Maren Deepwell

Author: Maren Deepwell

  • OER20: definitely not ‘business as usual’

    I have blogged about every OER Conference I have been to, and this year’s was a very special one. So I want to try and continue the tradition, but what can I say about the cancelled conference that happened online with 1100+ people?

    There is plenty to discover and reflect on about OER20 – and this post captures some of the voices, and includes links to content and resources. I’d also encourage you to have a look at the #OER20 hashtag on Twitter and if it is expertise about running events online you are after… then we are collating resources from ALT and others on this resources page for the community. We have also put together a slide deck (and webinars) about “How ALT runs events online: Sharing our expertise” https://go.alt.ac.uk/EventsOnline.

    Slide from “How ALT runs events online:
    Sharing our expertise” https://go.alt.ac.uk/EventsOnline

    But I don’t want to write about the business model, the money lost, the ‘blood, sweat and tears’ that it took to make it happen. Instead I want to share my thanks for the openness of OER20:

    Sharing open leadership in a crisis

    In the run up to the event, the global situation changed quickly. Plans made one day, were superseded by events 24 hours later. Risk assessments undertaken on Friday turned into disaster mitigation plans by Monday morning. Taking decisions in the face of uncertainty on such a scale is difficult. And being a CEO IS about taking decisions first and foremost. Colleagues from across the globe shared examples of the statements they published, actions they took, plans they made – putting our usually relatively quiet CEO networks into overdrive. I am grateful to everyone who shared their work so freely to help us help each other ‘rescue’ our events in the face of a global crisis.

    Yes, academic conferences are certainly not at the top of the list of priorities amidst a pandemic, but professional bodies like ALT serve thousands of individuals at the forefront of keeping learning, teaching and assessment going – and the exchange of information that conferences provide still plays a role in supporting the work they do even in a crisis. Also, there are hundreds of people who have invested time, money and resources into planning trips, who are, in some cases, already on route. Hundreds of individuals who deserve clarity and support from organisations like the one I run.

    Precarious circumstances become more challenging when uncertainty increases across sectors and OER20 supports the involvement from many in precarious circumstances through scholarships, bursaries, practical support and so forth. Sharing information and best practice with other organisations enabled us to find the best approach we could, supporting individuals and our community, ultimately enabling us to deliver some of the event online. The work we are doing now, sharing what we have learnt from the experience, is hopefully useful to others who are facing similar decisions in the weeks and months ahead.

    Sharing joy and tears in the open

    Many contributed much to making OER20 happen. To each of you, thank you. For me personally, there were two moments that really captured both the joy and the sadness of the times in very unique ways.

    One was a live online session led by Frances Bell celebrating the FemEdTech Quilt of Care and Social Justice. You can catch both the recording of the session and the accompanying video via the conference page. I have contributed to the quilt project both personally and professionally and yet the power of the live session really took me by surprise. I don’t think any webinar moved me to tears along with half the audience before this. It was a moment of connecting with fellow collaborators across the globe that was so special and made the distances and isolation between us, the crisis we are all weathering, palpable.

    The other session was the evening’s #OER20 #KaraOERoke Night. I don’t think I had laughed more than that in weeks. It was very special, but also fun and incredibly moving to see conference participants and their families join in with the Frozen song, reviving classics and demonstrating their singing ability with everything from MotĂśrhead to Kate Bush. Those moments, whether online or in person, are unforgettable.

    Sharing care in openness

    Rarely has a conference theme turned out to be quite so prophetic as OER20’s The Care in Openness. Little did we know in April 2019 that pedagogies of care would take centre stage in a global pandemic by the time the conference came to be. As it turned out, care was to be central to everyone’s life in April 2020.

    We talked a lot about care at OER20, care for students, care for staff, care in institutions, care for each other, care in every aspect of life. What we demonstrated most however is that we all need more of it.

    From babies and children taking part in conference sessions, to sharing the event’s ‘official’ pyjama dress code, to dropping in and out of taking part whilst caring for family and friends, pausing to rest and sleep – everything about OER20 reminded me that things were about as far from ‘business as usual’ as conferences can get. In some ways, and for obvious reasons, it was heartbreaking and horrible, to witness how the world was changing and disrupting our community. In other ways OER20 felt hopeful and provided moments of respite, a small measure of solace. And that is most precious in times like these.

    Thank you.
    Thank you to everyone who helped make it happen.
    Thank you for creating openness in a crisis.
    Thank you for caring.

  • Hope on the airwaves: #DS106Radio Sunday Special

    Live on Air

    It’s a few weeks into lock down and the last couple of Sundays, Anne-Marie, Tannis and I have been getting together on the airwaves, playing tunes and sharing stories on DS106Radio. Many of us are tuning into the live stream in recent weeks:

    Our first live broadcast, on Sunday 29th March, was an improvised conversation and playlist, organised very much by Anne-Marie, who figured out the technical set up required to mesh Skype call and internet radio first. The second one, the following week, on Sunday, 5th April, had a bit more a theme, but still ended up being very much just a conversation. Talking with each other and sharing our voices with our audience feels more important than ever in these times of isolation.

    Anne-Marie is recording and hosting recordings on her blog:
    Our second #ds106radio show. We did it again!
    We were picking from our Scottish Surprises Spotify playlist.

    I have bee really enjoying playing tunes and sharing memories as well as checking in with two friends who live far away, on a different continent, connecting across time zones.

    I have also been drawing… making virtual stickers:

    Like many others, I have been enjoying tuning in to the online radio ’emergency broadcast’ listening to familiar voices and some that are quickly becoming familiar, sharing stories of coping under lock down, facing uncertainty, sharing loneliness and lack of freedoms.

    I love the broadcasts, partly because they remind me every day that there is nothing ‘business as usual’ about this time. That it’s completely OK not to function or cope or be able to even get up in the morning.

    The radio also reminds me of how resilient human beings are. It gives me a sense of how hard everyone is working, fighting, trying. There’s hope on the airwaves.

    To all of you who are sharing songs and stories, thank you. I am out there, listening.

    To all fellow listeners, I am sending a hug. A really good one.

    See you on Sunday #DS106Radio.

    Image
    Us three at ETUG, Kamloops, June 2019 with Clint in the background.

  • Leading a virtual team… from your kitchen table

    LEGO me… my lunchtime cover 🙂

    I loved seeing tweets this week of signs and posters saying ‘daddy’s in a Skype call :)’ or ‘don’t come in – I’m in a meeting’… it gave expression to how much worlds are colliding just now. Whether you are a seasoned home worker or a newly (crisis) minted one, no one has experience of working from home during a global pandemic during lock down, without childcare and alongside every member of their household, pets included. And, with the worry of EVERYTHING THAT IS GOING ON, on their mind. ‘Business as usual’ this is not.

    I have been working on ALT’s response (if you are looking for Learning Technology support, help is at hand) and also sharing my own (team’s) expertise to help, but this post is more about my open practice as a leader.

    Openness comes under pressure when there is a crisis, but this crisis runs so deep, that much of our usual behaviours have given way to sharing our perspective, solutions and problems. Each day I get emails from fellow CEOs sharing useful information re employment or legal developments alongside personal updates. I hear from colleagues around the world who are at different stages of lock down, loss and recovery. I connect with colleagues closer to home, with suppliers and freelancers, paying bills and ensuring the essentials that keep us all going, and getting paid, are as safe as we can make them.
    But we are now a few weeks into this proper madness, exhaustion and frustration are definitely more visible than they were at the start and as I wrote in my last post, there’s a lot to contend with when you are (suddenly) leading a virtual team in this time of crisis.

    Finding balance between business as usual and no business at all

    Like everyone else I work (and live) with people on a whole spectrum of responses to the situation, from those who are coping, keen on as much normality as possible, those who focus on specific priorities, adjust to new daily routines to being completely scared, unable to function, sick and tired of it all. Leading any effort in times when tempers run hotter than usual, when communication , particularly online, can easily lead to conflict is tough! Finding balance between business as usual and no business at all is harder than you think… so I try to continue to create different spaces for different types of interaction:

    • Regular team meetings: focus largely on business as usual, with a set agenda and ideally max 1 hour long and video on for all as standard;
    • Coffee/tea get together: no business at all, just focus on social/personal conversations and checking in with each other;
    • Individual one to one: start with ‘how are you’ and establish context before then moving onto discussing work and end by setting a small number of clear and achievable priorities – ideally 30 min and always video on;
    • Group chats: establish formal/informal ones as needed but be very clear which one is essential. Give options to join in others, but prioritise one.
    • Individual chats: be available as you can be to deal with anything really urgent or personal or just to be present.

    Press pause and accept grey areas

    In the current crisis things can move quickly from one simple issue to a whole chain of unsolvable problems. When you are surrounded by so much uncertainty most people’s instinct is to lock stuff down, to create certainty, to be clear what’s right or wrong. You want to do the same of course, be clear, make the right decision, communicate effectively and so forth. But most of the time you and I are going to make it up as we go along, doing our best just as anyone else leading people and organisations through this madness, to take the best decision we can in completely unprecedented circumstances. From policy officials to shop keepers everyone is making it up, trying their best – and constantly re-assessing. Sometimes virtual teams can move at too fast a pace, things get frantic and it’s good to remember that you can press pause, take a breath and consider things. You won’t always get it right (I know I don’t) but you can take time to think it through and accept freu areas. Acknowledge those explicitly. Make it clear if you are compromising. Articulate, to your colleagues, why you are taking a decision or why you are waiting/reflecting. I am often in online meetings and a decision is required and I don’t know the answer. In that case I say it don’t know, I will need to think about it, I’ll get back to you by (whenever the decision is required). Being a leader in uncertain times requires us to get comfortable with uncertainty.

    Asking for help and setting an example

    In times of crisis a show of strength and certainty often goes a long way. But months of complete mayhem?! You are going to need to ask for help more and more often. You are going to need to model that and no one will see those urgent calls at the kitchen table, those pacing walks on the balcony, those late night glasses of wine over spreadsheets. Communicating how you seek help and why is just as important as solving problems, maybe more so. It helps normalise and make visible a process that is much harder to translate into virtual teams, where office doors that are open or casual conversations in the corridor are harder to come by. It’s much harder to admit what you don’t know or find the right moment to ask a question when you are (newly) working from home and your dog, spouse or whole team is listening in. I had a meeting (an important one as they all are these days), this week which I brought to a conclusion saying I had to rush off. Someone asked where to and I replied to have my lunch, to eat a sandwich. Everyone laughed and suddenly started to bring their own lunch into camera view. We said bye to hurry to have a break. It’s not unprofessional to be a human being, hungry and in need of a break. It’s not unprofessional to need help. When you are in a crisis situation that is going to last weeks or months, there is no way you can keep going without adjusting, giving yourself and others time to recover, collect your energy, get some headspace. It feels good to be busy and productive, but setting an example of being like that all the time isn’t helpful for leading people or organisations. It creates an unrealistic expectation for everyone.

  • How to lead a virtual team… tips & tricks

    For the past two years I’ve been blogging about our approach to leading a virtual, fully distributed team for ALT, the Association for Learning Technology. Together with my colleague Martin Hawksey I have charted our journey in podcasts and blog posts.

    Your own ‘journey’ may be only a few hours, a day or a week, probably not by choice and at a time of global emergency. So here are the tips & tricks I wish I had been given BEFORE I became the Chief Executive of a virtual organisation:

    Basics for you

    Putting together work spaces at home in a hurry is always going to be a compromise, but checking on some basic things like the height of the chair, angle of your arms when typing, glare on the screen(s) etc is important. You will feel it after hours and days of sitting at your new station and being uncomfortable or in pain will become an issue. Try to find a compromise that works or at least be aware of potential issues and get up frequently to help your body adjust. Everything going online doesn’t mean your physical self doesn’t have needs and it makes a big difference to you if you can feel settled at your new ‘desk’ to some degree at least. Consider small tokens of familiarity, pictures, or even post it notes to help you ‘move in’.

    Share tips or niggles with your team and ask colleagues to do the same. It is really helpful to acknowledge that you, too, find it surprisingly uncomfortable to work on the sofa, that kids dropping in unannounced drives you mad and that you had NO IDEA that the dog would only accept sitting on your lap all day. Team building starts with sharing the reality of the transition as a person, not just a job role.

    Routine is your friend

    Working virtually is easiest when you have a routine. At this point, that may not be entirely possible, but you might be able to do something like: set up a daily 30 min check in for groups or everyone; set up a schedule of regular one to ones (for example on a specific day each week), set regular team meetings; or designate a time slot as your “office hours”.

    Routine, and establishing a new rhythm is key to leading a virtual team. It provides a structure around which a team can function and sets deadlines for individuals who may be feeling bereft of their usual routines. Not everyone can easily hold it together when in addition to a crisis they are suddenly working from home, at an uncomfortable kitchen table, surrounded by laundry and dishes and 101 other things that demand their attention.

    Replicating structure for both focused work meetings and tea and coffee breaks/water cooler moments is going to help everyone. Start the week with half an hour of team chat about the weekend, or end the week with a wind down catch up. Create space for being social as well as productive.

    LISTEN (and then listen again)

    Working virtually is going to rob you of many ways in which you would normally manage people. Body language, tone of voice, observing how people interact or sit at their desk… you are going to get A LOT less information about the people you lead. So when you do meet, close windows and browsers, sit back, make eye contact and listen (and then listen again). Don’t let yourself be distracted by other things, or even how someone might react because they are self conscious on video or a voice call.

    You can get a lot from virtual interaction if you focus and are prepared to deal with what’s coming your way, which is likely to be not all good! It can make you feel helpless when someone is in tears on video chat. It can be really tough to have a disagreement over the phone, particularly when you are used to dealing with situations like that face to face. But with months of uncertainty ahead, you won’t be able to park a problem and then solve it when you are back in the office. So encourage your staff to talk to you and tell them that they have your undivided attention. That’s the magic sauce.

    Keyboard shortcuts are a killer

    There will be many moments when you are working together with someone, and there is miscommunication. You are on one page, they are on another. For you it’s working, for them it isn’t. Even if you all have a similar level of digital competency, you are likely to use different methods to achieve the same aim, and things like innocent little keyboard shortcuts can be a killer.

    Because YOU CAN’T SEE what someone else is doing on their keyboard, even when you share screens, you will likely miss a lot of stuff. It’s surprising how much. So try to get used to describing what you do as you are doing it (literally say… I am clicking on this..) and document as much as you can, ideally together.

    Sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and start again.

    The darkest day: and how to get up again tomorrow

    Leading a virtual team is just as hard and tiring and trying, just as fun and enjoyable as leading people in person – so at times like this it’s a complete nightmare. You have to have all the answers, but it’s a lot harder to project confidence when WIFI is down and you are sitting at a make shift desk trying desperately to complete a risk register. At that point, someone has a personal crisis, stops communicating and because you are all at home you have no idea what is happening. Are they OK? Will they come back to work? What should you tell everyone who is waiting? What’s happening to the person who has been silent all day? Why did you not get the report you were waiting for? And why, why, are there already 200 new emails.

    You are facing impossible odds, and leading a team is always more work when there is a crisis, and in particular when there is a prolonged period of uncertainty. You will have dark days and people rely on you to get up and do it all again the next morning. Here is what I do to help with that:

    • keep to work hours wherever possible and protect non-work time
    • sit for a while at the end of the day to ‘commute’ and reflect on my day
    • draw a circle and divide it up into a pie chat of everything you are worried about
    • label each worry
    • give yourself a break
    • leave your laptop shut for the rest of the night and wherever possible don’t put work emails on your phone

    Good luck. You can do this.

  • This #IWD2020… don’t drown in other people’s dirty laundry

    All kinds of washing…

    It’s International Women’s Day #IWD2020 and this year I am writing this post about washing.

    What is this about? Women’s labour? Household chores? Automation of domestic labour?
    No.
    What I am thinking about is the concept of ‘openwashing’ and similar kinds of ‘washing’ and how to avoid drowning in that kind of dirty laundry.

    I came across this first at the OER15 conference in Cardiff in a memorable keynote by Cable Green:

    As an aside, OER15 was a vintage keynote year for the OER Conference in my view, featuring Josie Fraser, Martin Weller and Sheila MacNeill and the whole playlist is definitely worth another look. That said, I think you could safely say EVERY year of the OER Conference is a vintage keynote year (but you might expect me to say that as part of the organising team) and this year’s event, OER20, is promising to be a vintage programme year once again.

    Back in 2015 meanwhile, Lorna Campbell wrote an often quoted blog post in which she wrote:

    Cable also touched briefly on open washing, which Audrey Watters has defined as “having the appearance of open source and open licensing for marketing purposes while continuing proprietary practices.”
    And he called Udacity out for openwashing with their Open Education Alliance, which despite the name, does not appear to be open in any sense of the word.

    From: OER15 – Better late than never!, Open World, by Lorna Campbell

    Since OER15 then I find it useful to use this concept of openwashing in other contexts as well, for example I come across of communitywashing and equalitywashing… and so forth.

    I am in a position of privilege in many ways, in that I am a white European woman in a leadership position, I am well educated and I have the knowledge, skills and connections to navigate life to name some examples. Some of this privilege I was born into, some is due to luck and some I have worked hard to achieve. I also experience a lot of prejudice and discrimination and inequality as a woman working in a tech related field and in a myriad of other ways. Both have helped motivate me to actively try to see more of how others experience the world, and to do what is in my power to make a positive difference. Promoting gender equality is something I am passionate about, which is why I am an activist in networks that help this cause, such as the FemEdTech network.

    Example of the work I do from 2019 (you can find the whole talk here)

    This and other professional activities have attracted the attention of people who are keen to be perceived to care about things like openness, community and equality. People who organise events, publish content and generally broadcast messages that contain all the rights words and yet have no meaning because when we read them we know it’s nothing but washing. It’s reputation management at toxic levels. And so at this time of year, particularly around International Women’s Day, the invitations to contribute, to speak, to be interviewed and to participate increase in volume just as the desire to seem to be doing the ‘right’ thing becomes a more valuable commodity.

    Every time I read yet another media release that starts with ‘by the community, for the community’ but which is actually written by the marketing or research department of a multi million pound business it makes me question what meaning community has in this context: do they actually mean customers, consumers, users, target audiences? It matters. It matters because of the intention behind the exercise differs and the outcome does as well. Like with openwashing proprietary practices usually continue to underlie all these ‘community activities’, they are just washed in words that imply engagement and shared ownership. Yet when the commercial interest or policy angle shifts, then those projects or networks are often shut down or dissolved into ‘self sustaining’ models that quickly end in the graveyard of moribund communities of practice which is full of ghosts of communities past.

    Besides the obvious, this type of ‘washing’ has serious downsides in the long term: from the outside, to policy makers for example, sectors in which ‘community washing’ is prevalent appear to be functioning well, hence not in need of investment or intervention. Snap shots show only activity levels not their unsustainable and patchy nature. From the inside, particularly for newcomers, this kind of washing can be hard to detect and the alternatives harder to find. Again and again I come across new hubs or networks that duplicate what existing communities already do – but marketing ‘we are supporting something that is already there’ with its own identity and power, is far less effective at ‘washing’ those impact reports and social media channels, it can’t bathe them in a light of seemingly authentic engagement. Thus, I feel, much resources get wasted, wheels invented many times over in the name of communitywashing. It doesn’t help empower actual communities or build capacity or develop skills in ways that are sustainable and fit for purpose.

    What all types of ‘washing’ have in common is that there is no real shift in the power base. Control remains with whoever has it rather than being distributed and shared. Gender equalitywashing provides some particularly infuriating examples, from equating balanced gender representation with having a token woman at a tech conference (‘there was A WOMAN on stage…’) to featuring appropriately photogenic stories front and centre without ever actually changing practice (…our organisation and its assets may be entirely dominated by men but we have stories about woman succeeding in the industry on the website).

    From reports misrepresenting everyday sexism to glossing over structural pay and policy inequality, every single day brings examples of gender equalitywashing. There is so much evidence of inequality that is both persistent and pervasive that the kind of window dressing marketing that International Women’s Day seems to prompt each year seems laughable.

    We know that we and YOU are not doing enough, not nearly enough, to redress the balance. Not anywhere. Not at any time. We are not closing gaps or nearly closing gaps. It may be more profitable to appear to address the issues in the workforce, company or industry, but only to a certain extent. Real change might disrupt profits and redistribute power.

    This type of washing again gives the appearance of much positive activity or indeed activism without addressing the underlying inequalities effectively (and often without intending to do so at all). It creates a sense of futility, leads people to question why nothing is changing when we appear to do so much. And it does not support but often counteracts genuine efforts to affect change. Having a ‘women in X’ initiative does not equal ‘problem solved’.

    I am well aware that there are many who don’t feel gender inequality continues to exist. Having won the right to vote and the existence of the Equal Pay Act has addressed any outstanding issues they argue. If this is your view, I am glad you are reading this blog post. You may wish to continue reading and books like Invisible Women or Inferior would make an excellent starting point.

    I talk about inequality pretty much in every talk I give (there is a review of 2019 here) and there are always follow ups from people who don’t feel that in their lives, in their office, in their organisation this is an issue. Partly, I think, (wilful) ignorance is to blame (please refer to the reading suggestions above to become more informed).

    But the kind of equalitywashing I am talking about is also to blame. It promotes a false sense of progress and change that does not prompt people to critically examine their own role and responsibility. In my view, we are all responsible both collectively and as individuals.

    It is much harder, I find, to feel complacent when considering if there is anything more I could do to contribute, to make change happen – because there is always more to do. A lot more.

    As the tide of misinformation gets whipped into a frenzy, the challenge to separate ‘washing’ from authentic voices can appear to become harder. But I find that most people do know. They can differentiate dishonesty from the real thing. What does become harder is to make your voice heard. Not to drown in other people’s dirty laundry.

    And we do see those who engage in that kind of washing… those who use words like open and community and equality and try to divest them of their true meaning for their own convenience. The reality of open, the living of equality, the being part of a community is much more messy and nuanced, far less marketable than ‘washing’ requires it to be. It’s by no means all easy or good or uncontested. And yet, despite the messiness, the arguments and the disagreements, it is at least a reality beyond the imagination of corporations.

    I want to note my thanks to all the people in my life who do what they can to make a difference. Who don’t engage in just applying a wash, a veneer of values but who live by them instead. Many of them identify as women, but many do not, and I am grateful for all of them, especially on International Women’s Day. I see you, I hear you, thank you.

    A photo of old fashioned hairdresser chairs
    Space for uncommon conversations

    (Send your media enquiries and keynote panel invites via email to… 😉

  • Virtual Teams: moving parts

    Welcome to this month’s post (cross-posted here) in which we, that is Martin Hawksey (@mhawksey) and Maren Deepwell (@marendeepwell), openly share our approach to leading a virtual team. If this is your first time visiting this post series or you’d like to review previous posts go to our Virtual Teams summary page.

    This month we start our third year as a virtual team and we talk about the ups and downs of moving house as home workers, how to give yourself a break during times of upheaval and supporting each other.

    February

    Maren: I have been looking back at the first post in our series. Although it’s two years ago, that moment of closing our physical office door for the last time and starting the next morning as a virtual team is still palpable. At the time, creating stability, a sense of security and permanence seemed like a formidable challenge. Every aspect of our operation was in flux, new systems everywhere we looked. Tasks like receiving post or signing an invoice became things that required an extraordinary amount of time and thought. Two years on and nearly half of our staff team are planning to move house over the next year. Instead of work being in flux and ever changing, the ability to take our work with us, to remain part of a virtual team regardless of location, provides security. It’s interesting to reflect on how things have changed. We have supported quite a few colleagues through home working house moves and this year it’s our turn. What are your thoughts? 

    Martin: When I started working for ALT over 6 years ago the ability to work from home was an essential requirement as relocating to our then base of operations in Oxford was simply not an option. Six years on the ability to relocate without having to give up my job is another big win, although admittedly our move this time is just 10 minutes away. When looking for a new home accommodating my workspace was one of the criteria, but another was what sort of internet connectivity was available. I’m actually looking forward to setting up a new office, a chance to design my new space. Transition is also a consideration. Unfortunately we aren’t able to move straight into our new home so I’ve got a period without my own space. This is going to be a bit of a journey into the unknown, particularly in terms of connectivity. We’ll be staying in Airbnb’s so hopefully hosts have made sure they’ve got good wifi to keep guests happy and I’ve got a VPN for a secure connection. Should connectivity still be an issue I’ve got access to three different PAYG mobile networks. Over the years I’ve also accumulated a couple of portable external displays so I’m not anticipating issues, but these things can sometimes be hard to predict just as it was two years ago when we changed operations. What are your thoughts on moving?

    Maren: Moving house is not something I read about in charity management handbooks! Like so many other aspects of leading people it wasn’t discussed much or at all. When you don’t have the option of working from different locations a house move often means finding a new job as well. So it’s a huge plus to be able to keep the job when you have to relocate. Since we became a virtual team more than half of us have moved and the disruption has ranged from serious and prolonged to very minimal. Moving is a big, stressful life event and has a long tail of practical consequences. Like moving offices or rather moving out of an office it takes a lot of planning and doing and that takes headspace and time. All of which causes a certain amount of distraction from work. For some work acts as a welcome break from the stress of moving as it presents more predictable problems to solve. For others productivity slows when they lose their habitual set up and environment. Although we live in a culture where working from home is becoming more normal, most parts of life aren’t really set up for it. ‘People’ just assume you ‘go to work’ and moving processes are not designed to prioritise continuity for home workers. We have taken steps to support staff during periods of transition such as providing a mobile WiFi hub (which is passed to whoever needs it), putting our flexible work policy to good use to accommodate moving dates etc and so forth. In terms of work I think house moves function in a similar way to holidays. It’s a deadline that can focus the mind and it forces you to take a step back from your usual perspective. It’s also incredibly stressful, uncomfortable and discombobulating and the only way I can deal with it is just to sit with those feelings and accept that ‘chaos’ is upon me. It reminds me, very forcefully, that every professional, no matter how successful, is a human being first and foremost. We all deserve some kindness and compassion from our colleagues and ourselves, we deserve to give ourselves a break. 

    Martin: I don’t know if it was prompted but it feels like the ALT team are giving me some extra care and consideration, which is quite remarkable given how caring they are already. It’s small things like pre-empting questions with “I know you are busy but could you help me with…”. In terms of disruption we now have a possible entry date for our next property which isn’t until the end of May. Whilst this length of time isn’t ideal it’s nice to have a date and it doesn’t feel like forever. In terms of planning and trying to prevent disruption a particular problem, perhaps unique to virtual teams, is the extra preparation for the equipment I store for ALT used at our face-to-face events. As I manage the livestreaming this includes AV equipment, lots of cables and magic boxes, as well as various other bits and pieces we use as part of our events. The removers we’ve employed are very nice but I don’t think I’ll be thanked if I have to ask for something accidentally put into storage. Another potential disruption looming at the time of writing is Coronavirus (COVID-19). As a distributed team we benefit from not having to send employees home should someone contract COVID-19, or spend time disinfecting workspaces. This is not to say we can ignore the risks associated with the wider impact that could happen such as the UK Government imposing travel restrictions, or members of our team becoming unwell … all part of being human. For me it’s a reminder of the benefits of small things like our Monday morning watercooler chat. As we aren’t co-located I find this is the perfect chance to see how someone is feeling.

    Maren: yes, at a time when we do a risk assessment a day those touch points to check how everyone is are key. Processes and procedures are always important when an unexpected crisis hits and I suppose we have had ample opportunities to stress test ours. Virtual working makes it even more crucial to communicate regularly and effectively and it’s actually helpful, I find, not to be able to rely on being co-located but to be forced to communicate expressly. It’s an example of how working remotely promotes better practice by default. The year ahead looks like it may prompt more organisations to adopt flexible working practices and in many ways using technology to manage a crisis really worries me. Our blog series highlights so many aspects in which you need time and resources to support a transition like this effectively no matter how good the technology is: it’s never going to be seamless. I feel there is a real danger to erode support structures, labour rights and established norms that should not be disrupted. So I am glad that our way of working as a distributes team was not formed at a time of crisis, but a planned transition in which employees were consulted and supported. We chose this path. I hope what we learnt so far continues to be useful to others who are now rushing to find solutions. We certainly work in interesting times just now!