Developing meaningful virtual connections with remote work
Remote work conversation Day 1 NPDev 2022
Solutions: - Introduce care into the conversation - Start all hands meetings with breakouts and a question prompt - Moments of silence, etc to welcome something different -- invite different options. From phone call to other platforms to... - Fun prompts introduce more humanity. Softer facilitation. - Lean on remote tools even when in person -- in person is exhausting
Question: Where are the boundaries around work hours or vulnerable prompts? How do we establish and honor those? - This is a job, it's not a capitalism free zone. Say this in a gentle and humane way though? - Time zone expectations -- people have to give and get. It has to be balance. - From Facilitative Leadership training from Interaction institute for social change: track outcomes by Purpose, Process and Relationships.
(See https://interactioninstitute.org/training/facilitative-leadership-for-social-change-virtual/)
- When you accomodate time zones, etc take other time off. - Leadership establishes the culture. Model what you want. - As a leader -- make space for boundary negotiation. When in a cross time zone meeting, be aware of the time of day that people have. - Articulate all the things, expectations especially about what is going to happen - Some people have a hard time flexing. (Care might be a solution to helping them to do it) - Not all prompts are welcomed or okay. Have a plan if you need to shift. Let people pass.
Question: What are the limits of care for each other? What about the person who doesn't show up at all? How much can we flex? - Create clear expectations around outcomes. Hours worked, time to respond. Once its established, you have to commit to it. - If you have to break the standards, explain why it is unique.
Big Question: How do we create psychological safety? With different working styles, learning methods? - How you open the work experience matters, lots of convos - Recording meetings, keeping good notes -- asynchronous process - Open prompts allow for self regulation
- How do you know it is fall? - What is one thing you have done to care for yourself today? -
- Camera off is a useful option (or collective choice) to ease "Zoom fatigue" - Give permission to be how you are. Go to the kitchen, stretch, whatever! - Conflict resolution policy is the sewage system of organizations. Have one! It is a system. - No agenda = no call!
- Harvard Business Review article -- three types of gathering (and matching tech): https://hbr.org/2022/09/3-types-of-meetings-and-how-to-do-each-one-well
- LIFE HACK: Run any paywalled article through the Internet archive to find a copy of it!
Question: How to build relationship outside of meetings?
- Group conversations for intentional cross collaboration - Internal asynchronous practices to create a sense of whole people int he organization -- daily check-ins/check-outs for example - Don't be afraid of the quick conversation to connect - 10 minutes, etc. - Donut is an app for Slack that will make little connection points with someone, asynchronous or realtime