Shownotes
- 0:00 - 5:28 - We nerd out about some coffee stuff. It’s all good fun.
- 5:28 - Relationships with coworkers are inherently different when you work with a remote team instead of working together in the same physical space. There are micro-interactions and non-verbal communications that just don’t exist in the same way when you don’t work alongside people.
- 8:19 - That doesn’t mean you can’t have relationships or friendships with your coworkers. When you work remotely there are no opportunities for serendipitous interactions, you have to make the effort.
- 9:34 - One of the ways you can easily connect with coworkers is to start up an “open work” group call and just invite other people to join in and “work together”.
- 10:45 - It’s easy to alienate or be alienated as an employee if you and your coworkers don’t make the effort to reach out to one another.
- 15:01 - Having calls with teammates that only ever pertain to work will not help build good relationships with your team.
- 16:20 - Even though you can’t manufacture those micro-interactions, you can still improve relationships with your team through other methods.
- 20:27 - One of the ways we learn about our teammates at ConvertKit is to do a red/yellow/green check to see how everyone’s doing, and we have some check-in meetings with highs and lows and so on. These are a bit more informal and help us to get to know each other on an ongoing basis.
- 21:46 - The foundation of this whole conversation is that if you want a strong team, you need there to be trust. Remote workers sometimes have to work hard to build trust with each other.
- 24:01 - If you own a business or run any sort of team, make check-in calls part of your teams’ culture. You can’t know how your people are doing if you don’t check in.
- 25:08 - In a very serious reality check, your check-ins with your team may reveal truths about their physical or mental health that may need attention.
- 36:34 - A few ways you can start getting to know your coworkers:
- Host a “coffee call” or an “office party” with games and non-work discussion
- Set up a 1-on-1 call with a coworker to get to know each other
- Have a group co-working session where everyone is muted but working together
- 41:21 - If you’re introverted or uncomfortable setting up these sorts of calls, start small! Try speaking up a little during team calls. Bring up your needs to your manager and see if they have ideas. Add your voice to Slack chats where you wouldn’t normally.