THREAD: Some takeaways from ~decade of remote management.
1/ Remote work creates distance between what you feel and say. Use that space to improve the consistency, sensitivity, and strategy of your comms with those you manage. Don't hit send unless it's positive & constructive.
1/ Remote work creates distance between what you feel and say. Use that space to improve the consistency, sensitivity, and strategy of your comms with those you manage. Don't hit send unless it's positive & constructive.
2/ Remote meetings can be way better or way worse than in-person. Good ones leverage parallel contributions in shared docs, shared review of content, and built-in excellent documentation. Bad ones rely on caucus formats (loudest and surest speak most) and people check out.
3/ Good remote meetings require rituals, preparation, & attention to detail. Make an agenda, share in advance, design formats that allow for diff styles of thinkers to engage (writers, speakers, introverts, extroverts), practice good collaborative hygiene (be on time, calendar).
4/ Model what you want to see: Share clean documentation, clean & format your emails/comms so people can skim & refer back. Send calendar invites to show you value that labour. Don't back channel unless it's urgent/important. Mute! Practice active listening. Turn on video.
5/ Ask what information people need in what formats to be in the loop and connected. Invest in making that information available in ways that resonate.
6/ Encourage connection that is outside of direct collaboration. This will increase ambient knowledge of what's going on in the org and will support serendipitous learning and ideas.
7/ Assume that when you communicate outside of work hours, people will read what you send, feel pressure to respond, and won't be getting the space from work they need to refresh for the next day.
8/ Recognise diff preferences for comms channels. Establish norms but don't police practice if it doesn't impede work. Some people hate email; some people hate chat; some people hate messengers; some people hate project management apps. Strange people love all of these things.
9/ Asynchronous communication that flags heavy issues probably creates persistent state of anxiety until you can connect. Don't be vague when you are scheduling time to meet with someone. And if something is big, be available in chat as people process news.
10/ Create shared spaces for life updates, links to books and good readings, goofy giffing. Play in those spaces with your team so they know you're serious about fun. Remote spaces can be really dry if you don't water them.
