Today’s post is the audio companion to the Virtual not Distant monthly newsletter, which you can sign up to here. Every month, Pilar shares with readers articles she’s come across on the web, books she’s read (or is reading) and podcast episodes she’s listened to. And today, she’s joined by Marcus Wermuth, who is an Engineering Leader specialising in virtual leadership.| Marcus is back on this show, this time talking about his recent professional transition: laying himself off from his job as Head of Engineering. This has been a very difficult decision to take, but he’s followed his own principles, and stayed true to his identity as servant leader.

Coffee Break Articles:

First off, check out Marcus’ article on “laying himself off”, If you are interested in hearing another conversation about how to strike the balance between transparency and discretion, check out episode 69 of the Management Café. 18.30 MINS Deutsche Bank's 3-day-a-week return-to-office policy has been met with fierce criticism by staff who say there isn't enough space for everyone via Business Insider The title says it all, but worth looking at some of the detail to understand the risks of mandatory planning looks like.

Right to disconnect: Implementation and impact at company level

Recent research shows that having laws about the right to disconnect is not enough to prevent employees feeling like they have to be constantly available. Company culture and in-house companies are needed too.

10 Ways to Build Better Relationships Working Remotely A blog post that could have been a short ebook. A thoughtful article with specific advice on how to build relationships .

Are Enterprise Social Platforms All Talk?

Past guest Wietske Van Osch has just released research into why enterprise social networks need to be run differently to the social networks employees might be used to, for employees and the organisation to get the most out of them. Gifts and Greats for True Feedback via Mark Kilby A very useful post to guide us through formulating feedback on other people’s work, and how to structure it.

Listening Recommendations:

Podcast: The Rich Roll Podcast Episode: #815 CHARLES DUHIGG: HOW TO UNLOCK THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF CONNECTION Date: 22 February 2024 An interview with journalist/writer Charles Duhigg, talking about building strong relationships. Podcast: Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin Long-form Interviews with a range of guests, from a range of industries. Podcast: Collaboration Superpowers Episode: Agile Retrospectives 2.0 with Esther Derby, Diana Larsen & David Horowitz Date: 5 March 2022 Lisette Sutherland talks to the authors of the new edition of Agile Retrospectives 2.0. Pilar hasn’t listened to it yet, but highly recommends it - she’s a great fan of David Horowitz, who guested on this show back in 2017, in episode 129 on Building a Distributed Business. Podcast: Sliced Bread Episode: Fitness Trackers (UK link, but look for it in your podcast app) 29 Feb 2023

Book Recommendations:

Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building by Claire Hughes Johnson Collabor(h)ate: How to build incredible collaborative relationships at work (even if you’d rather work alone)

by Deb Mashek PhD

Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection by Charles Duhigg

The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleyman Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggings

Make Your Art No Matter What by Beth Pickens

You can connect with Marcus Wermuth on LinkedIn and check out his website: www.marcuswermuth.com

Other episodes with Marcus: WLP291 Starting a New Role Remotely WLP219 OnBoarding (or Integration) in Remote Teams and Organisations WLP188 - From Maker to Manager in a Distributed Company

Managing Vendor Incidents with Mandi Walls