Empathy across Remote and Distributed Teams
A presentation at Austin DevOps Meetup April 2020 by Laura Santamaria
Empathy across Remote and Distributed Teams Laura Santamaria, Developer Advocate, Photo by Perry Grone on Unsplash @nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps The Basics Photo by Marcia Soligo on Unsplash
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps What is empathy?
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps Empathy is the bedrock of all high-functioning teams. Photo by Random Sky on Unsplash
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps How do you get there? Photo by Mike Enerio on Unsplash
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps Start at common ground
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps Build from a position of positive intent
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps Stuck? Return to common ground.
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps Conflict? Wear someone else’s shoes.
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps Listen radically…
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps … and show vulnerability.
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps Empathy is a two-way street. Photo by Edan Cohen on Unsplash
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps Distributed Teams Photo by Sven Scheuermeier on Unsplash
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps 3 kinds of distributed teams
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps 3 kinds of distributed teams
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps 3 kinds of distributed teams
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps Communication mediums and meaning
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps Timezones and culture
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps Family and other distractions
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps Building empathy in distributed teams takes work—more so than with inperson teams. Photo by Biegun Wschodni on Unsplash
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps Ideas Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps Encourage casual communication (if folks are comfortable)
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps Try working a day in someone else’s timezone
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps Talk less; listen more.
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps Ask first
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps Remember, their shoes will be different. Photos by (L-R, T-B) Clem Onojeghuo, Sylwia Bartyzel, Erandy Ramirez, Irina, Alisa Anton, Alex Holt, Drew Coffman, Fachry Zella Devandra, Sylwia Bartyzel, Nicole Geri, Nicholas Kampouris, Leio McLaren (@leiomclaren), Ricardo Resende on Unsplash
@nimbinatus | #AustinDevOps This is a hard thing. Be patient. Be kind. (Thanks) https://nimbinatus.com https://aminuteonthemic.com Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash
The world is a bit topsy-turvy right now, and those of us still fortunate enough to have jobs to report in at may suddenly be working remotely for the first time or working with teammates who have never worked remotely before. It’s a lot harder to socialize with teammates in a remote setting, and empathizing with others’ needs is harder when we can’t speak in person. Remote work itself is a lot like being on-call: It feels neverending and can grate on your nerves. Let’s talk about how to create and maintain empathy on remote teams, from using communication frameworks to helping others learn how to empathize with you.
