We’ve romanticized being a “digital nomad.” Being able to work from anywhere. Sending a few emails, then spending the rest of the day relaxing by the pool or booking your travel to the next storied European city on your hit list.
But, how do remote organizations work where people actually get stuff done?
Gretchen Leslie is the Director of Operations for GrowthLab and I Will Teach You To Be Rich.
I recently attended a live event that Gretchen and the GrowthLab team put on in New York, and I wanted to talk with Gretchen about her management philosophy and how she manages an entirely remote team.
Gretchen has an extensive background in Six Sigma and large organizations, so – between that and her work with GrowthLab – she has deep insights from a wide variety of organizational scenarios.
We cover some tactical management strategies for creating alignment on a team working on big projects and encouraging feedback and suggestion from employees
And, we also discuss key organizational tipping points that anyone running a business should be aware of, as most companies can either be too lose or too rigid with their data tracking, their process adherence, and their internal staff development process.
Check out the full conversation with Gretchen to learn:
- Why some people are a great fit for remote work – and what she looks for in candidates when hiring to join a distributed team
- The framework that keeps everyone on track when working on large projects – and why just having a detailed spec sheet is not enough
- How to make meetings not suck – and why GrowthLab has a “No Meeting Wednesday” policy
Check out the episode at the links below. If you enjoyed the episode, the best way to support the show is to share with your friends, so send them a link.
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Check out more from Gretchen, GrowthLab and I Will Teach You To Be Rich:
- Website: GrowthLab | I Will Teach You To Be Rich
Show Notes:
- [01:07] “The Venice of the South” – where you can take your boat to the casino and pick up a daquiri on the way
- [06:46] Tips and tricks for running operations on a distributed team – and what to look for in order to hire people who are a good fit for remote work
- [14:09] Gretchen’s key management framework: “What does done look like?” And why just having a hyper-detailed spec sheet doesn’t mean that everyone is aligned on a project.
- [21:15] A real life example of successful project management coordination across teams: The “Founding Class” event that GrowthLab recently put on in New York.
- [27:29] How to find the balance between bottoms-up idea generation and top-down decision-making in an organization. And, how to effectively challenge employees so that they are able to vet their own ideas.
- [35:20] The two types of mistakes that organizations make when tracking data. And, how Gretchen uses psychology to create compliance to process.
- [45:50] How to make meetings not suck – and why GrowthLab has a “No Meeting Wednesday” policy.
- [53:45] Music, subcultures, and the trajectory of “excitement” to “jadedness” within a subculture.
Links and Resources Mentioned
- Kanban board
- “The Beginners’ Guide to Agile Project Management Methodology” from Workfront
- PMP Certification
- Six Sigma
- Jira
- Asana
- Jimmy Buffett
- Stephanie Lee
- Coachella
- Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
- Rhythm & Roots Festival
- Old Crow Medicine Show
- Gene Simmons
- Kiss
- Debbie Harry
- “Face It” by Debbie Harry
- New York Dolls
- The Stooges
- Beat Generation
- CrossFit
- Dungeons & Dragons
- Magic: The Gathering
- Stranger Things
- Furby
- “Inside the Bizarre World of ‘Bronies,’ Adult Male Fans of ‘My Little Pony'” from The Daily Beast
- Ramit Sethi
- Straight edge