Staying Human with Tech

A new way to navigate the world of work: Differability

April 13, 2023

I’ve been wanting to write on topics beyond remote and agile work for some time, but I’ve been struggling to describe the patterns I’m seeing — until now. I...

What is your quest?

December 8, 2022

In our work, we can sometimes find ourselves lost in the work. We struggle to complete huge lists of tasks and we forget why we are doing some of these...

How stopping can help you move forward

November 30, 2022

Early in 2022, I did something radical for me. I stopped almost everything: blogging, public speaking, social media, and writing for other publications. I...

A Thankful Thursday

November 24, 2022

If you couldn’t tell yet from the many emails in your inbox, today is Thanksgiving here in the USA. But rather than choosing one time a year to be thankful,...

A new home for Distributed Agile Field Notes

November 17, 2022

Since we released our book, From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams , in late 2018, we have learned even more that we would like to share. While...

When Hybrid-Remote, Help Community Care For Community

July 18, 2022

Photo by Jonny Gios on Unsplash Many experts recommend that hybrid remote events succeed when we separately handle the needs of colocated individuals and the...

Remote Facilitation: Being More Inclusive

May 19, 2022

Photo by Artur Łuczka on Unsplash What do you do when you facilitate online with high-quality visual whiteboards like Mural and Miro and then are asked to...

Remote Facilitation - Dancing with AI at Scale

May 11, 2022

I just finished an engaging and energizing conversation with hundreds of employees online. This would have been unheard of in the past as most online...

Remote Facilitation - The News Team Pattern in Large Hybrid Meetings

May 5, 2022

A colleague (let’s call her Rose) recently reached out with this question: “I’m going nuts trying to figure out decent ways to make big-room planning work in...

Remotely Facilitating for Connection: A Manifesto

March 24, 2022

The last two years of being remote gave us isolation, distraction, rushed meetings, repeat meetings (because we didn’t finish the work) and lost...

Capture That Concept In 3 to 4 Words

February 1, 2022

I’ve spent time reflecting these last few months, but it’s not for a new business idea. I’m thinking about what I want to leave behind. What can I put out in...

How Self Reflection on a Challenging Year Sets Better Goals

December 23, 2021

Taking a temperature reading on the year. When it’s a challenging year, you do not feel motivated to reflect on it. But because you have had a challenging...

Playing the Long Game of Remote Mentoring

November 18, 2021

kg-card-begin: html In my last post, I shared how remote work requires shifting many ways of working and thinking about work. Remote workers often find new...

Pivot Into Your Strengths in Challenging Times

November 10, 2021

What does your normal workday look like now? What will it look like in a year? That second question stumps everyone, but we all know it will be different....

Why You Want a Remote Mentor for Better Remote Work

November 3, 2021

kg-card-begin: html Remote work requires shifting many ways of working and thinking about work. Many people have struggled with this during the pandemic and...

When in the ick, principles should stick

August 16, 2021

kg-card-begin: html I was asked to do a 5 minute Spark Tale for the first Qiqocon user conference on August 5, 2021. I decided to do something a little bit...

The most difficult question to ask right now.

August 3, 2021

Hey there! One question that I’m having a difficult time with right now usually pops up in the first few minutes of any conversation. A couple of years ago,...

How to Handle Hybrid-Remote

July 1, 2021

The news around “returning to work” reminds me of the kids’ game of striking the piñata. The lucky player attempts to strike the paper mache figure filled...

Who Takes Care of the Caretaker?

June 8, 2021

kg-card-begin: html Many organizations continue to move forward with plans to bring people back into the office. Sometimes, this “move forward” feels more...

Does culture change when going remote?

May 24, 2021

I’ve heard this question many different ways in the last few weeks as people think about returning to the office. Some wonder if their culture shifted during...

Return Gently to the Office - Not Everyone Can or Will Return

May 12, 2021

kg-card-begin: html In my last two posts, I shared that returning gently included taking small steps and returning with reflection. Someone shared with me...

How not to be clobbered by the the next wave shifting your work

May 6, 2021

We’ve all been clobbered by the waves of 2020. To watch for that next wave, I try to keep an eye on business and technology news. But, I’ve also been looking...

Return Gently to the Office - Rebuilding with Reflection

May 5, 2021

kg-card-begin: html I hope many of you are reflecting on “returning gently” to the office. We might want to rush back to “normal”. However, in my last post,...

Return Gently to the Office - Rebuild Routines Slowly

April 29, 2021

kg-card-begin: html Can you feel it? We are so close to going “back”. Or are we? Whenever I faced something major that disrupted my normal routines, I’ve...

When do you challenge assumptions?

April 8, 2021

Hello distributed friends: After giving a talk today, I started thinking about how often I challenge my assumptions. Why? Because we often have to challenge...

The power of soft starts online

March 25, 2021

Hello location-free friends: As I answered some questions of other readers recently, I was reminded of a very simple technique to help you build a friendly...

A March Mashup of Remote Facilitation

March 24, 2021

kg-card-begin: html On 18 February 2021, a bunch of facilitators and coaches got together from around the world to share stories from some of their favourite...

Avoiding Dangerous Side Effects of Frameworks

March 22, 2021

kg-card-begin: html Recently, I completed an inaugural course on a new business marketing framework. Why? Marketing always made me feel uncomfortable because...

The Best Way I've Found To Keep Your Remote Team Connected

March 12, 2021

Hey worldwide friends, Some things happened recently that reminded me of you and some of the struggles you may have faced keeping your remote teams...

When chat is quiet, it may not be

February 25, 2021

Recently, I had two similar conversations with leaders about disengaged remote teams. One was with a reader of this newsletter (who I respect greatly as an...

The key to better hybrid-remote work environments

February 18, 2021

kg-card-begin: html In my prior posts, you may get the impression I don’t see hybrid remote as a viable path. You would be partially correct. As I stated in...

Are you burning the meal or feeding your remote team?

February 11, 2021

In my home, we have one tradition around Valentine’s Day: I cook my wife a Beef Wellington. I made this for my girlfriend (now wife) on our first Valentine’s...

Is hybrid-remote going backward or forward?

January 27, 2021

kg-card-begin: html As new vaccines emerge and political transitions move forward (deep breath), I still hear many talking about “going back” to the way...

Do you plan with questions?

November 6, 2020

I’m always fascinated with how we can use questions to explore new possibilities. My first hint of this was when I started facilitating years ago. A...

Your Next Workplace - Any, all or inclusive remote?

October 14, 2020

kg-card-begin: html We are all ready to go back to the office. Or are we? As mentioned in my previous post on resilience, your next workplace may adjust work...

Buddy System, Copilots, and Async for Hybrid Remote Work

October 6, 2020

kg-card-begin: html You may have heard of the working agreement that “when one is remote, all should be remote”. This agreement applies to remote hybrid...

Your Next Workplace - Office, Remote, or Resilience?

September 9, 2020

kg-card-begin: html 2020 presented many twists and turns for all of us, and there are more to come. In August 2017, I began to co-author a book on successful...

What's the best way to learn and collaborate?

August 13, 2020

Continuous learning becomes the first thing I look for when I’m asked to work with any knowledge work team. If the teams are not constantly finding ways to...

Your next workplace - 3 considerations

July 23, 2020

As we are now half way through 2020, I’ve wondered what the workplace will be like for many of us? Will we all be remote? Will we all be in little clear...

Remote Amplifies

July 3, 2020

kg-card-begin: html Over this first half of 2020, most of the world now knows what long-time remote workers have known for years: Remote amplifies. Remote...

Can you control the change?

June 25, 2020

You may not have caught my talk about Navigating Change while (Rapidly) Remote. You can find my slides on the Talks page of my website and related blog...

Is there a silver lining to being remote in 2020?

May 28, 2020

Hello my distributed (but not distant) colleagues. While dark clouds have lingered in 2020, some of us see a silver lining. First, there has been rapid...

Exploring Who Controls Your Meetings by Process and Tools Used Online

May 26, 2020

kg-card-begin: html As people moved to completely online and distributed work in the early part of 2020, interesting patterns in training and collaboration...

Where are you on your team?

May 12, 2020

This will be a short update today. I'm working with a new team and was reminded of some things I wanted to share with you.. Often I come across remote teams...

I'm not accepting the new normal in 2020

May 7, 2020

Me, my 3 kids, and 2 of our cats. I've worked remotely for years. I truly enjoy it. But these last couple of months has even challenged me. Many things have...

Oh no! This group doesn’t use video!

April 21, 2020

What do you do when you only can only share a screen, an audio line, and chat? How can you possibly keep people engaged? Set up feedback loops where you can....

Converting Exercises for Online Facilitation - the Dot Game

April 16, 2020

kg-card-begin: html In a previous post, I described a process for converting a location-based exercise into an online exercise and walked through an example....

Converting Exercises for Online Facilitation - the Jumpstart Storytelling Exercise

April 7, 2020

kg-card-begin: html Many coaches and trainers new to the virtual workplace ask many “how to” questions around virtual facilitation and exercises. I’ve...

Where are you now in going rapidly remote?

March 25, 2020

This has definitely been a week of lows and highs. I don't think I need to point out the lows to you. We all hear them on the news each day. I'd rather give...

Navigating Change While Being Rapidly Remote

March 16, 2020

kg-card-begin: html As we currently face the challenges of the COVID-19 (corona) virus, I see many individuals and teams being forced to rapidly go remote....