The Collaboration Superpowers Podcast

Holidays are a great way of learning about the different cultures on your global remote team. And parties are an important part of the ritual. How do we throw virtual holiday parties for remote teams? For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 122_CS_Holiday_Parties.mp3
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David Mansilla is the CEO of ISU Corp, a 100% remote software development company headquartered in Canada. We talk about how his colleagues stay visible to each other and to the clients, how to hire rock stars, and how he builds trust. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 121_CS_David_Mansilla.mp3
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Many of us have to travel for our jobs. This episode is dedicated to things to consider when working on the road. How do we create the best virtual office while on the go? For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 120_CollaborationSuperpowers_Office_On_The_Go.mp3
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In order to produce high quality results, we can’t work 24/7. We have to not only take care of our clients, but we also have to take care of ourselves. And that means setting our own boundaries. This week's episode is the first of the Collaboration SuperPower Hours where I take snippets of past interviews about one topic. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 119_CollaborationSuperpowers_Get_Balance_Right_PowerHour.mp3
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There are a lot of managers who are not comfortable letting their employees work from home. But more and more employees want a flexible work schedule. This episode is dedicated to helping you show your boss the benefits of working from anywhere and going "Remote First"! For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 118_CS__Let_me_WFH.mp3
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Clare McNamara is the Co-founder of Global Team Coaches, a company that helps global teams develop working relationships that deliver results. We discuss the importance of giving teams the space and time to get to know each other, evaluate themselves, and develop their own culture. We also dive into how women can become great leaders in the digital workplace. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 117_CS_Clare_McNamara.mp3
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The world is not divided into 24 equal time zones like you’d think it would be. There are weird zigs and zags all over the place because of politics and geography. And then there’s daylight savings - which changes at different times - or not at all - depending on where you on in the world. At one point or another, you will schedule a meeting with someone and get it wrong because of time zone confusion. In this episode, we explore tips for making time zones more manageable. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 116_CS_Time_Zones.mp3
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Corey Grusden is the CTO of SoFetch.io, a company that designed and built a Slack plugin for stand up meetings called Standup Bot. We talk – from the train – about what it takes to work remotely, advice for those just starting out, and the importance of having a solid, well-rounded plan. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com

Direct download: 115_CS_Corey_Grusden.mp3
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Many people want to work remotely but don't know where to start. In this episode, we talk about the tips and resources for finding a remote job. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 114_CS_Find_Remote_Jobs.mp3
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Mariana Rego is a Co-Founder of Leadwise, a new initiative from Ricardo Semler, which helps modernize management practices at companies across the world. We talk about how they run their team of all-remote employees. Specifically, how they know what each other are doing, how they build trust, design thinking, and how they are reengineering corporate leadership. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 113_CS_Mariana_Rego.mp3
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Onboarding someone onto a remote team is similar to onboarding someone onto a co-located team. A successful onboarding process gets a new colleague integrated into the team and contributing to the project in as little time as possible. In this episode, we talk about what makes a successful onboarding plan for virtual teams. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com

Direct download: 112_CS_Onboarding_Virtual_Team_Members.mp3
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Patrick Linton is the Co-founder and CEO at Bolton Remote, a company that outsources talent in the Philippines. We discuss why companies are outsourcing, what they struggle with, how to work with time zones, management, and how to be "remote ready". For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 111_CS_Patrick_Linton.mp3
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All teams hire new people, and transition when someone leaves. Is there anything special we should be doing on a remote team when someone leaves the team? In this episode, I highlight the farewell process that the remote Happy Melly team uses. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com

Direct download: 110_CS_Living_The_Team.mp3
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Spencer Coon is the COO and CoFounder of Hibox, a tool that offers group chat, task management, and video calls all in one! In this interview we talk about hiring remote employees, dealing with time zones, being always on, tools, and IT security. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 109_CS_Spencer_Coon.mp3
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We all know that taking regular vacations is healthy. But I don’t think we always recognize that a digital vacation is something different - and we need those too. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 108_CS_Digital_Vacation.mp3
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Beata Green is the Strategic Director of HeadChannel, a company with teams in London and Poland. We discuss hiring remote employees, being productive, women in IT, and focusing on building what the client wants. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 107_CS_Beata_Green.mp3
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Co-located teams get continuous feedback simply because they are together a lot. Virtual teams need continuous feedback too. Whatever system you choose to try will be better than having no system at all. Just start and improve all the time. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 106_CS_Virtual_Team_Temperature.mp3
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Bjoern Zinssmeister recently co-founded the startup, DesignInc, which began as a remote company, and is now mostly co-located. We talk about why being colocated during certain company phases is beneficial, how to hire remote rockstars, and productivity tips for all teams. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 105_CS_Bjoern_Zinssmeister.mp3
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In the office, we gather for birthday parties, lunch, drinks after work, and company outings. But remote workers don’t have that luxury. How do we celebrate together as a virtual team? For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 104_CS_Virtual_Team_Celebration.mp3
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Charlie Birch is the Co-Founder at Rebel + Connect, a company that designs custom retreats for remote teams. Remote workers can suffer from loneliness, burnout and being too sedentary. We discuss how businesses can use retreats as a playful, strategic way to build the team and create a healthy company culture. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 103_CS_Charlie_Birch.mp3
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Technologies have developed a lot over the last 20 years. From online project management tools to instant messaging systems and everything inbetween, there are literally hundreds of tools to choose from. In this episode, I give some of my favorite tips for managing technology on virtual teams. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 102_CS_Tech_Tips.mp3
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Kirsty Thompson works with Coworkation.com. They host retreats in beautiful locations and teach how to live a location independent lifestyle. Think of it like an incubator for digital nomad businesses. We discuss how to prepare to go remote and what it takes to have a successful location independent lifestyle. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com

Direct download: 101_CS_Kirsty_Thompson.mp3
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We've reached Episode 100 on the Collaboration Superpowers podcast. In this episode, I highlight 5 of my favorite segments from the last 50 interviews. Join me on this epic journey through the history of the last year. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 100_CS_Favorites.mp3
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Michael Sliwinski is the founder of Nozbe, an online task management tool. He’s also a speaker, author of the book #iPadOnly, chief editor of Productive! Magazine, and a triathlete. In other words, a real life superstar! We have an action packed discussion about getting things done, trust, productivity, remote working, banning emails, gadgets, and results oriented working. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 099_CS_Michael_Sliwinksi.mp3
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When we work remotely, our performance is based more on the results we produce rather than the time spent producing it. How can we be productive remotely? In this episode, I share my favorite productivity tips. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 098_CS_Remote_Productivity.mp3
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Many people are trying to downsize their lives and minimize their possessions. But for remote workers, a tiny house is a fantastic alternative to a home office. I speak with Reinoud Boland about building tiny houses in The Netherlands. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 097_CS_Reinoud_Boland.mp3
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We all have different needs when it comes to productivity and being social. Some people, like me, love working alone. But many remote workers struggle with loneliness and isolation. Depending on your situation and your personality, you’ll need to customize a solution that works for you. I’ve interviewed over 50 people who work remotely and wanted to share some of their tips for how you can combat the loneliness of working alone and build connection into your day. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 096_CS_Loneliness.mp3
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Peter Wilson is the managing director of KIStaffing, a company that connects Australian businesses with talent in the Philippines. We discuss why the Phillippines and Australia are so compatible and what the hiring and onboarding process looks like for an offshore team. Peter also shares some great advice for companies who are just starting their journey with hiring offshore staff. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 095_CS_Peter_Wilson.mp3
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In this episode, we talk about what challenges people and companies face when they make the decision to go remote. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

 

Direct download: 094_CS_Challenges_Remote_Working.mp3
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Dave Hecker is a seasoned tech executive, speaker, and author with an exclusive focus on distributed team software delivery. His company, SourceSeek, matches software projects with development teams globally. We discuss why companies are outsourcing, how to manage client and team expectations, culture, and the importance of face-to-face time. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 093_CS_Dave_Hecker.mp3
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Remote workers are a misunderstood bunch. Today, we take a look at the top three misconceptions that people have concerning working from home and then we uncover the truth. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 092_CS_3_Myths.mp3
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Leslie Truex has been sharing work-at-home information and resources since 1998 through her website, WorkAtHomeSuccess.com. She is the author of several books about how to be successful working at home and has great tips to share for how to approach your manager about flexible working. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 091_CS_Leslie_Truex.mp3
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I'd like to share with you some of the most common reasons I've heard for why people and companies are making the decision for going remote. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 090_CS_Why_Are_We_Going_Remote.mp3
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Fernando Garrido Vaz is a freelance Product Manager with experience managing distributed teams, multiple nationalities, and different time zones. Living abroad as a teenager helped form his empathy for working with other cultures and he has used this empathy in his work ever since. Garrido advises freelancers to dedicate time to work on their online brand and focus on doing great work. Referrals are gold in the freelance economy. “You don’t need a large audience, you need the right audience.” For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 089_CS_Fernando_Garrido_Vaz.mp3
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How do we deal with culture on virtual teams. In this episode I dive into different ways of understanding each other no matter what country we're from. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com

Direct download: 088_CS_Culture.mp3
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Johanna Rothman is a management consultant for software managers and leaders. She is also the author of many books. She started working with geographically distributed teams in 1988. The breadth of communication tools was very limited in that time, so resolving conflicts had to be done mainly through coming to an understanding through conversations and trying to see each other points of view.

Geographically distributed teams were originally set up for saving money. And the teams were usually set up from West to East meaning the testers were East, and the developers were West, which is the wrong way for "follow the sun", especially if you are doing product development. It's not about the money you save, it's about the speed of the throughput of the features. Teams are now experimenting with organizing themselves more from North to South which gives more opportunities for collaborative team building. For more stories, visit CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 087_CS_Johanna_Rothman.mp3
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Inspired by something Tim Ferriss did on his podcast, this episode focuses on distilling remote work down to its essentials. I went through a huge list of ideas and came up with what I think are the essential things that make remote work... or not. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 086_CS_Top_3_Dos_and_Donts.mp3
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Jessie Shternshus is the Founder at Improv Effect and the Co-author of “CTRL Shift – 50 Games For 50 ****ing Days Like Today”. She uses improv to help software teams with onboarding, communication, team building, and more.

Improv is a great tool for learning about and accepting each other’s uniqueness, thinking on the spot, and being self aware. It’s useful for finding similarities amongst team members, creative problem solving, understanding other peoples ideas and stories, and improving presentation skills. Improv ends up being a fun and powerful way to help teams practice interpersonal communication. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com

Direct download: 085_CS_Jessie_Shternshus.mp3
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In the past, we had to go to a specific geographic place in order to access the information we needed for our work. Now, that information is likely accessible from anywhere. And this gives us the opportunity to play with new ways of working and new business models. We’re at a point in history where work and life are blurring. I want to share some stories with you. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 084_CS_Remote_Teams_Great_Things.mp3
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rLoop started when someone on reddit posted in the SpaceX forum "Let's work on a submission for the Hyperloop design competition". One year later, they are a team of 400 volunteers, entirely distributed around the globe. From a pool of 1800 competitors, they've made it to a final group of 30. Talk about remote teams doing great things! Here is a prime example of what a passionate group of distributed people can do. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 083_CS_rLoop.mp3
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Saxonia Systmes has teams in different cities in Germany, with the main headquarters being in Dresden. The eteoBoard was initially built by their own developers because they were looking for a way to improve their daily stand ups between intercity teams. eteoBoards has helped the team get to know each other better, build trust, and stay on the same page. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com

Direct download: 082_CS_Vincent_Tietz.mp3
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Trust comes up in every single interview that I do. Along with communication, lack of trust seems to be one of the top reasons that remote teams don’t work. In this episode I consolidate great trust building tips from the experts I've interviewed. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 081_CS_Trust.mp3
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Jesse Fewell is a writer, coach, and trainer in innovation and agile methods. He founded the PMI Agile Community of Practice, co-created the PMI ACP Agile certification, and wrote a MiniBük called “Can you hear me now? ...Working with global, distributed, virtual teams”. Agile is about compressing distance. In the past, the best way to do that was by being co-located. But that was then and this is now and companies are struggling to let go of old habits. Technology has advanced, prices have dropped, and it’s starting to make more sense to spend money on bandwidth instead of travel. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 080_CS_Jesse_Fewell.mp3
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To combat the “out of sight, out of mind” mentality, remote teams need to work harder to increase that sense of team and improve communication. In this episode I give some great tips for team building. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com

Direct download: 079_CS_Sense_of_Team.mp3
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Ade Olonoh is the Co-Founder of www.Jell.com (a product of Formstack). We discuss why and how his company transitioned from co-located to remote, the tools they use, and how they connect their daily tasks with the company’s long term goals. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 078_CS_Ade_Olonoh.mp3
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One of the most common questions from managers of remote teams is "How do we know what our remote teams are doing?". In this episode, we explore the key ingredients for aligning ourselves on our remote teams. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com

Direct download: 077_CS_What_Are_You_Doing.mp3
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Christian Kreutz is an author, speaker, strategic advisor and expert in open and social innovation. He is the Director of Crisscrossed, the makers of WE THINQ, social software for change makers. We talk about how to hire remote workers, how to create horizontal organizations with less managers, working with time zones, trust, and the value of minimizing your tools. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 076_CS_Christian_Kreutz.mp3
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Remote working is awesome, but it does have its virtual vulnerabilities. Recognize what those are for you and plan for when disaster strikes. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com

Direct download: 075_CS_Virtual_Vulnerabilities.mp3
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Dave Blum runs Dr. Clue Treasure Hunts, a teambuilding experience. We have a great conversation about collaborative teamwork, the building blocks of trust, awesome virtual icebreakers, travel tips, company culture, and more. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com.

Direct download: 074_CS_Dave_Blum.mp3
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Creating a thriving virtual office is more than just having a place to share files and calendars. It's about how we simulate the experience we have working in the office together, online. How do we make online communication lightweight, real-time, and easy? How do we know what each other are doing? For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com

Direct download: 073_CS_Create_Virtual_Office.mp3
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Andrea Zabala is an Information Systems Engineer from Argentina focused on business development and offshore projects. She went freelance after years of working at big companies. We discuss the challenges of being "always on", how to develop trust with new clients, how to deal with cultural differences, and how to maximize your time working remotely and co-located. For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com

Direct download: 072_CS_Andrea_Zabala.mp3
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From differences in opinion to flat out misunderstandings, conflicts with our virtual teams are inevitable. Differences in language, culture, and working styles can cause all kinds of issues. So what can we do to prevent and resolve these conflicts when they arise? For more stories, visit www.CollaborationSuperpowers.com

Direct download: 071_CS_Conflict.mp3
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