne, you haven't spoken in a bit." Ask them a question relevant to them, so they're pulled into the conversation. (This only happens if you know the people around you.)

Team Building through the work Building trust amongst team members in project teams. It's difficult to build trust if the only time you come together with your team is a weekly call. Figure out who needs to deepen their relationship and design interdependent tasks. They will need to have deeper conversations between them. Don't just design by location. Allow for smaller teams to emerge.

Pilar mentions Team Genius

Build and identify the influencers and stakeholders outside of the team that team members need to be talking to.

The changing role of the manager and official team leader.

The importance of making the norms explicit. "Shared operating norms" Establishing presence How do we schedule meetings Use of IM and email and other tools Levels of responsiveness

http://www.guidedinsights.com/articles-guides/

Get in touch with Nancy http://www.guidedinsights.com/contact-us/

An "on the spot" recording about the importance of autonomy at work. Pilar shares a great customer service experience and a really good read.

In this episode Pilar and Lisette review some of the latest news in the world of work and offer some guidance on how to review your communication infrastructure in your virtual team.

Pilar introduces this episode and she mentions this book (well, she mentions Tim Harford but can't remember the title!) Messy: How to be creative and resilient in a Tidy-Minded World

She mentions this episode from Evidence Talks about the Right to Disconnect law in France. http://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/4994834

Let us know what you think of this format: http://virtualnotdistant.com/contact-us/

Oh, man, the book... What Lisette has learned about her writing process.

We talk about Trello's aquisition by Atlassian and the comments in Michael Pryor's blog post. http://blog.trello.com/trello-atlassian

Are we getting used to tools being free?

Pilar has discovered a new feature in Zoom which could help more people jump on video calls. Listeners: Does it bother you to see yourself on the screen during video calls?

Pilar is co-hosting a new podcast. http://www.futureworkcentre.com/what-we-do/education/evidencetalks/

How CEO's can lead the transition from office-based to virtual and encourage people to use tech mindfully. http://digitalworkplacegroup.com/2016/06/16/im-working-weekends-but-ignore-my-ceo-habits/

France's new law, the right to disconnect. Do we need legislation to encourage conversation? https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/dec/31/french-workers-win-legal-right-to-avoid-checking-work-email-out-of-hours

Have a listen to the More or Less episode: Does Sweden Really Have a Six Hour Day? http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04kt3p6

around 30mins mark Pilar talks about the PIC framework to help you build a communication infrastructure for a virtual team and how you can cross-check it with self-determination theory of motivation, to make sure you're not dampening intrinsic motivation.

Personal information Information - documents Collaboration

When you're designing processes and choosing tools, and role-modelling behaviours , also keep an eye out that you're not squashing any of the three components of intrinsic motivation: autonomy, competence and relatedness.

Tools mentioned: Linoit http://en.linoit.com/ Trello Do get in touch! http://virtualnotdistant.com/contact-us/

In today's episode, Pilar chats to Curtis James, who observes people at work and gives visibility to those jobs that are often invisible.

visit www.virtualnotdistant.com

An incredibly short introduction. Pilar is actually back after the conversation, to add some comments. Remember to check out these other two podcasts: Management Café and Evidence Talks.

03:45mins Curtis's journey working in organisations.

http://www.wearefieldwork.com/

Impartiality when working in an organisation, documenting the workforce.

How Curtis documents the workforce. How they recreate smells; exhibition workshops.

"All companies are going to have good and bad stuff happening in them. The very fact that they're embarking on this kind of work is something that they should be proud of, because it's about being transparent, and this should be the beginning of finding new ways of working."

The importance of having collaborators during this type of work.

What Curtis has learned about himself and how he's changed as a practitioner. (How he's allowed his work to change him and how he's changed to change the work. )

How BeyondWork and Fieldwork sit alongside each other.

Beyond Work Radio.

How do we end up doing what we're doing?

http://www.thisisbeyondwork.com/work-journal/2017/1/6/beyond-work-radio-show-4http://www.thisisbeyondwork.com/work-journal/2016/12/8/beyond-work-radio-show-2

Working outdoors. Looking for "those whose jobs are often invisible".

The multiple reasons why workers are treated badly.

Fulfillment vs Happiness. http://virtualnotdistant.com/on-happiness-at-work/

Further questions you could ask after knowing whether your people are "happy".

Call to action: share what you do at work and ask others too!

42:30mins Don't send people on training, when they don't want to go!

(I found following the potato funny.)

Happiness at work and work life balance.

If you work in a virtual team, or are a remote worker or are just interested in making the world of work as great as it can be, join us in Virtual Team Talk. A new podcast on evidence-based practice in organisations http://www.futureworkcentre.com/what-we-do/education/evidencetalks/

05:30mins 30 Nov Entrepreneur on Fire http://www.eofire.com/podcast/lisettesutherland/

The virus that goes into your calendar.

Using online conferences as development opportunities for your group or team and being mindful of how to use the chat space.

Using an external event as an internal development opportunity.

Lisette recommends this app to recruit for virtual teams http://www.indivizo.com/ and she has some questions to ask yourself if you're recruiting.

Has much moved on in the world of work?

Companies That Got Rid Of Performance Ratings Aren't Doing So Well, Sadly http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/long-live-the-performance-review_us_5772ca2ce4b0eb90355c8b05

The 'T' word... And we need to ask ourselves, what kind of leaders are people looking for in organisations? Do they feel like THEY are being listened to?

Didn't like this headline, though article is good: How Microsoft Used an Office Move to Boost Collaboration https://hbr.org/2016/10/how-microsoft-used-an-office-move-to-boost-collaboration

Quite liked this article too: http://digiday.com/agencies/ad-agency-hot-desking/

Daily commute of two hours – reality for 3.7m UK workers https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/nov/18/daily-commute-of-two-hours-reality-for-37m-uk-workers

10 Workplace Trends You'll See in 2017 http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2016/11/01/workplace-trends-2017/#6954cfed3457

Some headlines we'd like to see in 2017.

We go back to our list of Words We'd Like to See Disappear in 2016 to see if any have disappeared... http://virtualnotdistant.com/2016/

Pilar talks to Mauricio Salatino about working in Open Source software and a working remotely within an organisation.

Asynchronous feedback and assuming positive intent.

Online course on leading remote teams: http://virtualnotdistant.com/training/leading-remote-teams-course/

In person course in London and Birmingham 2017

Starts 11:05mins Mauricio lent Pilar the Hardback edition of Open Organization, great book. We talk about it. (Affiliate link.) Reading a book about the organisation you're in and seeing that indeed it does reflect the culture you're part of.

What Red Hat does broadly. How do you get involved in an open source project? Turning a hobby into a full-paid position.

The open source mindset and being trusted to represent your company in public.

Sharing your work in public.

Mauricio's specialisms - creating software.

Working in a remote set-up. Different kinds of meetings. Working hours.

Cv? What cv? Do we really need a cv in the 21st Century?

How freedom decreases with scale, as more people are affected by our decisions. "What you can produce with seven people is different to what you create with forty."

Step by step approach to creating an organic team process. The value of "self-discovered beaurocracy"

https://salaboy.com/

In the first of our Wicked Wednesday conversations, Pilar goes over to @WorkHubs, a co-working space in central London, to talk to Philip Dodson and Bernie J. Mitchell from @WorkHubs, about building a freelance community.

After Pilar's conversation this morning in the Virtual Team Talk online coworking space, Pilar reflects on some of the things that might stop us from having high quality communication with other virtual team members. https://virtualteamtalk.com/

Tapping People on the Shoulder

Working in the same space at the same time.

Moving onto video

Moving onto Direct Messaging

Informal channels

Dealing with Noise

Sign up to our newsletter or seven part email series. http://virtualnotdistant.com/inspiration/virtual-signup/

If you enjoy this conversation, check out the podcast with Bernie and Phil: Straight Outta @WorkHubs

16:00mins Origins of @WorkHubs - from a desk to a place wehre you can develop - the The Write Club

Why a coworking space is better than Googling

From organised events to talking to people informally

Bernie reflects on what it's like to be a freelancer; creating an ecosystem for freelancers

The value of values and using values to guide our decisions

Those things that don't work out...

Artwork as a way of developing

Not everything is for everyone...

What's next for @WorkHubs