Please Think Responsibly

While reflecting back on the last 3 weeks of remote work I realize how much has changed. Aside from the immense shift that has taken place in everyone’s lives, I’ve been surprised at how different things are than how I expected them to be when I began to work remotely with my team, my company (with a strong office culture) and the rest of the world. These surprises challenged my thinking and forced me to change my style and I hope by sharing them with you, you can learn something as well.

Some people are uncomfortable working from home

In my career I’ve had a lot of experience in working in different places: from airplanes, hotels, different offices (including the floor, a stairwell and a gym), and my house. Because of this, I’m pretty low maintenance and am pretty good at concentrating regardless of my environment. I took this skill completely for granted, and assumed that others would transition the same way I did.

It took colleagues several days to get everything set up, to figure out the right routine and the right location so that they could figure out how move in and out of work mode (or not). For some, this was buying office furniture to re-create their work stations and for others it was building their calendar to create a routine.

I learned to check in and help by asking questions to see if there were areas that I could help with to keep people engaged. For some that was encouraging more exercise (and sharing classes) for others that was sharing some things that I was doing “outside of work” so we could do them together and learn something new.

Communication styles have shifted

I’ve always believed that 80% of success is showing up. This means that I get on an airplane to get in front of my clients and my teammates. It means I communicate with my body language, and read theirs. It means that I share experiences with them to earn their trust. It means that I can’t do any of this stuck in my house. For me, this means more pro-active check ins via slack. More phone calls (even if email will do) and using the video more (I’ve always loathed video chat).

For my colleagues, I’ve seen quiet colleagues get loud and loud colleagues get quiet. People who would be intimidated by a 30 person meeting, don’t hesitate to jump into a 30 person VC. The environment is very different, and people adapt differently. I was expecting people’s communication choices to be very much a part of who they are and their personality. I didn’t realize that it was so tied to their environment.

Moving forward, I realize how much the environment influences open and honest communication and as I continue to lead in my career, I’ll make sure that there are multiple channels and multiple environments for people to contribute in the way that they are most comfortable.

Respecting boundaries is even more important

A colleague observed that I am a little bit Swiss in that I like to start any meeting with some small talk. In a shared office environment, this is easy enough. Either comment on the weather (if you are lucky enough to have windows) or comment on the lack of windows (if your conference room is like most). This is easy enough in a professional setting, but is changed completely by video.

Now, you are peering into someone’s personal life. Some colleagues have curated that space to be more “professional” looking (I usually have a book shelf behind me which objects that have been vetted for professional viewing – people seem to love a few model planes) but others, especially in the beginning, just gave you a view into their home. This means seeing kids, seeing messes and seeing a half-dressed roommate wander through the frame. It is especially important to respect your colleagues privacy and use your discretion. As much as I want to learn more about what I can see, it wouldn’t be appropriate to go through a colleagues back at the office and it isn’t appropriate here.

Other boundaries include schedules. When I took a day off, colleagues wanted to know “where was I going, what was I going to do”. Fair enough, but when I was asked “why can’t you come to my meeting, I know you can’t go anywhere” banter among friends became an unwelcome intrusion. Many people are staying at home with kids, or other family members and need flexibility. Working at home requires us to refrain from judgement just as we do when we are all working in the office.