For years, the conversation about remote work has centered on the differences between working remotely (often from home) and the way we always worked in co-located situations. But what if that comparison is outdated? Specifically, how do you train and on-board new workers who don’t have that frame of reference. In short, you can’t compare anything to working in an office if … [Read more...]
The Invisible Killer of Remote Teams
When we think about remote and hybrid teams, there are a lot of things that can go wrong. First of all, everything that negatively impacts a traditional team can cause havoc. Things like a lack of alignment, or micromanagement, or unclear objectives create problems no matter where people work. But there’s one factor that's lethal for remote teams that usually isn’t a problem … [Read more...]
Giving and Accepting Peer Feedback
When you think about what makes a high-functioning team (whether in person, remote or hybrid) really click, several factors come to mind. In our research for The Long-Distance Teammate, we discovered one of the most important things that contribute to a really solid, trusting, team culture: a constant flow of feedback from and to our colleagues. Giving is as important as … [Read more...]
Lessons Learned from a Pain in the Neck
Have you ever had an employee who was a pain in the neck? One who you just didn’t like interacting with, and who created more work for you than everyone else? If you’re honest, the answer is yes. Don’t feel bad, every manager has, and we won’t ask the person’s name. Your secret is safe with us. What have you learned from them? I recently heard that a former employee of mine … [Read more...]
Avoiding Cliques on Your Hybrid Team
When you have a hybrid team, some of your team works in the office, some work from home, and some work who-knows-where depending on the day. That can make it hard to create a cohesive team. It isn’t that the team intentionally doesn’t want to work with people who don’t share their workspace, or that managers mean to exclude certain people from team tasks. But whether or not … [Read more...]