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Building remote teams and habits
Building remote teams and habits
The history of my flexible work locations:
The history of my flexible work locations:
I have been managing my time and building virtual bonds since 2014. Zoom is a long-time bestie.
Before becoming an entrepreneur and managing remote collaborations, I worked from TripAdvisor headquarters in Boston, MA. My team worked from the London offices.
Navigating time changes, team bonding, and deliverables are learned skills. Clear communication is crucial to developing trust.
I became comfortable working from various locations and building a schedule to accommodate my best working style.
Working alone, developing habits to stay self-motivated, and building community outside of my primary team prepared me to create Entrada with confidence. Founding Entrada has allowed me to work from many locations: offices, work spaces, home, and abroad.
Best practices are below.
Check your assumptions.
Check your assumptions.
We are told that work is best performed inside office spaces, often in cubicles. We are further told that this creates no distractions and enables quality work performance.
What works best for you may not necessarily work best for your teammates. Trust your team to know their best work styles and preferred environments.
I have always worked better outside, and often got the side-eye from peers and higher-ups alike. I studied for finals on Northwestern's rocks by Lake Michigan, read textbooks in grassy fields, write essays on shaded tables, and take calls from balconies. This quickly stopped once people became familiar with the quality of my work.
My logic? If I am where I work best, then I have no excuse for procrastinating. If I am sitting in the sun, then I'm not distracted by longing to enjoy a beautiful day: I can do both at once.
This same logic applies to working out of the office.
Halcyon, my DC office:
Halcyon, my DC office:
Looks suspiciously luxurious and carefree, as are many of my out-of-office work spaces. ;)
This is often what my workspace looks like when I'm *in* the office. Fresh air and sunshine are critical for me to think clearly.
Learn more about the Halcyon Incubator and our dream-like work environment.
I've perfected the art of a mobile, shaded computer stand to allow maximum performance.
Crucial Collaboration Requirements for working out of the office:
Crucial Collaboration Requirements for working out of the office:
Focus on outcomes, not on hours.
Communicate your availability.
Schedule consistent check-ins.
Consider deliverables and project check-ins. When you have a clear image of what you need to accomplish, your team can rise to the occasion.
Schedule "virtual coffee hours" with and between teammates to create the space for informal conversations.
If traveling, select locations with intentionality:
Check blogs of digital nomads or ask friends for locations renowned for reliable internet
Become comfortable performing internet speed checks when choosing accommodation
If working in other time zones, make yourself abundantly available to match your team's working hours. You compromise hours for your chosen location; not your team.
Considering working out of the office?
Considering working out of the office?
Highlights include:
Highlights include:
Work anywhere: Abroad, at home, with friends, alone...
Hire the best talent, regardless of location
Design a flexible day
Time consuming "at home" tasks become simple (eg, needing the oven on low, swapping loads of laundry...)
Visit friends and stay in touch with ease
Extend work trips to stay with a friend in a neighboring state or country, if both of your schedules allow
Pursue new hobbies
I've taken language courses and skill-building classes during "office hours"
...and I make up for it later.
Choose hours that allow you to collaborate and work independently.
** This is all a pre-kid caveat! To the work-from-home-parents: I don't know how you do it.
Be prepared to:
Be prepared to:
Manage external perceptions
If not managed well, people may think your life is one big holiday. I learned this the hard way (though would do it again in a hot second).
Taking daytime classes may sometimes seem 'extravagant' to non team-members. Others don't see the after-hours effects: I often work past 10 pm or even after midnight to make up for daytime activities.
I call this "work-life balance", but it needs some work!
Adapt to time changes and inconvenient scheduling
While working in different time zones, I know I'll wake up early for meetings or stay up later than preferable so that my decisions don't affect my team's typical working hours.
Lack opportunities for in-person camaraderie
Makes the moments when you are together valuable and, at times, stressful to plan appropriately.
Work at odd times...
Work at odd times...
...to enjoy the fun times!
...to enjoy the fun times!
Places I've worked:
Places I've worked:
Colorado, USA (home sweet home!)
Washington DC, USA (prior "home base")
Bali, Indonesia (lived out my dream of living and working by the ocean, surrounded by volcanoes to hike)
Medellín, Colombia (became fluent in Spanish)
London, United Kingdom
Tulum, Mexico
Moshi, Tanzania (A few days on either end to make summiting Kilimanjaro feasible)
Plus, a variety of neighboring states to visit friends when business took me to their cities
Where now?
Where now?
I currently run Entrada ESL from the Vail Valley, in Colorado, USA.
Additionally, I'm using Covid-times to author a future book on systemic racism in the business world. I also lead Soul Body Fusion® Teacher Trainings and offer individual sessions to those seeking to deepen a mindfulness practice.
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