Working remotely is hard . If you work from home , it ’ s really important to have quick , frequent interactions with the people you collaborate with . This will allow you to pick up on people ’ s most subtle emotional cues .
I learned this from my boss when I lived in Russia . He made a point of calling me every day from New York , if only for a threeminute check-in call . He had operations in Africa in the 1970s and had learned the importance of frequent communication to pick up on emotional cues from people in far-flung locations .
A video call , if you have high-speed internet access , is second best to in-person communication . If the connection is spotty , use your phone for voice and video as a bonus , muting your computer . Phone is third best . Email and text should be avoided if at all possible .
It always feels faster to fire off an email or text , but when I think about all the times I had to spend hours clearing up a misunderstanding that arose from an email that was misinterpreted , I realize that it ’ s actually faster to pick up the phone and talk live .
Need more work from home hacks ? My Improvising Radical Candor co-creator Kelly Leonard and I put together some tips to help everyone work better together while physically apart .
WORK FROM HOME TIPS FROM KIM & KELLY
1 . Listen to the end of everyone ’ s sentence before you respond . We have an improv exercise where you have to respond to someone by starting your response with the last word they said — try it — you ’ ll realize you don ’ t listen to the end of sentences .
2 . Cede the need to be right — avoid group mind and , instead , utilize group intelligence .
3 . Make sure there is a clear meeting agenda that everyone is aware of .
4 . Designate one person to lead and run the meeting . These virtual meetings are a bit of a performance and they need a director .
5 . Keeping in line with the performance aspect : good lighting — facing toward a window is good ; no need for a suit and tie , but don ’ t wear a bathrobe ; pick a good stage — a spot in your home that is as quiet as possible and you won ’ t be distracted or become a distraction to others .
6 . Start each meeting with a check-in . When people know what ’ s going on for one another the sudden visibility into each other ’ s living rooms is less distracting ; we can better interpret why someone might be sharp or short ; and it ’ s natural to care more when you know more .
7 . For 1:1 meetings virtually , have shorter meetings more frequently . A lot happens in a week . And it ’ s hard to set aside a full hour if one of you has kids with frequent needs . Shorter calls are easier to fit into chaotic days . And you might even try opportunistic calling rather than trying to fit into a schedule .
8 . Be conscious of why you are using synchronous meetings . Any work that can get done asynchronously , do it that way so everyone can manage what ’ s going on in the background . But synchronous calls are really important for bonding . Asynchronous efficiency , synchronous bonding .
9 . If you have a team in a very different time zone , try working on their time zone once in a while to give more space for synchronous communication .
10 . Be conscious of how much time you are talking versus other people in meetings when you work from home . If you ’ re taking up more than your fair share of time try to be more quiet . If you are not speaking up , remember that it is an act of generosity to share what you are thinking . If you are leading the meeting , consider occasionally just going person by person in alphabetical order . Teams that speak roughly an equal amount of time perform better than teams where one person takes up all the airtime .
11 . Sometimes replicating in-person activities remotely can work . If you both get a cup of tea , a video call can feel more human . Take an extra moment to talk about something beautiful you saw , or something funny you heard .
12 . Focus on being a partner , not an absentee manager or a micromanager . This is always important , but it ’ s even more important to remember when your whole team is remote . Remember that everyone is different , which is why you need to ask each member of your team what works for them . While some people may want to hop on the phone several times a day to talk , others might find this disruptive and stressful . Don ’ t assume that what works for one person will work for every person .
13 . Most importantly , remember to be kind … All this social distancing can leave people feeling lonely . A few extra minutes to connect with people who work from home is time well spent .
Kim Scott is the author of Just Work : How to Root Out Bias , Prejudice , and Bullying to Build a Kick-ass Culture of Inclusivity and Radical Candor : Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity and co-founder of the companies Just Work and Radical Candor . Kim was a CEO coach at Dropbox , Qualtrics , Twitter , and other tech companies . She was a member of the faculty at Apple University and before that led AdSense , YouTube , and DoubleClick teams at Google .
KimMaloneScott . com
Kelly Leonard is the executive director of insights and applied improvisation at Second City Works . He is also the author of the book , Yes , And : Lessons from The Second City , host of the podcast Getting to Yes , And , and a popular speaker on the power of improvisation to transform people ’ s lives .
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