21st Century Work Life - Remote Working, Virtual Teams And Flexible Working

A short rambling by Pilar on how the word "learning" is usually used to mean information-absorption or acquiring new skills, rather than the broadest meaning, whereby we are constantly adjusting our behaviour and changing how we do things.  Plus, how assumptions landed Pilar on the wrong side of town to her friend. 

Working out loud takes effort and energy – and it becomes really hard to do when we are struggling with the work or when we are afraid of breaking the “good vibe” of the team or of not being a “positive team member”. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com Links mentioned in the updates: Our listener Steve recommends: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/secret-behind-happy-productive-companies-brian-de-haaff Pilar’s family friend was a pioneer in 2009 of “Mobile phone-based telemedicine system for the home follow-up of patients undergoing ambulatory surgery.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/19566396/  The article that inspired today’s conversation: The 6 Exercises We’re Doing to Help With Artificial Harmony from the Open Buffer blog https://open.buffer.com/artificial-harmony/ The benefits of Working Out Loud. (For more on this check out episode 48 https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/podcasts/working-out-loud ) We recall a conversation on the Virtual Team Talk Slack. Having a channel/group/section for disagreements.

Morgan Legge from Convert.com shares the company’s journey adopting a “holacratic approach”. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com What Convert does and what the original team looked like. www.convert.com Why the company decided to go down the Holacracy route: “to give people the freedom to make decisions that would grow the company in the direction that it needed to grow.” They haven’t yet formally adopted the constitution – Morgan explains what this would mean. SO 21st Century that we can find enough information online to digest it and start to implement change. Where did she find the information? “We’re kind of making it up as we go along, and we’re ok with that.” Who makes up Convert? Distributed over 9 timezones. Holacracy – a structure about the work, not the people. How does that look like in practice. The “tensions” between the current reality and where you want to be. The freedom also leads to you failing or succeeding in a very public way. Roles and assigning tasks. (The company uses the software Asana to

There are many ways of learning from others in our remote team: through asking for feedback and running activities where we can learn from each other. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com A few updates: Lisette is looking for beta readers and there will be a range of ways in which to give her feedback on her book. To do so, sign up to her newsletter: https://www.collaborationsuperpowers.com/ Why are companies still asking people to work from home without providing them with the support they need? Are there two “camps” of organisations working with remote teams: those that have been doing it for decades (and will not change their ways) and those making the transition who can see the potential of integrating a wide range of tech into their communications. The main conversation: Asking for feedback. Lisette shares how she’s gathering feedback on her TedX Talk. The kind of questions / directions we can use when asking for feedback. Using Google Docs to gather feedback and turn it into a conversation. Latte and Learn

Is asking “which tool when” the right question to be asking? And how is a training programme for remote team managers different to that for office-based managers? visit www.virtualnotdistant.com We welcome Maya to Virtual not Distant. You can read her first contribution to our blog here: https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/blog/presenteeism-in-remote-teams Thanks to guest Chris Slemp, who tells us about his new venture/conversation-starter: Which Tool When? http://whichtoolwhen.com/ You can find out more about what Chris does, how he views the world of collaboration and why he advocates for an “office optional” approach by listening to episode WLP123 Building a Collaboration Environment https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/podcasts/collaboration-environment? To read the article on which this episode is based on, head over here: https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/deliver/training/how-to-design-a-development-programme-for-managers-of-remote-teams There are three steps to developing the programme: 1) Getting yourself

visit www.virtualnotdistant.com We meet Sandra Lewis, founder and CEO of Worldwide101, a company made up of premium virtual assistants.Please note, that Worldwide101 has rebranded as BOLDLY. Sandra talks about how she set up the company, after noticing the number of freelancer websites popping up. She talks about how she assembled the team, the importance of values and of loving to work remotely. How the company is organised: a small management team plus +100 virtual assistants, working in the US and Europe. Not micromanaging makes working across timezones easier. They ensure this works by recruiting highly qualified people. The difference between premium virtual assistants and regular virtual assistant companies. How do you match clients and VAs? A stable team, but one that’s growing… How they recruit. If you would like to join the team, get in touch with Sandra. https://boldly.com/jobs/ How long does it take to assess whether a potential team member shares Worldwide101’s values and why does it matter? And w

visit www.virtualnotdistant.com Why does everyone want to be “busy” all the time and why are so many of us rushing around? Join Pilar and Lisette for today’s virtual coffee. Thanks to our listener Louise for her feedback on the article we discussed in episode 140 on sensors in the workplace. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/barclays-bank-sensors-a7901566.html Pilar mentions two other shows: Management Café and Evidence Talks If you have any articles or topics you would like to know more about, let Pilar know and she can cover them in the next season of Management Café. https://managementcafepodcast.com/ Pilar and Lisette discuss these articles: https://blog.trello.com/hurry-worry-time-urgency-plaguing-team-productivity#.WarItKCkK7g.pocket https://www.wsj.com/articles/no-headline-available-1386352891?tesla=y Looking out for signs of “work martyrdom” https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/blog/presenteeism-in-remote-teams The rhythm of collaboration platforms. We mention the characteristics of those tasks we’r

visit www.virtualnotdistant.com In today’s episode, Richard A. MacKinnon explains the concept of psychological flexibility and how we can change our behaviour to be values-led rather than emotion-led. If you enjoy this episode, check out the ten episodes of the Management Café podcast and Evidence Talks. http://www.worklifepsych.com/ Richard on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WorkLifePsych Psychological Flexibility – it can be developed. The fact that professionals are being trained in this skill shows that we are acknowledging the wholeness of people coming to work. Emotions! Values! Can we talk about these at work? So, what is psychological flexibility? A set of skills that support each other (thinking and behavioural skills) that allow you to step aside from troubling thoughts and emotions and not let them take over the situation. Values-led action rather than emotions-led action. Are emotions heightened when we go remote? Letting our values guide us. Checking assumptions before we let our emotions guide us.

Further reflections after yesterday's episode on how employees are being tracked so that customers can get better service.  I also came across this article to complement our short discussion on the nature and future of education:  Who's Building the Infrastructure for Lifelong Learning by Linda Gratton. http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/whos-building-the-infrastructure-for-lifelong-learning/

Visit www.virtualnotdistant.com In this episode, Pilar and Lisette discuss five articles that have caught their eye in the last few months. (1) Scraping data from LinkedIn to get insights into your employees. Hmm… “The law's authors could not possibly have envisioned such a scenario when drawing up the bill. (You’ll hear that often - this isn’t the first time an ancient law has been crowbarred into a modern dispute.)” Are laws falling behind the world of work? (And the world!) https://www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/technology-40932487 https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/08/court-rejects-linkedin-claim-that-unauthorized-scraping-is-hacking/ https://www.hiqlabs.com/legal (2) Are we going too far with sensors in the office? The fine line between being watched and gathering data in the office to improve the use of space. Communication – do employees know why they’re being monitored? https://qz.com/1002705/herman-miller-creator-of-the-aeron-chair-wants-to-make-your-desk-more-l

Before contacting me to appear in the podcast, or on behalf of a potential guest, please listen to this episode.  If you are a listener, go ahead just sent me a note, we don;t have to record a full episode, anything will do. Just email me and we can talk. Or go to virtualnotdistant.com and use the contact form. If you've just come across the podcast and think it might be good to appear in it, make sure you like the tone; make sure you will enjoy talking to me (not everyone does!) and make sure what you have to offer is in line with the show. The show is broad, but it does have a few themes running through it. If you are contacting me on behalf of someone else, if they've asked you to contact me, great. If not, same goes, make sure they are the right fit - not that on paper they sound like the right fit, please listen to the show first. And before we start scheduling the show, make sure they ok with appearing in it. So there you go, in a nutshell, podcasts seem like a great way of promoting yourself an

Just touching base with you today while I catch up with the backlog of conversations. Here's a little blog post that was quite popular last month: "How to Stop Worrying about Whether People are Getting the Work Done at Home". If you prefer to read the blog post, here's the link: https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/blog/how-do-you-measure-results-in-remote-team

In this episode, Pilar explains the benefits of having regular update meetings with your remote team. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com Pilar mentions this article by Amy Edmondson and Bror Saxberg Putting Lifelong Learning on the CEO Agenda. http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/putting-lifelong-learning-on-the-ceo-agenda (We cover Psychological Safety also in Episode 9 of Management Café.) If you would like to be a Beta Reader for “Online Meetings that Rock”, sign up here https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/meetings-book/ 08:00mins The kind of team Pilar is talking about: Those with a decent timezone overlap. Don’t Cancel your Regular Team Meetings! Conversations not Presentations Nurturing Connections Technology becomes Your Friend Soon They Will be Everywhere! Check out episode 136 on how Automattic uses video to engage with customers. https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/podcasts/happiness-at-automattic There’s reference to episode 557 of HBR Ideacast “Restoring Sanity to the O

In this episode Pilar talks to Nancy Settle-Murphy about the challenges of working with people based in other countries. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com In the introduction, Pilar shares the different reasons why people might not be acting on feedback, or asking for clarification: Avoiding losing face Seeking harmony Unconditional respect for authority Lack of trust She mentions this previous episode with Hugo Messer on working in global teams: https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/podcasts/across-continents You can also listen to Nancy and Pilar’s previous conversation on “Facilitating Virtual Meetings”, https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/podcasts/facilitating-virtual-meetings A hierarchical view of the world: My way is the only way. How much is Headquarters imposing a way of working? “Assumptions in a way are shortcuts to finding a solution.” Should we be making generalisations and assumptions about how people work because they belong to one culture? Maybe it’s our best first guess… What areas of working life m

In this episode, Pilar talks to David Burkus, author of “Under New Management”, an overview of those organisations experimenting with new ways of leading teams and managing people. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com If you would like to be a Beta Reader of “Online Meetings that Rock”, please click here: http://bit.ly/betameeting David Burkus is the author of Under New Management: How Leading Organisations Are Upending Business as Usual. Grab the book now! We reflect on what a long way technology has come and how we’re so lucky to have seen how it has evolved. David’s work as Professor. His location is fantastic for going to and from speaking engagements! How much David takes from the classroom to your work as author and speaker and viceversa? What do business students expect to learn? What are their attitudes towards the world of work? David talks about the sports’ “team captain” as the analogy for the leadership roles business students are likely to adopt when they enter the world of work. David refers to t

Have we got a treat for you today. In this episode, both Lisette and Pilar talk to T Briseno, Happiness Engineer at Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com T. shares what her job as Happiness Engineer entails and how she interacts directly with customers through video meetings. This really helps her to feel connected to the work and see the results of her work. (Plus, she loves seeing all the different blogs around.) How does someone start working for Automattic? T. shares her own story and the onboarding process. Communication across a company with over 560 distributed employees. How do people talk to each other and collaborate in a company with no physical office and how is the organisation structured? (To find out more about why Automattic ditched their San Francisco office, check out this article: https://qz.com/1002655/the-company-behind-wordpress-is-closing-its-gorgeous-san-francisco-office-because-its-employees-never-show-up/) Most of the long-form, thorough commu

In this episode, Pilar talks about the importance of thinking holistically about introducing “remote” into an organisation: how will it change a company’s culture? How will it challenge people’s identities? Visit www.virtualnotdistant.com  It’s the summer, and things have slowed down, which I really appreciate. London is quieter, the internet is quieter, which means I have more time to think and to write. But I’ll tell you about the writing a little bit later. Today’s episode: well, I’d like to dedicate it to people in organisations who are in charge of implementing remote working (or some other way of working that involves working away from the company’s premises) or indeed, if you are championing this kind of work in your organisation. Last year, the Work Foundation predicted that 2017, this year, would be the tipping point for 50% of the UK’s population to go “mobile”. And indeed, it’s really felt like that this year. (To hear more on the Working Anywhere report, have a listen to episode 72.) More organisa

In this episode, Pilar talks to Syrus Lowe about his work in the theatre, in role-play companies and presenting. The diverse things that Syrus has been doing over the last 12 months. Being involved in the live streaming performance of St Joan at the Donmar Warehouse. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/saint-joan-donmar-warehouse-london-review-gemma-artertons-joan-radiates-a-gentle-simplicity-and-a7486861.html How the nature of auditions has changed and how the industry is becoming more demanding. Syrus’ work as a role-play actor, facilitator and his masterclass. https://www.roleplaymasterclass.com/ Giving feedback and training actors to give feedback in role-play sessions. Syrus’ article about unconscious bias: Syrus Lowe: Confusing me with another black actor is no laughing matter https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/2017/syrus-lowe-confusing-another-black-actor-no-laughing-matter/ Using an actor’s public image to advocate for equality and other issues. The difficulty in m

  In this episode, Pilar and Lisette talk about the kind of mindset remote team managers can embrace that will make their lives easier.   Lisette tells us about her experience running a webinar in Japan. This is the article Lisette and Pilar use to guide us through the conversation. Six Traits of Leaders Who Successfully Manage Remote Employees https://www.forbes.com/sites/markmurphy/2016/06/10/6-traits-of-leaders-who-successfully-manage-remote-employees/#a69d5b14032e Do we really want to be indefatigable? The manager as “company evangelist” or advocate? How much do you need to love your company? Should we always be “positive” or will we start to sound like PR machines? Authenticity comes into play. Being approachable and available. Physical distance and Psychological distance. Writing letters! And writing, are wired for communicating through writing?  

In this episode, Pilar talks to Olivia Jones, a freelance copywriter based in London about being freelance and dealing remotely with clients.  Check out Olivia’s blog: http://goldenpulse.co.uk/ The transition to freelance and deciding what area to focus on. Working with freelancers in other countries when she was a project manager. How being a project manager has helped her to go freelance. How can you figure out if a client is going to be a good person to work with and what the barriers might be to fruitful collaboration.  What is copywriting? How Olivia initiates the conversation with a client. Would anything they say put her off? Olivia’s creative process; how she creates the right work environment for herself. Olivia’s health and fitness blog and the opportunities it creates. http://oliviathecopywriter.co.uk/ Working remotely with clients. (She might sound like one, but Olivia’s not a “millennial”.) Freelancers are always learning! Olivia on Twitter @imissolivia