The rules are the same. Treat people well. Expect great things from them. Be human. The details though, they make all the difference. Managing the nuances of engagement and productivity with a couple thousand miles between you and your team is both science and art. My name is Shane. I have been running a fully distributed team of 20-40 North American creatives for the last 5 years. Our success has come from a cohesive set of technical and cultural systems: the right people, the right environment and the right tools.
* Build the right team: happy, helpful, curious & accountable
* The rhythm: offer consistency
* Relationships in the void
* Use the right tools
5. 1.āÆ The Future of Teams
2.āÆ Building the Right team
3.āÆ Rhythm
4.āÆ Relationships
5.āÆ Communication & Technology
6.āÆ Conclusion
DISTRIBUTEDTEAMS REQUIRE
AUNIQUEAPPROACH
9. 50-FOOT RULE
Teams on separate ļ¬oors (more than 50 feet apart)
actually talk less than a distributed team.
Distance
Probability of collaboration
Same corridorā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦. 10.3%
Same ļ¬oorā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦... 1.9%
Different ļ¬oorā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦... 0.3%
Different buildingā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦.. 0.4%
Study by Bell Labs & University of Arizona 1988
11. ā¢āÆ The future of work
ā¢āÆ Highly productive
ā¢āÆ Major beneļ¬ts
ā¢āÆ Signiļ¬cant challenges
ā¢āÆ Calling all leaders
FUTURE OFTEAMS REVIEW
13. THE RIGHT PEOPLE
ā¢āÆ Talented
ā¢āÆ Happy
ā¢āÆ Helpful
ā¢āÆ Curious
ā¢āÆ Accountable
14. TALENTED
1)āÆ Normal interviews often donāt work
2)āÆ Remote interviews certainly donāt
3)āÆ Try before you buy
4)āÆHire slowly and ļ¬re quickly
20. get multiple contracts
Not everyone is going to be the perfect ļ¬t
* In 2010, we tried 43 contractors of which 15 have multiple contracts (good year)
1 OUT OF 3*
21. ā¢āÆ Failures are inevitable, plan for them
ā¢āÆ Try before you buy
ā¢āÆ Figure out YOUR culture
ā¢āÆ S&Pās: Happy, Helpful, Curious,
ā¢āÆ Accountable
THE RIGHT TEAM REVIEW
22. Can anyone succeed as a valuable member of
distributed team with the right training and support?
Do people have speciļ¬c predispositions that make
them more likely to succeed?
CHALLENGEBreak
Ā into
Ā groups
Ā and
Ā discuss
Ā the
Ā following
Ā ques6on:
Ā
27. ā¢āÆ What did you do last?
ā¢āÆ What will you do next?
ā¢āÆ What is in your way?
ā¢āÆ Do you need a meeting?
We
Ā call
Ā it
Ā a
Ā āScrumā
Ā
THE REGULAR STANDUP: SCRUM
28. Everything has an
Just because you asked for help or for
someone else to collaborate does not relinquish
accountability. It is yours until it is done.
OWNER
29. Clear Feedback is Not Optional
The only true measure of feedback quality: WTFs / Minute
Adapted froman OSNews.com comic
30. MEASURE PERFOMANCE NOT HOURS
We should focus on what people get done,
not how many hours or days worked. Just as
we don't have a nine-to-ļ¬ve day policy, we
don't need a vacation policy.
From the Netļ¬ix āReference Guide on our Freedom & Responsibility Cultureā
ā
35. Rhythm Review
ā¢āÆ Create regular habits
ā¢āÆ Make sure everyone knows how to win
ā¢āÆ Manage the queue artfully
ā¢āÆ Run a regular standup meeting
ā¢āÆ Everything has an owner
ā¢āÆ Provide clear and explicit feedback
ā¢āÆ Figure out a consistent communication pattern
ā¢āÆ Measure performance not time
ā¢āÆ Help people with their time management
ā¢āÆ Respect personal load and priorities
36. A couple times a year, one of our highest performers
will simply vanish mid-sprint. No explanations, no
warnings, no call-backs. 98% of the time we can
count of him, but those time he disappears are
painful. The cause is burnout. How do you monitor
your distributed teamās mental health? How is it
different with a remote worker?
CHALLENGEBreak
Ā into
Ā groups
Ā and
Ā discuss
Ā the
Ā following
Ā ques6on:
Ā
39. BEARTFULLY
It is the natural state of things to be disconnected
from a distance. It takes additional effort to create
camaraderie through commonality.
INTRUSIVE
40. D
Ā I
Ā
S
Ā C
Ā
Outgoing
Ā
Reserved
Ā
Task
Ā People
Ā
Dominant
Ā
Driving
Ā
Doāer
Ā
Inspiring
Ā
InteracDve
Ā
InteresDng
Ā
SupporDve
Ā
Stable
Ā
SensiDve
Ā
ConscienDous
Ā
Competent
Ā
Careful
Ā
46. WAIT FOR ME!
It is incredibly easy to become disconnected. As a
leader, you might want to pause and see if anyone
is following you. Ask your team āHow can I be a
better managerā?
Iām your leader!
47. 6TH SENSE Working with people you canāt see is like surļ¬ng in the dark.
48. Relationship Review
ā¢āÆ Be open, honest and nosy
ā¢āÆ Pay attention to personality
ā¢āÆ Hit home runs
ā¢āÆ Engage using social media
ā¢āÆ Create online social spaces
ā¢āÆ Check out Co-Working
ā¢āÆ You canāt replace face to face
ā¢āÆ Intuition & self reļ¬ection
49. CHALLENGE
What are good ways to reward remote workers?
I want to give a small reward to my developer for accomplishing
a goal, such as taking them to lunch. However, we are a remote
team, so I cannot take them to lunch. Yet, it seems like just
sending them a gift card or something doesn't convey the same
sense of gratitude. In other words, it isn't about the money...it's
the thought that counts. ā
ā
Question from Quora: http://b.qr.ae/eWqvEg
Break
Ā into
Ā groups
Ā and
Ā discuss
Ā the
Ā following
Ā ques6on:
Ā
51. THE PROBLEMS FOR WHICH WE USE TOOLS
ā¢āÆ Communication
ā¢āÆ Community
ā¢āÆ Meetings
ā¢āÆ Track Work / Accountability
ā¢āÆ Knowledge Tracking
ā¢āÆ Source Control
ā¢āÆ Collaboration
64. Control the Source
ā¢āÆ Dropbox
ā¢āÆ SVN / GIT
ā¢āÆ Shared drives
ā¢āÆ Google Docs, Open Ofļ¬ce
ā¢āÆ Documentation (Wikis)
CONTROLTHE SOURCE
65. Try things
ā¢āÆ Be agile with your systems
ā¢āÆ Have reviews and elicit feedback from your
whole team.
ā¢āÆ Ask people: āWhat do you know about our
team & tools that I donāt see?ā
Synchronize your watchesControl the SourceTRYTHINGS
67. ā¢āÆ Be agile with your systems
ā¢āÆ Synchronous vs asynchronous
ā¢āÆ Work comfortably
ā¢āÆ Email is the last option
ā¢āÆ Control the source
ā¢āÆ Collaboration is easy with the right tools
ā¢āÆ Review for feedback
Technology Review