I've been getting a lot of requests on book summaries about working remotely. Thankfully, I just finished a book that was written by the founders of the Remote Leadership Institute. Not many books have been written about this topic since the pandemic is so new and still ongoing. So this might be a really good starting point since there are clear actionable steps regarding remote work.
The book that we will be discussing today is The Long-Distance Teammate By Kevin Eikenberry and Wayne Turmel.
Even before COVID happened, remote work was being put into practice. Like everyone says, covid just accelerated it. Now most, if not all of us are used to conducting meetings over webcam. But other parts of the office experience aren't as easy to replicate at home. Such as connections with our colleagues cant be easily done when we can't really see them in person. And the longer we have worked in a physical office space, the harder the change can be. For those who never had office experience, remote working won't be that challenging.
The first thing that we have to understand is that physical distance doesn't mean emotional distance. And like any change, a shift in mindset is needed. The shift will give us a better understanding of how to support others and ourselves.
The summary will revolve around 3 things.
The 3 P's
Practicing ethical visibility
Taking care of our health
Work feels rewarding when we are effective members of a team. But when we are not physically present in an office, it's hard to form meaningful connections. But the 3p's can help us become a better teammate remotely. The 3p's stand for Productivity, Proactivity, and Potential.
Productivity is straightforward. The ability to do work is at the core of our roles in any team. Getting our job done is the most important part of our jobs. But being a good team player, there is more than our outputs. Anyone can focus on tasks and produce good work but an awesome teammate will get the best work done in the time allotted and make sure that the work complements other's outputs or even help others to achieve theirs.
Let's now go on to proactivity. If we have been reacting to the things that come toward us, that is the exact opposite of proactivity. Being proactive is keeping an eye out for possible challenges and obstacles and taking preemptive action to manage them before things actually happen. When working remotely, this is valuable since it builds trust and shows commitment to working well.
The last is Potential. This concept might be abstract but the potential is all about thinking of the long-term effects of our actions. Not just for ourselves but how they fit in with the goals of our teammates too. I just want to share something that is not from this book but has been useful for me when thinking about the long-term effects of actions. The 10, 10, 10 method. It's just thinking of how would we feel and what would be the consequences of our actions, 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years from now. This has helped me make a lot of decisions.
There are times where we will spiral into negativity. And this is normal since we are always at home without regular social interaction with coworkers. But we can shift that mindset by reminding ourselves that we are part of a larger team and that we are not alone. Together the team has long-term goals.
And it's just not the organization, we also have long-term goals too. So whatever we do we should be able to think that these small things we do will have an impact on our long-term success in the future.
And here is the thing, personal success and organizational success are related. It's not just our work. A better way to define this is to say that our job is the sum total of our work plus teamwork. Supporting each other to the success of the greater mission whatever it may be.
Here are some specific examples. Do you know what your manager needs from you? It's good to align! Don't be afraid to talk to them, and see how you can better support the organization. Same with teammates or subordinates. Are there ways you can make things easier for them? This way they can have room to accomplish more things and grow. These simple questions will help you shift your mindset for remote working and not work in isolation.
From time to time, there are days that we are at our desks all day long but we haven't really gotten anything done. This is a good example where we can understand the difference between being busy and being productive.
This is mostly because the line between personal space and workspace is gone.
So to stay productive try asking these four pivot questions.
The first question is: Where is your focus right now? We will have multiple tasks thrown at us all at once but it's up to us to give importance and focus. Multitasking is a myth and the human brain can only focus on one thing at a time.
The second question is: What is the best use of your time? This is where opportunity cost comes in. Choosing something means that we are letting go of other things. Set priorities, write out a to-do list, and think about the big-picture goals each task contributes to.
The third question is: How can you influence others to maximize your productivity? Being part of a team means that we have to be able to tell people how they can best work with us. Each of us has our working styles so set status updates and let people know what you are doing. This way other team members will know if you are being interrupted by them or not.
The fourth and the last question is: What habits hinder or help your productivity? We are creatures of habit, so we have to try to establish habits that keep us healthy and productive. Whatever the habit, we can start small, be patient with it, and reward ourselves when we do it correctly - it will train us to do it more and create positive feedback loops.
When working remotely, communication is key! Communication is not just sending a message. It is also about making sure that it gets received and understood. Always think about who the message is for and choose what would be the best medium for the receiver by understanding the purpose, intent, and timing of the message. People have different preferences so it is up to us to figure it out.
Let's now talk about ethical visibility. This is about recognizing contributions. This doesn't mean that we are hungry for the spotlight and toot our own horns. The most important thing to remember here is that the focus should be on the team and not ourselves. It's as simple as changing our words to "we" and "us" such as "since we want more engagement, maybe we can try boosting our social media presence" as opposed to "I think we should use more social media."
When giving feedback, be kind and open and listen to others. Feedback can be positive or negative, but it's always good to give it in a non-generic manner. For example, other than saying, good job, it's better to give feedback on something that you want to be replicated such as "The presentation you gave did a really good job of explaining complicated frameworks through visuals!"
It's not from this book but I learned from a friend of mine that feedback is a gift. When we receive a gift, we say thank you. And it is up to us to use it to benefit us or not. This really helped change the perspective of receiving feedback and was able to use it to my advantage, especially for the negative ones.
Ever heard of the phrase "healthy body makes healthy minds?". All the things I have mentioned require our minds. But to keep our minds in tiptop shape, we should be able to take care of our health. And surprise, surprise, taking care of our bodies starts with getting a good night's sleep. Work is negotiable, sleep isn't. Working remotely means a lot less physical activity for most people. So even small stretches or small walks can be just the thing to reset our minds to give us new energy. Oh and don't forget to make time for your hobbies too! Don't just treat your teammates well! Your body and mind are teammates too!
These are simple and practical actionable advice from the book that we can put into practice as soon as we can. Every time we are in a slump we can remember the 3p's Productivity, proactivity, and potential. Practicing ethical visibility, and being able to take care of our health.
And that was a summary on The Long-Distance Teammate By Kevin Eikenberry and Wayne Turmel
Share this with a teammate!