21st Century Work Life

Pilar introduces the concept of Cognitive Tunneling, after a couple of things that happened yesterday to her. And she recommends "Smarter, Faster, Better" bu Charles Duhigg, once again... visit www.virtualnotdistant.com

In this episode, Pilar and Lisette talk about how having a remote set-up and a flexible workforce affects how we work in the office. 55mins  visit www.virtualnotdistant.com What is "remote" anyway? Even people working across different floors perceive themselves as being distant from each other. Another great advocacy point for adapting the office to remote working. It will benefit teamwork that happens across floors, not just those working outside the building. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/SupportingDistributedTeamwork.pdf Where is the information rather than who has the information. http://blog.idonethis.com/remote-company/ This doesn't just make us more productive, it also stops hierarchies forming around who holds the information. Not to mention that people can leave on holiday (or leave the company) without leaving gaps of information in the team. Can some behaviours around availability and reflection become more acceptable? It seems to be more acceptable not to be available when you're working away from the office than when you're physically present there. What symbols and signals can we use in the office to ask people not to disturb us? How can offices be designed to offer an environment for focused work? Isaac said: "Listening to your "learning in virtual teams" podcast. Really enjoying your thoughts on taking time to let things "sink in" during the working day. That is what I like the most about my work from home days. I am super productive (I control my distractions) and because of that I feel ok taking the extra time to "process" what I'm experiencing. In the office, "processing" time is often seen as wasted time." http://www.onofficemagazine.com/interiors/item/4663-airbnb-s-low-tech-and-flexible-portland-office Autonomy and autonomous decision making. Be careful if you start enabling people to have flexible work schedules: are they also being given the autonomy usually associated with that? The question of transparency.In virtual we have to make more communication open and thinking process explicit. Can this translate to the office? https://thefutureorganization.com/balance-employee-freedom-organizational-control/ We'll carry on in episode 116!  

In this episode, Pilar talks about what happens when people speak different languages in the office, how many people still reject having online interactions and the difficulties of working out loud in virtual teams.  Get in touch with your thoughts through www.virtualnotdistant.com When speaking a different language in the office is a problem. Finding out whether it's a sign of something else going on. Having informal conversations and avoiding directives.  Pilar mentions this Today programme http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08g2ty8  which talks about how The Care Quality Commision in the UK has issued a warning about two online doctor services, which can also prescribe medicines. If you want to read more about this particular issue, go here: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/mar/03/cqc-warns-online-doctor-services-may-pose-risk-to-public  Leaving the whole unreliability of some services to one side, and the state of the health service, why are we not embracing online video interactions? A video call might be great for a status update team meeting; a phone call might be the best way of checking the status of a decision before we move on with our work; an online collaboration platform might be the best way to explain a problem you need help with. When you first begin to work in this way, it might seem strange because you might need agreement on some of these decisions, but as long as the tech is working (and I know that sometimes that can be a big IF), at one point you won’t even realise that you’re switching between tools – you’ll just notice that you’re switching conversations. And if you’re in the same location, plan for time in the same physical space: no-one is forbidding you. But plan for that and try to pick the right environment or locations. How does the tool affect your team interactions? Blog post on the benefits of working out loud  https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/blog/a-problem-shared-is-a-problem-identified The difficulties of working out loud. Get in touch with your thoughts through www.virtualnotdistant.com

In today's episode, Pilar and Lisette share some of the ways in which they learn about themselves, their work and their colleagues. Online Learning does not mean watching videos! (1) Overview What do we mean by "learning"? Kolb's cycle. Involves change. A lot of our learning is experiential. Experience (concrete experience) Reflect (reflective observation) Theorise, generalise (abstract conceptualisation) How could it work next time? Plan. (active experimentation) From "How do I use the tool?" to "How do I approach you?" Just in case (most formal learning) vs Just in Time (most informal learning)  (2) Informality Spectrum Social aspect of learning - learning from others through their point of view; building empathy From chatting over coffee to structured events.  (3) Specific examples of learning through Virtual TT Trust - learning about topic but also about turning knowledge conversations into content. Formal - learn about trust; informal, learn about others, myself Lean coffee and mentoring - formal / self-directed by your own topic Informal/directed by others by observing, listening, empathy Organise events - learn about the people and dynamics. As we work with others, we adapt and learn about ourselves, about those we work with and the world around us. 

Sam Mednick introduces herself. She's an audacious journalists and also a member of the Happy Melly team.  Sam talks about what it's like to work in Happy Melly One. It seems difficult to separate happiness at work from happiness in life in general. It's ok now to admit that what happens in life affects our work and viceversa.  What makes trust possible in this virtual team? Sam talks about sharing values and having honest conversations and touching base with each other on video.  Pilar mentions "Faster, Smarter, Better" by Charles Duhigg and psychological safety.  Executive Coaching and current challenges executives face.  The nature of coaching, it need not be remedial.  Check out Sam's website: Blueprint Coaching.  Sam's podcast series around Courageous Conversations Sam shares what has helped people to have these difficult conversations. (Yes, step by step...) Sam's "appointment with herself". Why does she do it and what is this "high-level meeting"? What drives Sam to conflict zones? What does she actually do when she gets there? How does she find the stories? How does Sam organise her time to manage to juggle all the different things she does? Sam's journey through radio and how it's different to podcasting.  Check out Serious About Happiness, the podcast Sam hosts.  Feedback in virtual teams - "permission" to give and ask for feedback. Are we afraid to ask for feedback?  Sam tells about her experience getting feedback in Happy Melly.  visit www.virtualnotdistant.com

We talk about protecting our work when working outside the office.  INTRO and Catch-up Duncan featured us! http://banoffeesolutions.co.uk/archive/podcasts-for-remote-working/ Programming and Data Science blog by Duncan Thomson We recommend that you watch The Newsroom Join us for Virtual Team Talk.  Sococo has a new "meetings" feature, which makes it easy to organise meetings in the space and also to tap someone on the shoulder to let them know you want to talk to them, and they can easily refused. The Main Conversation We're looking at security from three points of view. From the organisation: Can I trust the people? Can i trust the tools? And for both organisations and individuals "Am i/Are we safe?" Having a policy.  Remember that people can look over your shoulder and read your emails... Can employees from the external tools we use read our data? Business Daily Protecting Your Online Data, 1 Feb 2017 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04qnwh4 In Business How Safe Are your Secrets Aug 2016 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07myxkw What's the deal with IT? Are they lazy or are we not making the case for choosing our own tools? Beware the hackers: Usb sticks being left on the pavement outside offices; emails from people in our organisation, that are not really from anyone we know...  Jailed by Skype! http://metro.co.uk/2017/02/03/judges-will-soon-be-able-to-jail-people-over-skype-6426263/ http://snip.ly/5rn3f#http://leavingworkbehind.com/introduction-to-digital-security/

In today's episode, Pilar talks to Caroline Crampton, Assistant Editor of the New Statesman magazine.  Get in touch through www.virtualnotdistant.com Caroline explains her role as Assistant Editor of the New Statesman, where she works mainly on the print version of the magazine. What does a "hybrid publication" look like? How does it sustain itself? Caroline talks us through the different tasks that make up her role and gives us a brief history of the New Statesman. Caroline's podcast with Anna Leszkiewicz, the SRSLY podcast. Why she started the podcast and how she engages with her listeners through live events. Listening for pleasure or professional interest: work/life integration From podcast listener to podcasting and Caroline's Podcast column in the New Statesman. http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/podcasts/2016/10/why-it-s-time-start-writing-about-podcasts-culture Caroline mentions one of her latest posts: http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/podcasts/2017/02/who-tells-your-story-how-hamilton-fans-are-coming-together-through-podcasts Caroline's No Complaints newsletter; how and why she shares the articles she comes across during her research and work http://carolinecrampton.com/

A short, on the go episode inspired by a recent conversation from a manager who had been told that people "could now work from home". Find out what works, don't rely on your experience when you do it on ad-hoc basis. You can't just say, "Ok, you can now work from home". You need to lay down a new infrastructure. It's a change programme!

In this episode, we talk about the four areas of teamwork you should address in your remote team. Introduction: What Caught Our Eye? RSI and general health when working with so much tech. More or Less 3 Jan Does Sweden Really have a Six Hour Day? http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04n7vlg Pilar mentions Companies Without Managers, the episode from In Business that talks about the Buurtzorg model. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03045tx We talk about the introduction of Slack threaded messages and the importance of revising your communication norms; pros and cons for teams and communities. https://slackhq.com/threaded-messaging-comes-to-slack-417ffba054bd#.gx6t5ndmt Lisette mentions this episode 46 from The Future Work podcast https://thefutureorganization.com/forget-work-life-balance-its-all-about-work-life-integration/ If you would like to join Virtual Team Talk: https://virtualteamtalk.com/ Zoom's cash injection: http://blog.zoom.us/wordpress/2017/01/17/ceo-announcement-zoom-partners-with-sequoia-in-100-million-funding-round-releases-zoom-4-0/ The Main Conversation: Simulating the office online, how we create the team agreement. What's infopresence? Culture in virtual teams. What is normal behaviour for our team? Diversity in teams. Reference to the earlier episode on Communication in Virtual Teams. http://virtualnotdistant.com/communication-remote-team/ How do we avoid basic misunderstandings by creating team agreements. Hosting pain-free online meetings where everyone contributes. "We're going into a new medium but we're not adapting." Giving and receiving feedback in remote teams. (You can listen to Lisette and Pilar's first ever conversation in Collaboration Superpowers episode 4.) http://www.collaborationsuperpowers.com/4-humanizing-remote-work-pilar-orti/ "All mediums are not created equal." We also refer to the last episode on facilitating virtual meetings: http://virtualnotdistant.com/facilitating-virtual-meetings/ Showing appreciation. Find out more about Working from Anywhere: http://www.collaborationsuperpowers.com/

In this episode, Pilar Orti talks to Nancy Settle-Murphy about how she facilitates online and hybrid meetings.  Having conversations in public when you meet someone for the first time. Being a coach/trainer/facilitator Who does Nancy work with? Hybrid meetings. Nancy talks about one of her clients and why they decide to hold hybrid meetings. Involving people calling into the in person meeting in activities. Using the technology wisely. Making online team meetings work. Does splitting responsibilities in a meeting translate into how the team operates outside of meetings? Should roles be assigned by the manager? The changes that Nancy has seen throughout her 22 years working as a virtual meeting facilitator. Are there more international teams now in corporations? It's the ability to collaborate asynchronously that's evolved and changed how we operate. The assumptions we make when we're using the same language. "The hope is that we mean the same things when we say something, but in the virtual world we need to find shared understanding and that takes time." The absence of visual cues is still a barrier to understanding in virtual teams. The need to take the time to understand silence. Making assumptions about others. Nancy shares an anecdote. Why are more people not using video? - Bandwidth, infrastructure (national, company-wide) -"Bad hair days" - Screen-sharing takes priority - People don't want to be caught out multitasking. - Lack of tools and technology. Lack of choice. Should outsiders challenge the team to use video? Or rather, when should we encourage the use of video? The stage of the team, the kind of conversations they're having or need to have. Ask thoughtful questions that will get people talking. Have a note pad where you take notes down. Creating a team photo with names and faces. Be aware of who's participating. Consciously allow time for reflection. Avoid only rewarding the people who speak first. Ask questions to pull people in. Not "Anne, you haven't spoken in a bit." Ask them a question relevant to them, so they're pulled into the conversation. (This only happens if you know the people around you.) Team Building through the work Building trust amongst team members in project teams. It's difficult to build trust if the only time you come together with your team is a weekly call. Figure out who needs to deepen their relationship and design interdependent tasks. They will need to have deeper conversations between them. Don't just design by location. Allow for smaller teams to emerge. Pilar mentions Team Genius Build and identify the influencers and stakeholders outside of the team that team members need to be talking to. The changing role of the manager and official team leader. The importance of making the norms explicit. "Shared operating norms" Establishing presence How do we schedule meetings Use of IM and email and other tools Levels of responsiveness http://www.guidedinsights.com/articles-guides/ Get in touch with Nancy http://www.guidedinsights.com/contact-us/