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

For more thoughts on this festival and to see the slides from the talk Virtual, not Distant, visit http://virtualnotdistant.com/no-pants-festival-reflections/

Today's guest covers a wide range of subjects: why he set up his blog The Couch Manager, why everyone should set up a blog for professional, personal and financial reasons and we even talk about failure. He's very recently (yesterday!) set up Ganttopia. Hassan Osman is an entrepreneur, author of the Amazon Kindle bestseller Influencing Virtual Teams: 17 Tactics That Get Things Done with Your Remote Employees and works as Senior Manager at Cisco. I've kept my introduction extremely short today because our conversation was very meaty and I had little to add on the subject. Here are the links and show notes. 00:30 Pilar's short intro. 04.20 The conversation starts. Hassan and Pilar catch up. 05:50 Hassan talks about why he set up his blog The Couch Manager where he blogs about virtual work and productivity. Do something small and just launch. Everything else will be easier after that. Hassan recommends David Allen's Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity and Tim Ferriss' The 4-Hour Work Week 12

In this episode, we tried something a little bit different. Lisette and I "hanged out" with Phil Montero from The Anywhere Office and talked about the role of the leader and the manager in virtual teams. Most of the conversation involved identifying what teams need to operate and whether it's always the responsibility of the person with the official title to provide this. Virtual teams are turning organisations into flatter hierarchies and we need to consciously adapt our leadership style to what the team needs. 04:40 Different virtual teams need different forms of leadership. The different types of relationships we have with our team. Lisette introduces the role of "wrangler" (as in person "rounding up", not disputing). 08:30 Does someone always need to be in charge? Someone needs to take care of the process - in this case the team leader or manager needs to take on the facilitator role. Or is it always the person with the official title, or the top of the organisation, that needs to look after the process,

Today's episode includes a Virtual Coffee with Lisette, where we talk about how to organise and lay down the foundations for useful team retrospectives. (We are borrowing the main aspects from the Agile world.) 00: 30 Pilar has some updates, including the live online virtual coffee with Phil Montero and Lisette, next week on Virtual Team Leader: Boss or Facilitator? 04:40 Lisettes's updates. Standing desks, focusing saying "no" and feedback from @guidostevens11:30 Pilar talks about two people she's met recently who energised her.14:40 What are agile retrospectives? (the basics) How they're different to away-days or staff meetings.22: 30 "As soon as one person is remote, the team is remote." Practical considerations for succesful virtual retrospectives. 24:25 The use of the sticky board: what's going well, what could be better, questions, suggestions. The importance of language in processes.Luke Hohmann: Co-located teams talk first and then swarm to the whiteboard later; virtual teams swarm first, then talk ab

00:30 Pilar recommends a TED talk by Ricardo Semler. (transcript can be found in wlpodcast.com)09:30 Mariano talks about Agility, Mindfulness, Global Teams and Connectivity as four crucial aspects of modern leadership development. 14:20 Reassesing leadership development in the context of global teams.17:55 Looking for local talent. 20:40 Mariano talks about his own practice in leadership development. 27:00 Positional authority versus respect.38:00 Making the move from the corporate world to setting up on your own. Check out www.wlpodcast.com and Mariano's company www.leadershipminds.co.uk  

This podcast focuses on working productively from home. 00:30 Pilar introduces the theme of productivity and some blogs. (Transcript in wlpodcast.com.)04:13 Kirstin ODonovan, Productivity Coach has a few words to say.07:15 The importance of clarity.08:50 Lisette's updates including update on the Happy Melly team and what do we mean by "working well together". Pilar's updates.18:15 Productivity - Top Five tips26:00 Have great equipment.30:55 Move your body.34:40 Plan your day the night before. 38:40 Pair collaboration.43.10 Collect metrics - evaluate your happiness.   For more links, look for episode 17 in www.wlpodcast.com

The guest in today's episode is Mike Russell, Creative Director of Music Radio Creative, amongst other things. 00:30 Pilar talks about how the world of voiceover has changed and she has some updates. virtualnotdistant.com/leading-virtual-teams-course/09:50 Mike talks about Music Radio Creative and how they help podcasters, djs and other broadcasters.18:30 New Media Europe 12-13 Sept 2015. What's happening there?23:05 Mike talks about how he started 'Youtubing' about Adobe Audition.27:45 Mike's journey as an audio professional.35:45 Working with people you can't see: trust and letting go.40:45 The different uses of social media. Personal vs personable Links: New Media Expo New Media Europe  Music Radio Creative and his personal website. @imikerussell Mike's Udemy course Adobe Audition Tutorial CC Audio Production Course Basics to Expert Mike's YouTube channel UK Podcasters Group

00:45 Pilar talks about "the problem with trust" at work and the Trust Equation, created by the Trusted Advisor. (for transcript check out wlpodcast.com)10:36 Virtual Coffee with Lisette.11:20 Pilar and Lisette plug the No Pants Festival. http://www.nopantsfest.be/13:00 Lisette talks about her Collaboration Superpowers workshop. 14:30 Trust at work19:15 Why does video help to build trust? Likeability and the power of small gifts.27.40 Should we use "tricks"?30:48 Trust starts with ourselves. 33:40 Propensity to trust and our own experiences. 39:40 Retrospectives and addressing the breakdown of trust. LINKShttp://www.thefutureorganization.com/future-work-podcast-episode-4-charles-h-green-trust-future-work/http://www.apaexcellence.org/assets/general/2013-work-and-wellbeing-survey-results.pdfhttp://trustedadvisor.com/articles

Pilar talks to Marta Texidor, Customer Success Manager for Microsoft, about how organisations are using Yammer. For the full show notes and pics of both guests, go to www.wlpodcast.com and search for episode 14. 00:30 Pilar shares an event she's taking part in on 25 January 2015.02:30 Pilar talks about some of the features of Yammer and things to look out for when you're thinking of introducing a new tool. (Transcript can be found in wlpodcast.com) 11:45 Marta talks about Yammer and her role in Microsoft. 15:35 What kind of organisations are using Yammer at the moment and the problems they're trying to solve. 25:21 The importance of having Leadership present in the network. How do we involve the CEO and Senior Management? Who can introduce the tool?35:30 We need to change our mindset to get the most out of these tools. 42:03 - 45:04 We move onto Alan, who's just integrated Yammer into their communications process

00:30 Pilar talks about why meetings might be going wrong. ( 08:30 Virtual Coffee with Lisette. Lisette talks a bit about her book Collaboration Superpowers. 12:55 Facilitating Online Meetings and distributing responsibility to make the meeting succesful. 15:30 What can we do to make online meetings succesful? 24:36 Having a back channel to communicate. 32:11 Why are people not "present" in meetings? Engagement. 40:50 Does everyone read the handouts?   We mention a very funny video from 2014. Here's a link: http://virtualnotdistant.com/why-you-should-keep-conference-calls-down-to-a-minimum/ http://www.collaborationsuperpowers.com/about-the-book/ http://virtualnotdistant.com/using-yammer/ https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/surgeons/surgical-standards/professionalism-surgery/gsp/documents/good-surgical-practice-pdf

00.30 Pilar talks about MOOCs and the use of technology in learning. 12.43 Shannon introduces Udemy and the story of its founder.16.30 What people are seeking to learn and how the way in which we interact with online learning is changing. 26.00 Udemy for Business and how corporate learning is evolving. 39.50 Pilar introduces her own Udemy course on Leadership and Change. For show notes, visit wlpodcast.com and look for episode 12.

Welcome to a tiny episode of 21st Century Work Life. I was actually just going to release a note saying that there wouldn’t be an episode today, but as I was about to do that, I got thinking about some work life related stuff and I thought, why not share some of it with you and make a mini-episode out of it. I’m currently away from my usual base but I’m still able to have a presence in social media for example, thanks to the way that some of these applications allow us to create content one moment and release it the other. Blog posts can be scheduled, podcasts can be pre-recorded and scheduled in advance so that they come out when I want them to, I can automate my tweets so that it looks like I’m active, when I might actually be completely unplugged and doing something completely different… To be honest, I didn’t schedule many tweets during the Christmas period, and that also made me think, I don’t really celebrate Christmas, I’m self-employed, and the kind of work I do means that I can pretty much set my own

Join Pilar and Lisette for a much longer virtual coffee than usual, recapping some of 2014's work stories and picking some of the trends. Our starting point was a series of articles, which you can find in www.wlpodcast.com. Do share with us your thoughts by commenting on the post with episode 10 or connecting via Twitter: @PilarOrti for myself and @lightling for Lisette. We wish you all the very best for 2015! 00:30 Lisette shares with us what she's been up to and her plans for next year. 04:50 Some buzzwords and concepts that became mainstream this year, including Working Out Loud. 12:25 Work-life fusion. 19:00 Telepresence and using video in training. 30:48 Networked organisations. 36:23 Flexible working goes mainstream. 47:19 Third space workplaces. 56:00 Jacob Morgan's article about whether the workplace can keep up

In this episode, Lisette shares her experience of recruiting four new people onto the virtual team of Happy Melly, of which she is part of. 00.30 Pilar gives a brief intro to the podcast, with some reasons of why this episode might also apply to co-located teams.03.50 Virtual coffee starts. Lisette talks through what she's up to, including her workshop at the NoPants Festival, 9 March 2015. 10.18 Lisette talks through the recruitment process for Happy Melly. 23.37 The onboarding process. For the show notes, visit wlpodcast.com

What is a coach and why is coaching an important skill to have at work? Pilar talks to Phil Hayes, Chairman of Management Futures. 00.31 Pilar talks a bit about coaching and how our new attitude to work has enabled this profession to grow. (Transcript below.) 09.10 Phil explains what coaching is. 14.30 How leadership in organisations has changed in the past years and how coaching can become an integral part of management. 21.50 Social value in organisations and inclusivity. 24.35 The importance of self-awareness and values. For more show notes, visit www.wlpodcast.com

00.30 Pilar talks a bit about why sharing our values might help us work better together. 07.46 What is 'ethical blindness'?13.45 Virtual coffee with Lisette Sutherland14.28 Lisette reports back on her experiment on Feedback.18.45 What do we mean by "values"? Why is this important for virtual teams?31.50 Cognitive dissonance.

How can digital skills be employed in the workplace? Sinead MacManus talks about the work that Fluency is doing in London and globally to help young people improve their digital skills.00.30 Pilar talks a bit about Sinead' s work (transcript below)08.00 Sinead talks about her work with Fluency and the blended learning approach17.23 Sinead explains what .io stands for20.35 Are schools (in the UK) addressing this shortage of digital skills in young people? For the show notes visit www.wlpodcast.com

Today’s show includes virtual coffee with the lovely Lisette Sutherland and during our chat we talk about feedback, about giving and receiving feedback and more importantly, about ensuring that feedback is a conversation that all team members have, not just a top down stream of information. 01:09 Pilar introduces the podcast and the feedback loop.03:40 How technology is helping us to give feedback and what it's addressing.11:05 A story from Paul Matthew's Capability at Work illustrating the need for feedback across the organisation.16: 45 Virtual Coffee with Lisette. Why the annual appraisal is not the best place for feedback, especially in virtual teams. 22.25 Written feedback (and some non-written specific points!).28.25 Team retrospectives.31.30 360 degree team feedback. For longer show notes, visit http://www.virtualteamleadership.co.uk/giving-feedback/

Jurgen Appelo is the author of Management 3.0 Workout. I talk to him about motivation in organisations and the story behind the organisation Happy Melly. Jurgen shares with us a couple of the tools he describes in his book, like the Delegation Boards and the KUDO cards. His interview starts around 8:20 mins and before that, I share some thoughts on motivation, which you can also read on the episode4 notes on www.wlpodcast.com

Today the focus is on teams – more specifically on communication in teams. My coffee with Lisette focuses on virtual teams and the things you can do to tune in to each other and keep the conversation going. 00:30 Introduction and the opportunity to change the way we work.06:00 Sandy Pentland and team's research into High Performing Teams 16:12 Virtual Coffee with Lisette - Tune-in your virtual team Enjoy! For extensive show notes visit www.wlpodcast.comPilar Orti blogs at www.virtualteamleadership.co.uk