A Collection of Books to Inspire Fresh Thinking in Leaders of Remote Teams
In this post, Pilar shares some of her favourite books in the categories of leadership, inspiration, and remote work. This is a selection of the book recommendations included in our newsletter. For your monthly dose of inspiration, you can sign up here. (You’ll also receive a complimentary copy of “Leading Through Visible Teamwork”, a guide to help you implement asynchronous communication within your remote team.)
LEADERSHIP & INSPIRATION
Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.
by Brené Brown
Brené Brown is well known for her work on vulnerability, and this book explores that topic from the point of view of the manager and business leader.
When we look at how we interact with our remote team members, how we support them or how we lead them through change, it's easy to forget how our own behaviour (rather than our written text, or our use of tech) affects our relationships. Understanding when vulnerability can nurture better teamwork (as well as what being vulnerable really means and what it looks like) can help us continue to build relationships, regardless of where we're all based.
"We should always be clear about our intention, understand the limits of vulnerability in the context of roles and relationships, and set boundaries."
Friday Forward: Inspiration & Motivation to End Your Week Stronger Than It Started
by Robert Glazer
Robert is the CEO of Acceleration Partners, a distributed company. As part of his own development, he began writing an essay once a week, reflecting on an inspirational story he'd read. He then started sharing it with his employees, began to share it outside the organisation, created a very popular newsletter and well, the rest is... a book.
If you're looking for short daily reads, to focus your thinking and get you reflecting, this could be the book for you.
You can listen to Robert on the 21st Century Work Life podcast talking about shaping the culture of his distributed organisation through being clear on values, in episode 179.
Robert also joined us for episode 257 to chat about the elements of organisational culture and how he's role-modelling a learning mindset.
Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Thinking
by Matthew Syed
There are many cognitive traps we fall down when working with those who mainly think like us - although sometimes too much cognitive diversity can also be unproductive.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, with fascinating examples from the CIA and dangerous climbs up Mount Everest, but also with insights from scenarios easier to relate to. For example, having cognitive diversity is great, but only if there is room for people to express their ideas:
"A clever study by the Rotterdam School of Management analysed more than three hundred real-world projects dating back to 1972 and found that projects led by junior managers were more likely to succeed than those with a senior person in charge."
Virtual Teams Across Cultures: Create Successful Virtual Teams Around the World
by Theresa Sigillito Hollema
I’m very excited about recommending this book as I consider Theresa a "writing buddy" (as well as a good friend!) and I have followed her journey writing this book, so I'm delighted that it was published.
For me, this book is the missing piece in the literature about working across different geographical cultures. Theresa talks about many concepts that affect all virtual teams, and how they can be tackled in global ones; as well as introducing psychological concepts of interest to us all.
I had the pleasure of talking with Theresa about the book during this recent podcast episode: WLP251 Leveraging Cultural Differences in Global Virtual Teams.WLP251 Leveraging Cultural Differences in Global Virtual Teams.
by David Burkus
Working in remote teams can leave us isolated from the rest of the organisation, and sometimes it restricts the kind of network we build. Like with most practices in the online space, we need to be deliberate about how we build our networks. This book has plenty of different aspects to consider.
I must admit that if the author of this book hadn’t been a guest on our podcast, I probably would’ve never picked it up. But I am so glad I did. This is not a book on what we traditionally think of as networking (making connections in order to open business opportunities) but a book on how networks grow, what kind of connections we build with different kinds of people, how we judge others by their connections, the importance of shared experiences and the importance of building both personal and business relationships with those we work with. Finally, it’s a great reminder of how much our network actually influences us. The book is full of research, stories and Also has a set of recommended steps on how to build networks both online and in person.
You can hear David Burkus talk about this book in episode 175 of our podcast. And in episode 137 he talks about one of his other books, Under New Management.
The Solutions Focus - Making Coaching and Change SIMPLE
by Paul Z Jackson and Mark McKergow
If you love frameworks, this SIMPLE one is for you! An inspiring read that reminds us that the solution to problems in organisations is already present in some shape or form - we just need to find those pockets of success and build on them.
"If someone starts to resist what you are doing, it is a sign that you have not yet found the best way to cooperate with them."
"Rather than leading from the front, it is sometimes easier to lead from one step behind and give people a tap on the shoulder with a good question."
EMBRACING REMOTE WORK
by David Heinemeier Hansson and Jason Fried
The book was written in 2013, so a real thought-leader covering most of which you will have read about, heard about before. Written in true Basecamp style, with short, sharp chapters and bold statements. There are some "advocacy" chapters (including one on how remote allows you to be "Disaster ready" - no mention of a pandemic as an example though!) and some with practical advice on collaboration and wellbeing.
Some of my favourite quotes from this book:
"Progress is a joy best shared with co-workers." (Hoorah for visible teamwork!)
"You, the remote worker, are in control of your social interaction - when it happens and how much of it you need." (Hoorah for asynchronous interactions!)
"Remote work is about setting your team free to be the best it can be, wherever that might be."
By Lisette Sutherland
This review of this book comes to us from Maya: This was never going to be a short book, given the scope of work it was addressing - from the office with one homeworker, to vast fully distributed organisations - there has never been a greater need for this book than right now.
Lisette tackles a sprawling complex topic with rigour, and there are loads of great actionable checklists and ideas. You are bound to find a dozen things you can quickly put into practice. And look out for familiar faces and names from this podcast, in her extensive research section.
You can read Maya’s in-depth review of the book in this LinkedIn post. And listen to Lisette talk about her book in episode 184. And by the way, Lisette used to be co-host of our very own 21st Century Work Life podcast, so plenty of episodes to hear her views!
From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams: Collaborate to Deliver
by Mark Kilby and Johanna Rothman
Plenty of actionable advice from this book if you are transferring agile practices to the online space. Mark and Johanna show that if you embrace the agile mindset, there is nothing to stop you from continuing that collaboration online.
Written in short chunks, with many examples drawn from the authors’ long-standing experience of helping teams do their best work. Even if you don’t work in agile, there are plenty of principles which will transfer over to any kind of team work.
You can hear both authors talk about the content of the book in episode 197 and Mark Kilby has contributed to many of our shows too. Search for his name in any podcast app.
Secrets of the Remote Workforce. By Employees. For Employees.
by Teresa Douglas, Holly Gordon and Mike Webber
As the tagline says, this book has been written "by employees, for employees", and it is a guide to working in a remote environment in an organisation.
The book is full of advice that comes mainly from first-hand experiences of the authors and their colleagues. From how to best set up your camera, to the importance of venting, I think there is little that hasn't been covered in this book about what it feels like to be a remote employee.
You can hear Teresa talk about her own work life changed as a result of the pandemic in episode 229 and in most of the episodes of our Connection and Disconnection in Remote Teams series.
Out Of The Office: Making the transition to working from home
by Maya Middlemiss
This is Maya’s brand new book, the first volume of the Healthy Happy Homeworking series, focusing on how to embrace all that working from home has to offer as a long term option. In this book, Maya uses her 20 years of experience working from home to help us discover the choices and benefits homeworking can bring into our lives -- helping us get organised, stay positive, and develop the right home office routine.
And Of course, we’ve got a couple of books that may come in handy too:
Thinking Remote. Inspiration for Leaders of Distributed Teams
By Pilar Orti and Maya Middlemiss
A collection of thought-pieces to guide you through the mindset change towards "remote" - exploring the foundations of remote work, remote wellbeing and psychological safety, organisational visibility, and so much more. Your very own coach.
Each chapter covers a different aspect of leading remote teams and ends with a set of questions to help you plan your next steps.
Online Meetings That Matter. A Guide for Managers of Remote Teams
By Pilar Orti
This is our book on how to run great meetings with your remote team. This is a practical book that will help managers and their teams reconsider not just how they run their meetings, but their whole approach to online collaboration.
With a focus on strengthening the relationships between team members and using technology to support your team’s work, this book covers a range of ways in which members of remote teams can gather in the online space, as well as how individuals can prepare to make the most out of their valuable time together.
We previously rounded up a selection of our favorite business books. Read the blog post here.
Have you read anything lately that has inspired you? Please leave a comment. We’d love to hear!
(And please note that the links to purchasing the books are all affiliate links, so we will take a small percentage of your purchase.)