Tag Archives: remote work

Written Communication Tip: Assume Positive Intent

It’s not news that 90% of communication is non-verbal, and that nuance and subtlety are lost over written messages. Be conscious of this.

With lots of our communication now written (when previously you might’ve popped over to someone’s desk) it’s good to head off the risks of such interaction with a wise interpretive principle through which to view your exchanges: Assume Positive Intent. 

The Memrise team

In a recent Zoom chat, Matt Mullenweg shared work-from-home advice with the team at Memrise. They’ve compiled Matt’s 10 top tips, including advice for teams who are likely communicating much more in written form than they’re used to. Read and listen to more best practices on the Memrise blog.

Remote Work Depends on Access to Information — and on Mutual Trust

When it comes to work, it never made much sense to give away all your secrets. The predominant culture of information hoarding and hiding exists partly because many of us live in fear for our jobs:

If I tell everyone exactly how I do my job, they can just get rid of me! 

If you don’t get along with your boss, they might fire you — so you try to make yourself as invaluable as possible. If you’re an expert, if you’re “irreplaceable,” then perhaps they’ll think twice.  

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Making Sense of the New Normal

In just a few months, remote work went from an anomaly to the new normal.

But as the world navigates both a global pandemic and an economic meltdown, remote work is now widespread but also completely unlike our experiences just a year ago when this podcast debuted.

The current reality is much more complicated than simply deciding what software to use, or learning how to manage asynchronous meetings on Slack or Zoom. People aren’t just adapting to working at home (if they are able to work at all), they’re also adapting to working alongside other family members in the same house, social distancing, and trying to manage schedules while caring for sick family members or homeschooling their kids.

It’s a stressful period for everyone, but perhaps also an opportunity to question our preconceptions about work and how we keep each other safe.

The number-one thing we recommend is kindness — giving our coworkers, families, and friends space to adapt and adjust and plan. Assume positive intent.

With that in mind, here are some recent posts from our colleagues at Automattic about navigating the world of distributed work in the weeks and months to come.

Observe, Don’t Surveil: Managing Distributed Teams with Respect

Like any new employee, Scott Berkun had the jitters on his first day at Automattic. He was a little older than most of the people at the company, having spent the previous nine years at Microsoft. Although he witnessed firsthand the excitement of the tech giant’s glory days, office life was still rather conventional.

Now, in 2010, Scott was joining a young company with no offices, and — prior to his hiring — no managers. Before Scott joined, everyone in the company reported more or less directly to Automattic’s founder Matt Mullenweg and then-CEO Toni Schneider. Scott had been hired based on his own advice as an Automattic consultant. He had observed that the company had grown too large to operate efficiently with a flat structure. Scott suggested a turn toward a more conventional approach — the company needed hierarchy. 

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