DIRECTT: A Simple Framework for Learning and Connection in Remote and Hybrid Teams
Most learning as professionals doesn’t happen in the formal classroom. It mostly happens spontaneously in small steps through contact with our colleagues and as we tackle our work.
However, when we work apart from each other, unless we design the interactions to help us learn from each other, they will rarely take place.
One way to learn from each other is through meeting up and sharing what we’ve learned throughout the week or month. We can have Latte and Learn sessions, the equivalent of learning from each other over coffee.
But those kind of events don’t help us capture our team learning as we go along. They only provide one punctual, specific point of connection, rather than the shorter, regular touch points which can help team members feel connected throughout the week. Having a framework to help you share the different kinds of insights that occur spontaneously can be of benefit to the team, helping team members feel connected at the same time as they share aspects of their work and their learnings.
Think of it as a form of “working out loud”.
WORKING OUT LOUD… BUT IN SMALL DOSES
The concept of working out loud became popular in HR circles when social media began to grow. John Stepper, in his book by the same name, described it as “sharing your work in a way that is of use to you or others”.
Working out loud became a way of networking online, internally and externally, of building connections through conversations related to different aspects of the work, of sharing ideas in their early stages and obtaining feedback.
The term was also often used to describe how people worked in distributed teams and organisations, and indeed “working out loud” was the inspiration for the concept of Visible Teamwork, a term I came up with because I didn’t want the word “loud'' to describe what is many times a reflective process.
In 2017, I came across an article called “Working Out Loud Does Not Mean Being Noisy”.
In the piece. Jochen Lillich described a framework used in his team to stay connected. DIRECT captures a range of work areas that could be of interest to other team members, even if they’re not working on the same tasks as you. Throughout the week, team members pop into the channel #direct in Slack to answer one of these questions:
Decisions: Did you make a choice that will affect others on the team?
Insights: Have you learned something new?
Results: Did you reach an important objective?
Emotions: Is there something that’s making you happy? Sad?
Contacts: Did you get in touch with someone who could influence our business?
Troubles: Do you have an issue you could use some help with?
MAKING LEARNING AND THINKING VISIBLE
I’ve integrated (and adapted, as you will see below) this framework into Visible Teamwork, as a way of helping team members make their work and thinking visible asynchronously.
For some teams, having one space to communicate something fitting the DIRECT framework, can be enough for team members to feel closer together.
The framework can help team members answer the question, “What did you get up to this week” in a meaningful way, rather than rolling out a list of tasks they have completed. You’re more likely to share a more personal approach and experience of the work.
TEAM GRATITUDE
A common perception about online interactions is that they tend to be transactional. This might not be a problem when you mix your regular online asynchronous communication with regular in-person interactions, but when all your communication is online and most of it is asynchronous, there is a danger of only communicating with others when we need something from them.
I’ve met many managers of hybrid teams (of the pre-corona type), who realised that all their emails to their one or two remote workers were only task-related, and they were only phoning them when things went wrong. Meanwhile, any kind of personal connection, any kind of appreciation for the day-to-day work, was getting lost in the distance.
Indeed, appreciation is one of those elements of teamwork that might get lost in the distance. Yes, you might smile when you read about a job well done, you might even say “wow” when someone gives you a useful piece of advice in writing – but no one in the team can see or hear you.
As with all communication in remote teams, you have to be intentional about thanking people. That was the only missing piece for me in the DIRECT framework and so I added another T, making the framework DIRECTT.
When I introduced this to a group of managers during the 2020 pandemic, one of them introduced it to their team as a way of checking out of their Friday meetings. He said that having the “Thanks” as a prompt changed the tone of these checking is from everyone mainly sharing the problems that come across, to showing the gratitude for others in the team.
CREATE A TEAM MEMORY
Jochen’s team used DIRECT to guide them through their ongoing communication, as part of their asynchronous practices. I always recommend using the framework as an asynchronous way of staying connected to team members. Although it can be valuable to use it to check in or out of team meetings, using it as part of your asynchronous communication can provide flexibility in when we share our thoughts. An online space that’s accessible any time can allow you to immediately capture your thoughts, or moments of gratitude, instead of having to wait until you are all gathered in the same time and space.
You can pick a tool your team uses regularly. For example a channel in Slack or Teams; a shared online notebook, like Evernote or the often underused Microsoft OneNote. You can have a Google Doc or online Word doc which captures all your thoughts, providing a unique team memory, and even a document that can be used when welcoming new people to your team. Even a weekly email can be of use.
USE DIRECTT TO HELP YOU “LAND” IN YOUR MEETINGS
I admit that I also use this framework at the beginning of team workshops, as a way of helping team members check in with each other. As you hear team members share one of the DIRECTT elements, you learn about their context, and also hear their mood. For teams where members work independently from each other, or who are going through a busy period, this check in can help them re-connect around the work.
NEXT STEPS
If you feel like your team members are beginning to feel disconnected from each other, have a go at introducing this simple practice of DIRECTT. Use it in the way that suits you best: asynchronously for those used to sharing thoughts and reflections online; or in a meeting for those teams that love hearing from each other in real-time.
During busy times, having a way to structure our thoughts can help us to reflect on our own work and practice, as well as helping us to reconnect with our team.
If you would like to hear how the framework evolved, listen to this episode with Jochen Lillich.
If you’re looking for ways for employees in distributed or hybrid organisations, check out our Podcasting for Connection service.