By: Wayne Turmel January 1st means absolutely nothing in a physical or cosmological sense. Yet, it looms large every 365.25 days. We obsess over it, plan our work around it, and even use it to make momentous life changes. It’s arbitrary (we have to start and end somewhere), illogical (if you’re going to start a

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by: Robby Slaughter My friend Casey says that “…conference calls are proof that technology cannot make people happy.” It’s hard to imagine a scourge of the modern workplace that is worse than multi-party phone conversations, and for remote teams it’s even worse. It’s a wonder that any of us can get anything done, considering how

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By: Wayne Turmel Speaking to large groups is often intimidating; communicating to large groups online can be even scarier. Why? In a one-way, lecture-type of presentation, you’re getting all kinds of feedback, but virtually presenting feels like you’re talking into a void. This feeling often throws a lot of speakers, particularly experienced presenters, off their

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By Robby Slaughter Although we’re experiencing a remote-work revolution, the majority of companies and jobs currently don’t have an option to telecommute. Of course, there are employees who simply prefer to come into the office every day rather than work elsewhere, but you should make remote work part of your hiring process because it tells

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Let’s be clear; as remote leaders, none of us would intentionally do anything to undermine working relationships with our remote team members. First of all, it’s not nice, and our mothers raised us better than that. Secondly, it’s just bad business to alienate those on whom our jobs, reputations and paychecks rely. That said, we

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By Wayne Turmel According to Webster’s Dictionary, the word “work” can be used both as a noun (“activity in which one exerts strength or faculties to do or perform something”), and as a verb (“to act or operate effectively”). One issue often shared between remote project managers and teams is the strong placement of “work”

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Every parent has had to face the moment when their kid asks, “which of us do you love best?” Of course the correct answer is, “Why I love all of you equally,” (even when it’s not 100% true and we all know it). The same dynamic is true of your mixed teams, when some are

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By Robby Slaughter As leaders, we must be acutely aware of the differences in personality between individuals—including ourselves. Emotional intelligence is being conscious of how feelings and beliefs impact the choices that people make, and having control over how we decide to react. One of the best ways to better understand someone’s personality is to

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By Wayne Turmel Sometimes I wake up in the morning and ask myself, “What can I do or say that will make people scream in outrage?” It’s just the kind of guy I am. Today’s heresy is simple. Your team’s communication technology is too important to leave to the folks in IT. But aren’t those

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