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

There are many valid reasons for resisting going remote in your team, but today we cover those reasons based on myths and common misconceptions about personalities suited to remote work and communication. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com We start with the one piece of often misquoted research, something that really frustrates Pilar in particular: 1) 93% of communication is non-verbal. The assumption of this is that therefore, virtual teamwork will never work as well as collocated. However, this statistic, which comes from Mehrabian’s work needs more context. It relates to emotional content and is more pertinent to situations where there is a disconnect between what is being said and what the listener is perceiving is going on. This article explains it all: https://www.businessballs.com/communication-skills/mehrabians-communication-theory-verbal-non-verbal-body-language-152/   2) The only way of generating ideas and innovating is by being in a room together shouting out ideas. Therefore if we can’t do this a

What factors in the workplace affect where we choose to work with others? Dr Kerstin Sailer and Ros Pomeroy from BrainyBirdz talk to Pilar about what they’re finding out in their experiments. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com What factors in the workplace affect where we choose to work with others? Dr Kerstin Sailer and Ros Pomeroy from BrainyBirdz talk to Pilar about what they’re finding out in their experiments. What does the experiment in the workspace that Ros and Kerstin run involve? An experiential approach. You can find out more about the experiment here: https://brainybirdz.net/2017/07/10/experimenting-with-workspace/ Understanding patterns of behaviour. So, when people have the choice to pick where they work from, what have you found affects that choice? Spatial visibility Daylight Furniture Personality Type Team Dynamics Perception of Task Prospect and refuge; intimacy, visibility. Ros mentions the software DepthmapX How do organisations use this information? How can data inform decision-making? How

We continue talking about co-working, this time with Bernie J. Mitchell, who tells us about engineering connections between members of co-working spaces. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com  From freelancing to supporting freelancers. The journey from visitor to key staff member Bernie's role in WorkHubs is connecting people. "Helping people finding their voice with each other." "Finding ways of connecting people without engineering it too much." What things haven't worked - (guess what, pure socialising is not the most important). Focused meetups. Bernie shares how he arrived at the most efficient mode of communication within the community. Involving the community in the running of the space. What does co-working mean to people? Learning about their members' stories: why they do what they do and how they ended up doing it. Do online platforms help co-working communities? What has Bernie tried? Bernie mentions: https://included.co/ https://www.loomio.org/https://fizzle.co/ Coworking Europe    

Have coworking spaces lost their initial purpose? Maya and Pilar discuss three recent articles about co-working: the diverse types of co-working spaces available, the move of corporations into the co-working space and whether blockchain might well bring back the original spirit of co-working. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com We love co-working spaces because they allow people to choose to work in spaces that inspire them. To drive the conversation, Maya and Pilar have focused on three articles: Part 1 https://styleblueprint.com/everyday/coworking-spaces/  We talk about the different type of coworking spaces, how some of them mirror what you would expect what you go into a corporate office. Now we can find a place to work in that suits us. We can even belong to a coworking space that matches our values/personality, while working for an organisation where we don’t feel so attached to their physical space. There are even now women only coworkind spaces… http://www.wired.co.uk/article/the-wing-allbright-women-c

Pilar talks to Dom Price from Atlassian about how to maintain a playful, collaborative mindset in a growing organisation. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com Introduction Pilar mentions these other podcast episodes that might be of interest: https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/podcasts/trello-and-coffee (with Brian Cervino from Trello) https://www.collaborationsuperpowers.com/evolve-rituals-include-remote-colleagues-2/ (with Dom Price, today’s guest) The Conversation The role of Work Futurist. His job involves looking at macro-level trends in the workplace to understand the complexity of the future world of work. (Although much of it is guess work...) How Dom takes the "less hippo, more elephant" approach into his interactions with other companies/organisations. What Atlassian does and where its employees are based. From 500 to +2,000 people and the change that this brings. How Dom’s role emerged and how Atlassian developed its own way of staying agile. They have now opened up their internal ways of working: http

There are some questions we ask ourselves when designing our physical collaboration space. We can use most of these questions to design our online collaboration space too. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com Pilar attended this event: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/experimenting-with-workspace-an-interactive-experience-tickets-41004688126# The importance of the location of toilets in the workplace https://workdesign.com/2016/03/why-restrooms-matter-in-the-workplace/ Culture What’s the culture like in your organisation? Competitive, collaborative? Will you design the workspace to support this or to challenge it? Identity What can you do to remind people they belong to your organisation/team when they log onto the workspace? Check out this episode about How Zappos Lives its Culture, in the Happy Melly podcast https://www.happymelly.com/zappos-lives-its-culture/ Do We Need to Keep People Together or Keep them Apart? Do you need spaces where people can mingle and bump into each other? The coffee machine as an “attr

Fernando Polo describes his company’s journey towards salary transparency, and tells us why they’re moving towards self-setting salaries at Good Rebels. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com Pilar mentions this article about millenials and their attitude towards salary transparency: https://amp-businessinsider-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.businessinsider.com/millennials-are-breaking-the-one-big-salary-taboo-reasons-why-2017-12 She recommends this episode from Ted Radio https://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/567499335/transparency And also episode 137 from the 21st Century Work Life podcast with David Burkus. We start at the beginning of Fernando’s journey, when he joined the company during a very difficult period. The present Good Rebels structure, company make-up, locations, etc. Fernando mentions the book “The Future of Management” by Gary Hamel. How he shifted his mindset, from a hierarchical mindset to self-management after reading that book. Fernando’s own book, which he co-authored with his brother:

Current research suggests that having text-based debates can diminish our perception of the other person and that audio-only conversation can build more empathy than that involving also visual elements. What does this mean for virtual teams? visit www.virtualnotdistant.com Pilar and Maya discuss the article: Why You Should Never Ever Argue with Anyone on Facebook According to Science https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/you-should-never-ever-argue-with-anyone-on-facebook-according-to-science.html Is the phrasing “according to science” trying to prevent us from questioning the findings? Do Emojis communicate emotion or belittle it? And what happens when we add contradictory emojis? Are managers nervous about giving negative feedback and causing conflict or upset? Maya gives an example of how easy it is to misinterpret a text message’s intentions. Are even full stops conveying emotion?! If you are nervous about how a message will be received, when possible, get on a call. Moving onto voice/video call also signals

Laura Roeder, founder of Meet Edgar, talks about how her company is structured and the role that clarity and transparency play in ensuring the right culture-employee fit. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com What is Meet Edgar, why it was set up and how. https://meetedgar.com/ Bootstrapping it, decisions around funding in the company. How Meet Edgar was/is funded and why Laura decided not to raise any venture capital for the business. How this funding model influences how people make decisions in the company. Apart from salaries, the company's financials are shared throughout the company, so that employees can understand why profit margins need to be high, where the money is coming from and where it's going. Company make-up and structure; the need for manageable timezones. Mainly working with others synchronously, but working from home. Products, Customer experience, Marketing, Operations. The company has set working hours, there is some flexibility but you're expected to be "at work" during core hours in the nor

Pilar has a go at translating this great summary of the world of work, written by the Spanish organisation Future for Work Institute.  You can have a look at the original article here:  http://www.futureforwork.com/noticias/nuestra-primera-navidad-juntos Don't forget to visit www.virtualnotdistant.com for more on remote work. Happy 2018!

Pilar and Lisette review the last year and look forward to see what 2018 might bring. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com “Leadership in Remote Teams” online course 12 – 23 Feb 2018 www.virtualnotdistant.com/open-workshops/ Why Lisette won’t be joining us for the first two months of 2018. The difficulty of saying “no” and how difficult it is to hear it. Last year’s episode was episode 104 www.virtualnotdistant.com/podcasts/2016-headlines This was the article predicting 2017 10 Workplace Trends You'll See in 2017 http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2016/11/01/workplace-trends-2017/#6954cfed3457 What we’ve seen happen in 2017 Skype for Business seems more popular while individuals seem to be moving away from Skype. How “co-working” means different things to different people. If you find it isolating to work from home, you need to be proactive in reaching out. The shift in mindset is slow… The use of technology in recruiting. “Experiences” as rewards. The gig economy. If you would like to know more about t

Maya Middlemiss shares her experiences as a freelancer and joining Virtual not Distant and Management 3.0. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com Check out our new open course Leadership in Remote Teams, starting in February 2018. We also deliver in-house. https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/open-workshops/ Find out more about the VIRTUAL not Distant® framework from this episode with Pilar on the More Time More Profit podcast https://www.moretimemoreprofit.com/podcast/069/ Maya is a freelance writer, who’s moved on from running a virtual company to joining two teams (and more!) online. Check out our About Us page to see Maya and Ross, our podcast polisher. Connect with Maya www.mayamiddlemiss.com She also contributes to this: valencia-property.com/denia/ She tells us a bit about her work – adopting different voices as a freelance writer and keeping the “heart” of it. The need to build up your repertoire of tools when joining virtual teams. How free are freelancers? Accountability, trust and measuring output, when m

Pilar hops on the microphone for this Fickle Friday episode:  Reflections on one of my jobs today as a voiceover. No personal stuff, no quick round robin of how everyone was feeling or any "chit chat". And yet we did a cracking job. So, why do we insist on sharing so much when we work with others in a team? (And to find out more about Pilar's work as a voiceover artist, check out "Hi, I'm Here for a Recording. The ordinary life of a voiceover artist.")

In this episode, Pilar talks about the fears that arise around the use/overuse of technology when we introduce a remote setup. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com In this episode, Pilar talks about the fears that arise around the use/overuse of technology when we introduce a remote setup. In the second part of the episode, she talks about the new open course run by Virtual not Distant. Check out this new, two-week course (though you’ll only need to commit about 30-60 minutes a day) on leadership in remote teams. With voucher code. https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/open-workshops/ https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/blog/sickness-remote-teams This episode will be of use to team members, managers and those responsible for supporting the shift to remote work / agile working in organisations. What are the fears of tech overload? - That all our interactions will be online and we will lose our human connection. - That we won’t be able to switch off. - That learning to use new platforms will be stressful and take up too m

Pilar talks to Elise Keith, co-founder of Lucid Meetings. We talk about why “training how to run meetings” often fails and why you should take a holistic approach when trying to improve meetings in your organisation. visit www.virtualnotdistant.com Pilar mentions the new course on Leading Remote Teams, which will run from 12 – 23 February 2018. More information here: https://virtualnotdistant.squarespace.com/open-workshops/ In this episode, Pilar talks to Elise Keith, co-founder of Lucid Meetings, a company providing a software product to help meeting leaders prepare and run their meetings, as well as offering consultancy/training on improving meetings in organisations. What does “scaling effective meeting habits” in an organisation refer to? Understanding what the purpose of each meeting is, what are you trying to achieve? There are lots of different types of meetings! https://www.lucidmeetings.com/glossary Should we stop calling “meetings” meetings? Specially in the online space. “The perverse psychology o

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