That is quite a corny header! If we can talk about good and bad managers, we should be allowed to speak of good and bad team members, especially in our “new normal” – in work remotely situations.
So, who can be the best remote team player?
I have read somewhere that the best remote workers have been working as consultants earlier in their careers. I can relate to that, even if I do not think it is that easy. As a consultant, you are used to coming to new workplaces, to creating connections with new co-workers, although you know that it might only be there for a few months. Only the result counts.
All these things are essential when your workplace moves into remote reality and if you have never worked as a consultant or never worked remotely before, this can be quite a challenge.
Whether you have been a consultant or not: here is a bit of advice on becoming a good remote worker.
Be proactively transparent
When you work remotely, it is what you have achieved that will be visible to others. Such an idea goes for yourself as an individual and for your team.
This implies you most probably need to over-communicate to ensure you and your teammates collaborate effectively. Furthermore, it helps your manager and others outside your team know your priorities.
Unless you want to risk ending up in defensive discussions about what you have spent your time on, you have to be transparent with your progress towards your future achievements. Just understand why.
There is a term that needs to be learned: fundamental attribution error! We, humans, are “programmed” to explain why we did things in a certain way but not see the underlying reason others did what they did.
If you are not transparent with your successes and failures during your journey, others will have a very simplified view of what you have done, and this could even reduce the value of what you have achieved.
Communication is key
The best way to improve your performance as a remote worker is to become a better communicator. Communication is always tricky, even more so in a remote setting.
Usually, when we talk with someone in the same room, we use many communication channels, and our words are only one of them. We have a plethora of non-verbal channels that include posture, gestures, eye contact, tone of voice, emotions, etc.
When working remotely, most of your channels are invisible and you have to be more careful that your message is received as you intended. Improving your writing skills while taking the time to write good messages is a good investment.
Communication is not only about the words you say or write. A big part of natural communication is nonverbal skills like body language, including posture, gestures, eye contact, emotions, tone of voice, etc. It has been the only form of communication for thousands of years. Nowadays, this is not true anymore. In remote work, it is almost non-existing.
While being on a video call, your counterpart most likely is seeing only your face. If the video quality is poor, your counterpart might not even see you at all. Most of the non-verbal communication will be gone, for emails and direct messages, this means that you have to be very clear in what you are trying to say.
Are you writing notes while attending video calls? On the other end, the person cannot know if you are writing notes related to your discussion or writing an email or direct message to someone else. Inform the other person that you will take notes and clarify it further, you can say what you are writing to emphasize that you are listening.
Make room for small talk
Even if you become good at writing or talking, it takes more to engage in a meaningful way with people you work with daily. It would help if you spent time getting to know them: small talk can help.
Make sure to have ways to communicate within your team. It can be something like having a separate coffee chat channel or making sure to prolong your morning stand-ups if you have those.
Feel free to disregard what some framework rules might say about the length of stand-ups. Those rules only apply anyway when working co-located.
Even if you become good at writing or talking, it takes more to engage in a meaningful way with people you work with daily. It would help if you spent time getting to know them: small talk can help. Make sure to have ways to communicate within your team. It can be something like having a separate coffee chat channel or making sure to prolong your morning stand-ups if you have those (feel free to disregard what some framework rules might say about the length of stand-ups). Those rules only apply anyway when working co-located.
Be approachable
Essential is not only the way you act! Essential is also how quickly you respond. Ensure your colleagues and manager can reach you when you are working and know when you are needed.
You can have a regular schedule (shared with your team) or make sure you have a status in your systems that informs when you will work and make sure you live up to it. Besides, it means you make sure that your calendar is bookable when working and not bookable when you are not.
Having an exact schedule also makes it easier for you to have the right life balance, to avoid working too much.
Have a clear separation between work and free time
Working remotely, mostly from home, blurs the difference between work and free time. If you have colleagues in different time zones, that can make it even worse. Even if you work from home, it is good to have “go to/from work” routines.
I recommend, even if I have to confess, I don’t always live up to it myself, to start the day with a walk outside “go to work”, and then finish the day with another walk “go home”. I also recommend you put on work clothes, so you do not end up wearing your PJs all day long.
Get active: Move your body
To be a good worker (remote or not), you have to be in decent shape. It is not necessary to spend an hour a day in the gym. Nonetheless, if your routine looks like this:
- Get up from the bed.
- Sit on a chair all day.
- Spend hours on the sofa before getting back to bed.
You are setting yourself up for problems!
An excuse often used is: People believe they have no time to exercise! It comes down to priorities.
You can easily do that at work time, even while working.
Have a remote walk-n-talk. When you book the appointment, make it clear that it is a “walk and talk”-meeting.
Get some fresh air, do your exercises, or walk your dog.
Additionally, a good option is to promote a healthy lifestyle to the person you have a call with.
Conclusion
Being a better team player may be the answer you are looking for. Your ability to work well with other people in the office can improve your relationship with them and help you perform better in your job.
Remember that research shows that positive employees are 12% more productive. Additionally, when you’re happy, you make better decisions, feel healthier and make your colleagues more comfortable (and more productive) too.
This is a guest post by Mikael Grönlund for nearshorefriends.
Mikael has great experience in working agile, both as a Scrum Master and as a Scrum Product Owner. Since 2012, Mikael has stopped coding professionally and now is focused entirely on coaching organizations, teams, and individuals. Since 2017 he has been working as a full-time Agile Coach. He specializes in Scrum and Scaling Agile.
