Connecting with your virtual teammates

Recently, asked two of my virtual teammates, Kristy and Joe, about the challenges they face in the virtual team environment and how they’re making it work.

Kristy’s doing QA and project management work while telecommuting from Albany.  Joe does project management work at our main office in the Hudson Vally, NY.  And I’m working remotely doing project management from Philadelphia.  The three of us often collaborate on technical projects, meet once a week to discuss workload, and daily depend on each other for all types of help.

During our conversation, two levels of challenges emerged: the technical element, and the human element that both employers and those considering working in a virtual team environment should consider.

The Technical Element of the Virtual Team

Joe started off discussing the simple technical challenges of virtual meetings:

“Sometimes the ability to both be looking at the same item.  It isn’t always possible to have shadow sessions or web cams available.  Any bad phone connections or internet issues can also hurt the experience.”

Joe mentioned some simple steps virtual teammates and organizations can take to address these challenges.
“Making sure materials are readily available to all parties either through email attachments, shared network folders, etc.  I think more documents that are in electronic form helps address this.  Updated phone systems that may enable video could also go a long way in having better meetings and possibly training sessions.”

The Human Element of the Virtual Team

Kristy focused on the human element – the relational and internal challenges of working remotely.
Krisy commenting on the relational component said, “The biggest challenge would be overcoming the feeling of isolation. In the workplace you have constant interaction and can physically visit with other people when you have a question. Remotely you can still communicate via Instant Messaging, email, or telephone; but you lose out on body language, tone of voice, and ability to walk into a co-workers office to get help.”

Kristy, explained she keeps her relationships positive w/ her co-workers, “I always assume my co-workers have good intentions so I try not to take emails the wrong way. I call co-workers when I know something is going to be complex and communicate with peers often to feel like part of the team.”

Kristy also talked about the internal or self-directed side of the human element:
“Working remotely requires structure. I do not have a boss looking over my shoulder making sure I am working so it’s up to me to keep focused.  I get ready in the morning and sign-in to work at the same time I would if working in the office. This pretty much goes for lunches and signing-out as well. This ensures that I do not blend home life and work life too much. I sign on to Instant Messaging and email right away to ensure open communication with co-workers and I am still part of regular department meetings.  I also create ‘to-do’ lists to set goals for my day and week.”

Thanks Joe and Kristy for your comments.  They both are awesome virual teammates and two people I can always depend on.  The three of us worked together in the office before Kristy and I moved away and went with the remote option, which I think contributes to our ability to work together now virtually.

Things to Consider in the Virtual Team

One thing that came out of this conversation is that any individual or organization considering the “remote option” needs to think through the technical, relational, and internal/self-directed challenges that everyone involved must address.

Comment on this blog to answer the question of the week:  What are some other challenges you and your organization face in the virtual workplace?

Everett
Check me out on Twitter:
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Connect with me on Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/evreiss

That’s where we have our wireless router – a central location between my bedroom and my roommate’s bedroom, but what I quickly discovered was that the wireless was not adequate for all the virtual desktop connections I have to make through remote desktop connections, a product called 2x, or Citrix.  Also, flipping the wireless switch to “on” actually hurts my laptop’s performance.  So I’ve been spending my days hooked up to our 3 foot network cable at the kitchen table hooked up to our “wireless” router.

The Internet makes its 35 ft journey to my laptop

But today is a different day because the 50 ft. Cat 5E Network Cable I ordered online arrived.  I tore that package open, snaked that cable the 35+ feet it takes to get from the router to the antique desk in my bedroom, and can happily work on a separate surface from the one I eat on.  If you have to connect to one or more remote desktops on a consistent basis, I highly recommend turning off your wireless and doing whatever it takes to directly hook up to your router.

Check out RiteAV – Cat5e Network Ethernet Cable – Blue – 50 ft. on Amazon to give your remote workday a boost for less than $10.

Also, let me know how you are currently connecting to the Internet and what you’ve found to give you the best performance.

Everett
Check me out on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/flexperformance

Connect with me on Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/evreiss

"Why Can't You Just Work!"

I like talking to my clients, solving problems for them, and working on creative projects; but I hate dealing with computer issues and slowness.  I imagine you’re in the same boat, especially when working remotely from home without the same “in person” access to your companies “IT guy” or IT department.

Which is probably what frustrates me about Vista so much, but I’m going to stop there before this turns into a rant!  Instead, this week I took a major step in accepting the fact that my Vista machine isn’t going to get any better unless I proactively do something to make it better.  The 20 minute boot-ups in the morning drove me to this common-sense realization.   So I’m going to share with you some of the very simple steps and resources I used to improve my Vista machine’s performance.

I know maintaining and improving your PC or laptop’s performance is not your main job and may not even be on your radar, but it’ll pay off exponentially if you gain 5 to 10 minutes a day.  The main article that got me off and running was “10 things you can do to increase performance in Vista,” on Tech Republic’s website: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=200&tag=rbxccnbtr1.

Besides adding additional RAM (this is the only acronym I’ll use – I promise) , here are the 3 most effective things I did to boost my laptop’s performance.  The first one only applies to Vista machines, but the second two apply to all PCs or laptops.

1.       Turn off Aero  – the slick graphical look that comes with Vista.

While Aero makes Vista look pretty, beauty comes at a price – memory and lots of it.  I’m content with a classic Windows look, so here is how you can change from the sexy Aero look to the workhorse Windows look:

Right-click the desktop and select Personalize, then click Windows Color And Appearance, click Open classic appearance properties for more color options, from the Appearance Settings dialog box select either Windows Vista Basic, Windows Standard, or Windows Classic, click OK or Apply and voila you’ve proven you care more about what’s on the inside than the superficial things of life. 

2.       Defrag  your hard drive, which rearranges your data and files in a way that is easier for Vista to access.

I know “defrag” sounds scary, but it is really quite simple; if you have a Vista machine, go to:

Your Start menu, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and select Diskeeper.  When Diskeeper is displayed, you can right-click on you your hard drive – most likely (C:) – and select Defragment.

This process slows down your computer, so it is best to schedule it or kick it off when you are not using it.  There are also many third-party defrag utilities available.

3.       Turn off extra startup programs.

You probably have a lot of processes, services, and programs running in the background that you may not even be aware of.  To turn off unnecessary startup programs, go to:

Your Start menu, Performance Information and Tools, and Manage startup programs, and you can literally go down the list and Remove any unnecessary startup programs. 

If you are not sure about removing a program, either ask your IT person, google the startup program name, or check out CNET’s The Download Blog’s startup posts: http://download.cnet.com/download-blog/?keyword=startup.

I hope this gives you the information and nudge you need to do something positive for you, your computer, and your productivity.  It was hard for me to get to this point, but I’m glad I tapped into my inner-geek.  If you need some further inspiration; get a bag of Doritos, Red Bull, and your own hacker handle (alias) at http://www.rootcompromise.org/hhg/.  Mine is Static Darkness.  This week, follow these three steps and comment on this blog to let me know you’re saving time, money, and emotional health while working remotely.

Static Darkness (aka Everett)
Check me out on Twitter:
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http://www.linkedin.com/in/evreiss

Milk for the Remote Worker!

“I’m tired; I’m exhuasted; there’s something wrong,” I thought to myself this week. I realized that since working remotely at home, I’ve been increasingly filling up my schedule with one task after another while also trying to constantly keep up with as much industry and professional content as possible. I discovered that after my lunch breaks I was getting tired and losing energy during the second half of the day.

Recently, I was listening to the Havard Business Review Ideacast podcast called, “Boost Resilience, Decrease Stress, and Improve Your Performance” with featured Guest: Stewart Friedman, Wharton School professor and author of Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life.
During the podcast, Friedman talked about the value of setting aside some personal time to reflect and ask yourself questions like:

• Who are the people you admire and what do you admire about them?
• What are the 4 or 5 most critical or formative episodes of your life?
• Looking down the road a year from now, who do you want to be?
• What are the most important relationships in your life, what do you think they expect from you, and what do you expect from them?

Checkout the podcast at http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/ideacast/2009/09/boost-resilience-decrease-stre.html.

So yesterday during lunch, instead of keeping up on all the blogs I follow, I decided to pack my favorite reading material, a historical biography, my journal, a PB&J sandwich, and walked to a local coffee shop to do some reading and personal reflection for about 45 minutes. I left my cell phone and laptop by in my apartment and had a refreshing time, caught up on some neglected leisure reading, and learned a little more about myself over a good cup of coffee.

Comment on this blog letting us know how you spend your lunch breaks and what you think the best way is to re-energize for the second half of the day.

I also encourage you to check out the Andrew Jackson biography I’m reading, which has some great lessons about how and how not to do leadership and teamwork: American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House (New York Times Notable Books). 

The links to the two books are affiliate links to Amazon, so any purchases made through these links are much appreciated since they will help defray the costs of running this blog.

Everett
Check me out on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/flexperformance

Connect with me on Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/evreiss

The fact that telecommuters and virtual team members need to be self-motivated is no secret, but regardless it is easy to take for granted the impact that the removal of regular face-to-face can have on a remote workers, managers, and virtual teammates. That’s why thinking about myself as the leader of myself helps – I begin to take more responsibility, realize that I’m always in choice, and feel more positive towards my manager and teammates since I’ve taken responsibility for my stuff.

Realizing that I’m the leader at my remote office is also helping me address the increased stress as I’ve been feeling as the lines between work and home life have been blurred. “Wait a second,” I say, “I have the ability to set boundaries and define the lines by re-instituting a regular work schedule, getting dressed for work when at home, turning off the computer at 6 pm.

Nevertheless, I’m still pressing into the following questions:

• How do I establish some reasonable personal and professional accountability as I’m working remotely?
• How can I connect with other telecommuters in my area (Philadelphia)?
• What’s the best way for me to get out of my apartment during the day and still be productive without spending too much money?

What are your thoughts, answers, and experiences related to the above questions? I’d love to hear from you and get your feedback.

I also recommend checking out some of these other books by John Maxwell. These are affiliate links, so any purchases made through these links help defray the costs of running this blog and are much appreciated!

• The Maxwell Daily Reader: 365 Days of Insight to Develop the Leader Within You and Influence Those Around You
• The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You
• Developing the Leader Within You

Everett
Check me out on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/flexperformance
Connect with me on Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/evreiss

Then a few weeks ago I was listening to a podcast I subscribe to, and one of the people being interviewed was talking about how she now resists the temptation to first check email.  Instead she spends the first 30 minutes of her day working on an important item that is looming over her and then gets to the emails.  The funny thing is that this wasn’t a workplace related podcast for me, but was an idea that came off of the August 3^rd Youth Specialties podcast, http://www.youthspecialties.com/freeresources/podcasts, which is for people involved in youth ministry.

Regardless, it was an idea that stuck with me and I decided to tweak my routine around it.  So now, my routine is as follows:

• Spend 15 minutes planning out my day.
• Spend the next 30 minutes to 1 hour working on some important item that’s on the forefront of my mind; and that I know is the main thing I really do want/need to get to today.
• After either completing the item or making sufficient progress on it, I then check my email.

With this routine, I’ve noticed that:

• I’ve been able to gain positive momentum much sooner each day.
• Most emails can wait half-an-hour to an hour, or even a day for that matter – I’m not that important.
• It makes more sense to actually put first things first, and rarely should checking email be first on the “to do” list.

The reality is many of us need to check our email at least three to eight times a day, but do we really need to flip back-and-forth between our core job-related tasks and email every five minutes?  Or do we need to burn our freshest half-an-hour of the day scrolling through our inbox?  Try your own version of the “first things first” routine and share it with your virtual team.  Whether you’re working remotely, telecommuting at home, or going into the office, let me know what routines have worked or are working for you by commenting on this blog.

Everett
Check me out on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/flexperformance
Connect with me on Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/evreiss

John Adams on Sacrifce

This is not only specific to the remote worker, but more for anyone  looking to perform well and navigate successfully through life.  Yesterday, I was just at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, the site where the founders signed three of our nation’s formational documents: the Declaration of Independence, The Articles of Confederation, and The Constitution.

In one of the rooms, original copies of these documents are on display along with some placards on the wall contextualizing these documents in light of the people and events of the times.  The picture shows a quote from John Adams after signing the Declaration of Independence. 

It is obvious that Adams along with the other signers fully considered, weighed, and accepted the costs and risks of their bold actions – they could die.  After accepting the risks and the cost, these men were able to perform at a high level and overcome ridiculously large obstacles to achieve victory for what was to become the United States of America. 

Recently, I’ve realized that I have to do this every day: look at what I’m trying to accomplish and the type of person I want to be, consider the actions I have to take to get there and what I have to give up, and then make the tough decisions.  This is especially necessary for anyone telecommuting at home or working in a virtual team because there is less daily accountability from a manager and other team members – there is no one physically breathing down our backs (maybe electronically breathing down our backs). 

Please comment on this blog to share ideas on how you’ve built accountability into your life while working remotely and/or in a virtual team?  Also, how have you seen accountability done well and poorly in telecommuting work and virtual team environments?

If only working remotely could make our legs look like this!

“One man’s mile is another man’s marathon.”  Don’t know if anyone has ever said this before, but sure sounds like someone has.  Or how about this one, “How do you run a marathon?  One step at a time.” 

One thing that’s impressed me as I’ve started training for the Philadelphia Marathon is that whether I’m going out to run 4 hard miles, going to the track to do a few 400s (one lap around the track), or actually going to run the full 26.2 miles; each of these runs/workouts is its own challenge or marathon.  I found that to perform well, even just to run one good lap around the track, I need to break these challenges down into thirds or fourths. 

If I don’t divide just one lap around the track into bite size pieces then I go out too fast and putter out in the end.  So now when I go to the track to run 400s, I’ve broken each 100 into different focusing phrases that I repeat rhythmically in my head as I run around the track:

• The first 100 I say, “Accelerate it up, accelerate it up, accelerate up…” as I want to build speed.
• As I go around the curve for the second 100, I say, “Lock it in, lock it in, lock it in…” as I want to maintain my speed.
• For the third 100, I say “Stride it out, stride it out, stride it out” as I want to increase my stride going down the second straight away.
• And finally for the last 100, I say “Push it out, push it out, push it out” as I want to finish strong and leave it all on the track.

I’ve begun to apply this approach to telecommuting at home – breaking my days, weeks, and projects down into manageable chunks with focusing phrases.  My natural tendency is to look at the day, week or a project and just try to tackle it and “get ‘er done;” but just like at the track I don’t have the energy and focus to finish strong.  For instance, here’s how my day might look when I segment it into thirds:

• First part of my day I want to “cross off client project to dos”
• Second part of my day “long term project and CRM planning”
• Third part of my day “social media and Internet marketing research and planning”

Now that I got my day broken down, I have focus for each part of the day and natural breaking points for me to eat something, read something funny, pray, and re-energize for the next part of the day.  Let me know how you approach your daily, weekly, and project planning – what’s working for you or how you feel you could improve in your approach to your work days, weeks and projects?

Everett
Check me out on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/flexperformance
Connect with me on Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/evreiss

In front of a memorial to the Irish Potato Famine, taking a breather from the telecommute

It’s amazing how switching two words changes meaning – dramatically. Speaking of switches, a lot has switched for me as I’ve moved from the Hudson Valley, NY to Philadelphia, and from the office to telecommuting at home (actually my apartment).

It’s definitely taken some getting used to.  Many questions have popped into my “remote brain,” and I’ve been trying different routines:

But I still have lots of questions:

• What’s the best way for me to stay close to my co-workers instead of getting isolated since I no longer see them face-to-face on a daily basis?
• How can I meet other remote workers in my area – Philadelphia?
• Where are the best public places to get high performing and not-very-restricted wi-fi for free/inexpensively?

Recently I googled “working remotely,” and found these useful resources that helped me start answering some of these questions and confirmed some of my suspicions, such as “I probably should stick to a regular routine instead of working whenever I feel like it.”

• Top 10 Remote Work Myths & Realities
• Master the Art of Working Remotely  
• Working Remotely Website   

I’d love for you to share your questions, successes, and challenges telecommuting from home, working remotely, or in a virtual team environment so please comment on this blog post to share your experiences. 

Signing off from “not so remote” Philadelphia,

Everett
Check me out on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/flexperformance
Connect with me on Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/evreiss