Product Talk EP 433 - Upwork Director of Engineering on Navigating Remote Communication Challenges
Jul 26, 2024
Sebastiano Armeli, the Director of Engineering at Upwork, brings over a decade of experience from giants like Spotify and PayPal. He dives into the complexities of leading remote teams, emphasizing the need for clarity and empathy in communication. Sebastiano shares practical strategies for optimizing tools like Slack and setting clear expectations for responses. He discusses the significance of mentorship and identifying high performers in remote settings, while also touching on the future of remote work and the key traits of successful product managers.
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Episode notes
Async Audio Experiment Fails
- Sebastiano tried async audio messages but people replied with text instead.
- He abandoned the experiment since the team didn’t adopt audio for work communication.
Set Core Working Hours
- Set core working hours to expect synchronous presence and timely responses.
- Use time zones of headquarters as a reference point for global teams.
Organize Slack Channels
- Use Slack's sidebar starring and sections to organize important channels.
- Limit starred channels to about 10 for effective prioritization.
