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You're reading Leading Software People, a curated newsletter for people who are managing software teams, brought to you by the people who built Status Hero.
Team Communication
Tools we love for agile data teams
Our friend Alexis Johnson-Gresham and her team at Brooklyn Data Co. work as analytics consultants, which means they're often asked for recommendations on tools by their clients. In this post, Alexis breaks down their favorite tools for communication, task management, and documentation with great tips for how to set up each tool for the best results.
Video chats short circuit a brain function essential for trust
Don Pettis is skeptical the the work from home revolution brought on by COVID-19 will be long lasting. That's because research shows that in-person communication is more effective for building rapport, trust, and healthy relationships amongst team members. Do you agree? How are you and your team building and strengthening relationships with each other while remote?
Leadership & Management
What is your WFH manager doing all day?
Even before a global pandemic caused most of us to work from home, lots of people wondered what their manager did all day. Now that everyone is working remotely, it can be an even bigger question. Ray Moukaddem had to make the transition too, and now that he's found his rhythm, he breaks down how he spends his day as a manager and why each part is important. An interesting read for anyone that might be wondering, "What do they really do all day?"
The Five Levels of Remote Work — and why you’re probably at Level 2
In this article from Steve Glaveski, he reviews Automattic founder Matt Mullenweg's "five levels of distributed teams" discussed on a recent podcast appearance. A recommended read for anyone that's working remotely (due to COVID-19 or otherwise) and wants to understand how to continue to improve their organization's configuration, processes, and remote practices.
Productivity & Estimation
OKRs from a development team’s perspective
Using OKRs at your organization? How are they impacting the work your team decides to do? Are they? Joe Cannatti at Zafu Labs doesn't think OKRs are great for development teams. The problem is that teams are already invested in their current backlog, and instead of rethinking it based on the OKRs, they simply find ways to make their existing plans "fit" the OKRs. If that sounds familiar, check out the article for some ideas on how to overcome this problem.
The Best Remote Working Software in 2020 - Rebrandly Blog
Looking for tips on the best software to use as a remote team? Rebrandly did the hard work for you and created this list of over 25 tools covering standard areas like communication as well as some more specialized categories like people management and customer success.
People & Culture
Barriers to a successful remote retrospective with a distributed team
Retrospectives are critical for driving continuous improvement within your team and its processes, but they can be challenging, especially when remote. In this article from the team at Miro, learn how you can overcome common challenges with team engagement, groupthink, and post-retro follow-up.
miro
Why Remote Work Is So Hard—and How It Can Be Fixed
Many people that are finding themselves working remotely are discovering the benefits and wondering why it took a global pandemic to make it a reality for them. In this article from Cal Newport he unpacks some of the long-running challenges with remote work and why overcoming them will improve work for everyone, whether remote or in-person.
"Before the pandemic, we were already suffering through a productivity crisis, in which we seemed to be working longer hours, glued to screens and drowning in e-mails. The solutions that make remote work sustainable—more structure and clarity, less haphazardness—may also help fix these other long-standing problems in knowledge work. Work that is remote-friendly for some may be better work for all."
Only Slightly Off-Topic
What's wrong with your time zone?
Marcelo at Remote is not a fan of time zones. He makes the case for standardizing on UTC in order to remove the headaches and challenges associated with having 37(!) different time zones. A great read for anyone that's ever been frustrated when attempting to coordinate a multi-time zone meeting.
Letter of Recommendation: Bug Fixes
Paul Ford takes an interesting look at open source software - its benefits, challenges, and potential. "With open code and version control, the foundational document and the human process are one. We’re usually told to turn away from the sausage-making. With laws, TV shows, chicken nuggets or corporate mergers, it’s better not to know. Not in software, in which nothing is ever finished. Watching the commits, you can see the story taking shape. Or possibly shape the story yourself."
Have you tried Status Hero yet?
Status Hero is a work communication tool that replaces time-consuming meetings, shoulder taps, digging for data, and other interruptions with a tidy report. Use it to get a continuous, clear understanding of accomplishments, intentions, and blockers across your organization. Give it a shot with a free trial.