My experience is that, by working collaboratively, you get the best work the team can do, as compared to the best work an individual can do. I just don't believe in the single-genius model. The collective intelligence of the team is greater than any individual. 1/6
In that light, The hostility from some in the recent thread about how essential I think video is for remote work is interesting. You don't work collaboratively by standing in separate rooms with your eyes closed and yelling at each other. 2/6
Some seem intent on doing exactly that, however (both remotely and in the office). Not interacting closely with other people is seen by some as a benefit. That brings us back to the problems of the isolated-individual model, though. 3/6
Feel free to work that way if you want, but bear in mind that you're then not really part of a team at all in that situation, so can't leverage the team's intelligence. That's fine but it will have a negative impact on the quality of both the overall and your individual work. 4/6
For example, it adds delays as at least some of the work that effectively goes on in secret will have to be redone. If you're working alone, you are working with less information & feedback. 5/6
Moving back to remote work, it's inherently less efficient than colocated, so we need to leverage all the tools at our disposal to compensate. Video is an important tool for doing exactly that IME. 6/6
I should add that I don't think that you can't work collaboratively if video isn't in the picture. I personally think that it's harder, however.
