How to manage a remote team – with Luke Szyrmer

In this episode of the Working From Home podcast, Nelson is joined by Luke Szyrmer. Luke is an author and consultant who is experienced in the agile management of remote teams.

Topics of conversation include: common roadblocks to taking a team remote in the agile format, building culture with a remote team, deconstructing societal norms around work, the importance of visually mapping out a company’s organization structure, quality control checks with remote teams, and other topics.

[1:02] - Luke shares his background as an international worker, author, and business consultant.

[10:50] - How Luke transitioned from a regular job, to working remotely, to managing a remote team.

[12:49] - What are the barriers to entry for teams that are interested in going remote? Experience with agile team management, sprints, setting deadlines, etc.

[17:24] - Is it easier to take an existing team and transition them to remote work, or to build a remote team from scratch? It’s less about the team, it’s more about the organizational context.

[20:27] - What are the greatest difficulties when it comes to managing remote teams? How do you ensure people are working and submitting vetted deliverables?

[25:41] - Creating a culture of quality up and down the chain of command.

[30:17] - Examples of how a company might prioritize quality in different industries.

[32:46] - Luke discusses his podcast Align Remotely, and his forthcoming book on the topic.

[37:21] - Reconsidering norms and beliefs around remote work.

[42:22] - The importance of visually mapping out the organizational structure of a remote team (e.g. how work gets done, communication guidelines, deliverables, etc.).

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Resources Mentioned:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lszyrmer
https://www.launchtomorrow.com/
https://nelson-jordan.com/resources