Articles
Collaboration
Remote 1:1s are more important than you think
One-on-one meetings with your direct reports or leader are hard to get right in person and even harder online. Experience shows that omitting one-on-one meetings is riskier than you may have thought.
“The 1:1 is the only forum where you can have an honest, private, conversation with each other about what’s really going on—professionally and personally.” (Austin, 2016)
“Failing to use time with direct reports in a meaningful way or, worse, skipping these meetings altogether, can lead to hig…
Mastering visibility is one of the keys to being seen as a “reputable employee”.
Regardless if you’re working for an old-school leader who thinks remote working is a misguided fantasy (Gerstener, 2024) or a new-school leader who’s into hybrid work, autonomy, and management by objectives (MBO), remote workers face an up-hill journey being visible and relevant. The age-old adage of “out of sight, out of mind” remains pertinent, even with the assistance of modern technology and communications.
“Despite appreciating MBO and autonomy, remote workers [find they must] self-reinfor…
Hybrid Town Halls make your remote team unhappy
Hybrid Town Halls prioritise the needs of the in-office staff and leaders over the needs of remote or distributed staff. Where a large percentage of the audience is joining virtually, an all-virtual event instead ensures everyone is given the same experience and opportunity.
Why it matters
Considering the needs of everyone on your team when organising Town Hall meetings, not only creates a better experience for staff, it’s also a better use of everyone’s time (and your money).
Take action
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Their camera isn't actually broken
The absence of faces in online meetings presents a distinct hurdle to effective communication and engagement. 1
Why it matters
- Cameras on in meetings improves attention and enhances learning and social experiences.
- Effective collaboration and problem solving needs to be specifically addressed in remote work environments, it doesn’t always happen naturally.
Take action
- Not all meetings need camera on, but for the ones that do, set expectations up front
- Give all attendees a role, they …
Lessons we can learn from extreme remote work.
Not all remote teams work from a desk. Remote area firefighting teams work in a dynamically changing environment in wilderness environments. They don’t leave things to chance. They are intentional about how they communicate, collaborate and respond to changing circumstances.
Why it matters
The outer extremes of remote working can offer useful insights for achieving high performance in any remote team.
Take action
- Provide training to increase remote worker and leader capability.
- Have a pla…