Does being in sync with your teammates mean you have to be on the same schedule?

Why do we have so many meetings every day? Why do so many companies insist on people going back to the office? Why do people insist on introducing their cat to people on web chats? When we ask our customers about this, they all stem from trying to solve the same problem: making sure the teams are “in sync.”

What does it mean to be in sync?

What do we mean when we say “in sync”? It means that the people working together need to have the same goals, use the same processes, share understanding of the facts, and behave (or agree to behave) in certain ways. If we need to ask a question, check an assumption, or get help with something, we naturally turn to those around us. But what if those people are somewhere else or working on a different schedule?

True hybrid work requires flexibility of both time and location. So how do you reconcile those seemingly contradictory factors?

• Check in to make sure you’re still aligned. Some of this should be synchronous communication in both team and one-on-one settings, as rich as possible to ensure mutual understanding. In between, you can use asynchronous communication to check in with people. Chat conversations and status reports should give you a pretty good idea of when there’s alignment and when something’s off.
• The need for instant gratification is a problem. Often, we are working on something and need more information.  Do we really need the answer right now or you can’t go any further? Really? Or can we work on something and leave off until we get it and accomplish something else while the information we need is waiting for us in the morning? Getting questions answered in a remote team requires patience and new ways of working.
• A lot of conversation, verbal or written, is asking people for information.  Most of that information is available somewhere, just nobody’s quite sure where. Easily accessed, logically searchable information makes hybrid work easier and more productive. It also means we can work on our own schedules. Information storage and retrieval is the key to hybrid work.
• Status reports can be draining, horrible things. They also can reduce the need for meetings where everyone just goes around and says what they’re working on. If you want to know what John is working on, is there an online, not-time-bound way to get that information without having to hold a meeting?

Knowing what your teammates are up to, where to find information in a hurry without relying on someone else all the time, and getting use to “chunking” work to optimize your team will keep the team in sync without having to be continuously in the same place at the same time, and make hybrid work more effective.

 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wayne Turmel
Co-Founder and Product Line Manager

Wayne Turmel is the co-founder and Product Line Manager for the Remote Leadership Institute. For twenty years he’s been obsessed with helping managers communicate more effectively with their teams, bosses and customers. Wayne is the author of several books that demystify communicating through technology including Meet Like You Mean It – a Leader’s Guide to Painless & Productive Virtual Meetings, 10 Steps to Successful Virtual Presentations and 6 Weeks to a Great Webinar. His work appears frequently in Management-Issues.com.

Wayne, along with Kevin Eikenberry, has co-authored the definitive book on leading remotely, The Long-Distance Leader: Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership. Wayne and Kevin’s follow-up book, The Long-Distance Teammate, offers a roadmap for success not just for leaders, but for everyone making the transition to working remotely.

The latest book from Wayne and Kevin shows leaders how to design a team culture that has a one-team mindset and gets great results under hybrid-work conditions. You can order The Long-Distance Team: Designing Your Team for Everyone’s Success now.