Insights for Working, Leading, and Learning Remotely

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes, 47 seconds

No matter where you are located, relationships are an essential component of getting work done and building a career. However, when you’re physically removed from an office it can present new challenges for cultivating the kinds of meaningful interactions that historically grew as a result of frequent and informal connectivity. Some of the most common challenges to building relationships remotely were shared during the previous Networkplaceless. 

So how do you begin addressing these challenges? We welcomed Laurel Farrer, CEO of Distribute Consulting, to give us her take on building relationships remotely and which individuals you'll need in your network to help you succeed. Think of this as a remote advisory board—a set of cheerleaders, supporters, advocates, and helpers who are rooting for you as you develop professionally.

Who You Need in Your Remote Network

The people in your virtual...

We hosted our March 2020 Networkplaceless event on a regular schedule prior to the surge in remote work and school closures due to social distancing recommendations to stem the spread of COVID-19. These are the results of those conversations, however, elements are applicable to many more professionals as they enter virtual working relationships for the first time.

Humans are social beings. While this may manifest itself differently in every individual, it's important to recognize that interacting with colleagues is essential to building and maintaining trust in any team. And that trust is a critical element in any team’s success.

Continuous interpersonal interactions aid in achieving business objectives, reaching personal development goals and frankly keeping our sanity. These interactions become more important, yet more challenging, when team members are distributed. By not being physically located next to one another, employees miss out on the impromptu conversations...

During the first week of November I attended Nomad City 2019, a 3-day event in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain featuring workshops, keynotes, and discussions about remote work. Conferences are valuable learning experiences, and this event was no exception! I left the event feeling energized, informed, and better connected to a community of people who believe what I believe: remote work is critical to improving work, and by extension, our lives.

To use the conference tagline,

“We work from the places we love.”   

Workplaceless’ mission is to positively impact both the supply (remote roles available) and demand (employees seeking remote roles) of sustainable remote work opportunities. We do that by providing engaging learning experiences that prepare people to thrive in remote work—and since these experiences are informed by current trends and best practices in remote work, we make sure that we’re involved in conversations like the ones...

The top two challenges highlighted during the September Networkplaceless discussion about remote opportunities were: 

1. Lack of leaders creating and fostering opportunities 
2. Lack of relationship building opportunities 

During our October Networkplaceless we welcomed Julia Taylor Kennedy, Executive Vice President at the Center for Talent Innovation, who shared expert advice on how the area of sponsorship could apply directly to remote work environments in addressing these issues.

In all work environments, it’s critical to establish and foster relationships that encourage career growth, however, it’s also necessary to think through objectives and expectations for each relationship. Four categories of professional development relationships include: 

• Coaching. A coach shares advice on closing discrete skill gaps.
• Advocacy. An advocate helps a colleague by endorsing an idea or project. 
• Mentorship. A mentor provides a safe space for...

By Tory Fitzgerald, Operations Leader and Remote Work Seeker

Any opinions expressed within the blog are those of the author and not necessarily held by Workplaceless itself.

15 years ago, the world was introduced to the world’s greatest movie – 50 First Dates. I know every single one of you is shaking your heads, YES! It’s funny, a great love story and involves adorable penguins, that’s a win in my book! It’s a classic! (Okay, maybe not a classic, but it is good!) This is one of my go-to movies when there is NOTHING on Netflix, Hulu or Prime.

But why will this movie stand the test of time? – Because it is relatable. The core of the plot line is Adam Sandler’s character, (Henry) is trying to convince Drew Barrymore’s character, (Lucy) with repetitive short-term memory loss, over and over again to… love him.

Relatable.

Whether you are going on 50 First Dates with a girl who has short...

Let's talk networking events. You know that building a network is important to getting a job and moving up in your career, so you attend them, or at least, you've attended them in the past. 

You take your business card and you head over, ready to work the room and meet new connections. Sometimes it pans out, sometimes not. Sometimes, you have to explain what working remotely is all about. And sometimes, it's just a complete wash. 

Now tell me this: have you ever wondered why all these events are still done in person? Think about the time it takes to attend traditional networking events: getting ready, traveling to the place, and then the actual event itself, then traveling back. It seems silly to use all that extra commuting time when there are so many tools that are at our disposal now that make simulating face-to-face interactions so much easier. 

Well, now there is an event that uses these tools to network virtually. 

And you're...

Networking is important, even if you work remotely. Not only does it expose you to professional opportunities, it also helps you establish and cultivate important relationships that can help you navigate your career. But networking can be tough — even more so if you work from home because you're not in the habit of constant interaction. Here are some networking tips on how you can cultivate an active and supportive professional network if you work from home.

Basically, there are three networking channels you have when working remotely:

1. Live interactions. These include networking events, conferences, face-to-face team meetings or retreats.
2. Internet-based networking. This includes connections you make on social media and connections you make in other internet communities like blogs and membership sites. [Register for Networkplaceless]
3. Work-based networking. This includes the relationships you make in the process of completing your work. Obviously, your coworkers and...