During the issue of coronavirus, most of us are working from home. Therefore, find ways on how to create a successful collaboration for remote working.
2. 2
Remote Collaboration
1. Find a dedicated place at your home
to have a quiet focus space for working.
2. Separate “work environment” from “private
environment”; even when working from home
in order to increase work-life-balance.
3. Set clear boundaries for room mates and
family to allow you to focus.
4. Keep your morning routine as you would
when going to work: Eat breakfast, get
cleaned up, dress for work! This helps to get
you into a “work mode”.
5. Create an ergonomic workplace; use a
comfortable char, desk and close your doors!
FOR YOURSELF
1. Define Remote Working Agreements with your
team to set expectations right.
2. Make your work schedule public, so that
everyone knows when they can reach out to
you.
3. Always use video when calling someone.
Seeing a persons face increases awareness
and communication.
4. Practice “Working out loud”: Share regularly
what you are working on set measurable goals
for the day and share them with your team
(e.g. during Dailies!)
5. Communicate often and a lot within the team.
If you feel you are overcommunicating it will
just be the right amount!
6. Plan time for chit-chat: Use the first five
minutes of a call for casual exchange, plan
“coffee calls” to just talk, …
FOR YOUR TEAM
3. 3
1. ALWAYS USE VIDEO; it increases attention and
prevents yourself from drifting off
2. Keep discipline:
1. mute yourself when you’re not talking
2. Let others talk
3. Reduce distractions (other programs, in the
room, …)
3. Plan for technical failure; have replacement tools &
techniques available
4. Invest in high-quality hardware (webcams &
headphones); there nothing worse than bad video
and audio quality
5. Integrate your household members; It is okay when
your significant other or kids crash your call, they
can smile and wave into the camera.
6. Use additional collaboration tools; share screens,
online whiteboards and documents as much as
possible, visualise!
7. Be gentle on interruptions
1. Set measurable goals for the day
2. Align goals with your team
3. Evaluate your progress often
4. Split your work in chunks; use timeboxing to work
on them (see Pomodoro technique)
5. Take care of your needs:
1. Plan regular breaks
2. Keep lunch time (e.g. with your family!)
3. Take time off, when you get stuck in your work.
6. Find an accountability buddy to keep you focussed
on your work.
7. Reflect & adapt continuously – get together with
your team and figure out what’s working well and
what needs to change!
TIPS FOR PRODUCTIVITY
EFFECTIVE VIDEO CALLS
4. 4
Leading from Home – Remote Leadership in a Nutshell
As remote leader I …
1. … recognise that trust is more valuable than tight control.
2. … will plan for flexibility rather than rigid work schedules.
3. … understand communication is key for success in collaboration.
4. … will enable people by giving them the support, trust and environment they need.
5. … am responsible for the well-being of my colleagues.
• Keep morale high by
personal communication; make
sure people feel in-touch with
each other
• Express gratitude and kudos
regularly (e.g. via kudobox.co/)
• Loop-in people on decision making
PRINCIPLES FOR REMOTE LEADERSHIP
• Communicate transparently,
clearly and concise
• Over-communicate; the more the
better as sharing information does
not ensure everyone got the
message
• Check-in on people via video call
regularly (e.g. schedule 1-on-1
calls)
• Set clear, tangible and
documented goals for your people
(e.g. look into OKRs)
• Measure work results, not hours
invested
• Inspect and adapt with your
people regularly to improve
collaboration
PRODUCTIVITY CONNECTEDNESS COMMUNICATION
5. 5
• Giant List of Collaboration Tools - https://www.collaborationsuperpowers.com/tools/
• Pomodoro Technique for Task Chunking - https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique
• Virtual Kudobox for giving praise - http://kudobox.co/
• Beginners Guide to OKRs - https://felipecastro.com/resource/The-Beginners-Guide-to-OKR.pdf
• Online Planning Poker - https://www.pointingpoker.com/
Useful Links