Where are all the Remote Work Superheroes?

We’re missing the heroes.

Distributed work is hard. We all know it. Some people have done it long enough to figure out their own operating systems, but most haven't. This is one of the biggest risks to distributed work.

If almost everyone doesn’t know how to work as a distributed worker, and there isn’t more content out there or people educating workers, companies may pull back from giving people the opportunity.

The pushback here is obvious: isn't this the company's responsibility? It is. Are they doing enough? I’m not sure. Some companies have adopted heads of remote and are generally outperforming those that haven't. These companies are fully invested in being remote-first organizations but most aren’t there yet. Because of that, if workers want to operate as distributed workers and their companies are trying to pull back, waiting for your company to coach you on how to operate as a remote worker is a risky strategy.?

At worst, I’d view learning as an investment in myself. How to operate as a remote worker isn’t a company-specific skill. Great remote workers can operate as great remote workers anywhere. It’s a transferable skill that lets you move to new opportunities if your current organization decides to pull back.

So what’s the problem?

The problem is that there is a lot of great advice out there on how to operate as a remote company. These are generally aimed at implementing a system from the top down. Think heads of remote or heads of people implementing systems that allow companies to function. There isn’t the same type of advice for operators which is domain-specific.

And there is a difference. Operating as an account executive in office vs. remotely is different. Driving a distributed IT team vs. being on-site to operate the IT closet is exponentially different. Running design meetings in marketing takes on a different tone when everyone is in a virtual room vs. around a whiteboard.

None of these things are better or worse, but they are different. And different requires new solutions from an operational standpoint and new tools from a collaboration perspective. It’s not enough to do what you always did in office.

Standing up and being counted

Everyone knows that the command and control management style of the office is dead in distributed settings. It’s obvious. But many people are persisting with what worked in the office but doesn’t remotely because they don’t know any better. This is an education problem.

What the space really needs are the experts in their functions to stand up and share. There’s been so much noise over the last 3 years, maybe they already have but can’t cut through the noise. Every woman, child, man, and dog has become a distributed work expert over the last 3 years so much so that nobody knows who to listen to.

But the way through this is the innovators who have developed new processes. They are the people who broke everything down to first principles and rebuilt everything from the ground up. Who are they? Where are they? There has never been a better or more important time for them to stand up.

The world needs more superheroes.

If you’re one of them, get up on the rooftop and shout it out. Share your experiences. Share your best practices. Share your lessons in a way that other people can adopt. Get on a stage and start talking. Write more. If you don’t have a platform talk to people who do. I’ve never been more excited to help the people the remote work space needs find a platform to elevate the space more.

Sadly, some people don’t even know that they are superheroes. They are Clark Kent, waiting to transform but they don’t even know their own secret. The knowledge is so obvious to them because it’s working and they are crushing remote work.?

But most of these people have friends, peers, and family members struggling to figure it out. If you see this happening and feel like you have the answers…?

Distributed work in the way it exists now is new.

It’s different when there are tens of millions of people doing it vs. a few. Some people don’t think that’s true but I think it is. The communication, collaboration and organisation challenge changes as the number of people doing is grows.?

Some of the answer is remote-first tooling. Software built by remote teams for remote workers. I think there will be an explosion of tools from remote-first companies who built these as internal systems over the last 3 years. If you’re doing this I’d love to chat.?

But a lot of the answer is process and people. And that depends on the world leading operators sharing what is working for them and educating the world.?

That is where rapid improvement will come from.?

Let’s hope for much more of it in 2024

Chris Herd is the founder and CEO of Firstbase, a single platform to equip teams and manage assets globally. Firstbase helps companies set up, support, and scale distributed teams?by automating the employee & asset lifecycle, getting critical equipment to & from employees wherever they are in the world.

The Firstbase platform is used by everyone from the fastest growing startups to $30B+ public companies. Visit Firstbase.com to find out more.