WLP317 The Shift towards Asynchronous Operations
In this episode, Pilar meets Daphne Laforest for the first time and they talk about all things asynchronous!
Daphne is the host of The Remote First podcast, which started during the pandemic to help companies adopt remote work, and now it focuses on optimising new ways of working. Daphnée works with small and medium enterprises transitioning to remote or hybrid ways of working, helping them adopt asynchronous operations, improving their onboarding etc.
Asynchronous communication and async operations can support a broad range of organisations, not just those who are fully remote, or hybrid, as most knowledge workers work online anyway. “Asynchronous operations” include async communication, but the term helps us think of the operational aspect. It’s not just about substituting meetings and real-time communication with other platforms, it’s about shifting how we think strategically about our work.
And can we find a different word than “asynchronous” please! “Timeless” work, or time-agnostic might be another way to talk about it.
“Asynchronous” is a term that’s now used in the mainstream, but sometimes it’s being misunderstood and instant messaging platforms are being seen as the core of asynchronous communication, even when they’re being used as “instant async” in Daphnée’s words, or “near sync” in Pilar’s.
If we want to adopt asynchronous communication into our operations, then we need to set rules around response times that don’t emulate an “always on” culture. The same platform sometimes can be used as an asynchronous platform or a near-sync tool. Setting expectations or developing a playbook is key.
Adopting “asynchronous” isn’t just about adopting new technology, but adopting a new mindset, shifting our culture, increasing the level of autonomy, it’s about creating a new way of working with new norms.
Adopting asynchronous operations is likely to need a culture shift. For example, by rethinking how projects can move forward without having to meet, either in person or online. Or there might be a need to incorporate more written communication - and this might require skills training as well as mindset changes. There are different levels of incorporating asynchronous communication.
Daphne refers to Automattic’s Matt Mullenweg’s Five Levels of Remote Work and reminds us that open source software has been built on asynchronous practices for a very long while. How about thinking of our work as an open source project? What would our communication look like? (You can also read Pilar’s take on the five levels here: https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/blog/office-collaboration-tool)
Even thinking about working like an open source community might be challenging for some, as traditionally we’re not used to sharing thoughts and work without it being judged, or obtaining unsolicited feedback. Transparency and “working out loud” do not suit every culture - and this makes sustainable remote work more difficult. If we are working in the open, we also need to agree on how we operate collaboratively around this. We are not used to having these conversations… We’re not talking about sharing everything, but sharing updates, thoughts, progress, blocks, etc.
When we are judged on our outcomes (not on the time during which we are visibly working), it can become tricky to share work that is unfinished. And if we think about those jobs where there might not be a visible output for weeks, we can consider what other things can be shared along the way, like learning, decision-making etc. However, there’s a fine balance between “working out loud” and turning our asynchronous practices into a form of presenteeism. (Pilar refers back to her article “The Dangers of Working out Loud”.
Daphnée Laforest
22.40mins So what’s the role of the manager in all this? It’s more of a facilitator role, providing guidance and structure, when to provide updates, etc. In essence, helping define how the team works, similar to the role of the Scrum Master. In a way, we need someone to look after the ecosystem - just like we would look after an office.
The dynamics of our work need to be different when we’re working online. Trust develops differently, and processes can help us with that.
It doesn’t always work to ask managers to trust employees, without the tools. There is also the chance that we are not trusting the process, because it’s new and unfamiliar. There’s also the personal aspect of trust - for some it’s easier than others. The key is to create processes where trust is not as much of an issue. Setting the right guidelines will also help trust emerge.
Daphnée also raises the issue of geographical cultural differences, where some societies and industries are more trusting of citizens than others. This also adds to the difficulty of adopting asynchronous communication.
33.05 mins
What’s Daphnée’s preferred balance of async/sync?
She is very pro-asynchronous, but she’s not that great a writer. Project management software gives her the structure to have open discussions and other work-related interactions. She also finds value in having overlap in hours to have synchronous interactions and bounce ideas off each other. She aims for clear, concise and thoughtful written communication, although she also uses asynchronous video, and audio (including transcripts) - and of course, she loves podcasting!
Even within asynchronous communication, we all have our preferences and this changes depending on who you collaborate with too.
One problem Daphnée and Pilar are both seeing in teams and organisations is whether the asynchronous content being created is discoverable or not. Not many are thinking that their asynchronous interactions might be of use in the future to others. Another change in mindset required.
In some organisations, different teams use different tools to communicate, which can be tricky - but it also allows for experimentation within the company before everyone converges on one tool set.
You can connect with Daphnée Laforest on LinkedIn, listen to the Remote First podcast, or check out the Modern Leaders website.
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