If you want remote work to work you have to work at it.

You can’t just show up and expect it to be the same as in office. It’s not the same. You’ve only got 2 of your 5 senses working together. You can’t just strike up a casual conversation with the person next to you. You can’t walk the halls as a leader and feel what’s going on.

That doesn’t mean it can’t work. It absolutely can. Plenty of companies are doing it right, right now.

But they’ve put in the work. And Tim Currie has put in the work to figure out what work needs to be put in.

His book, Swift Trust, is all about how to build connections that go beyond the surface level BS that keeps us stuck in tactical mode.

Want to do real, meaningful work? Here’s what leaders can do that actually helps:

🐱 Create “in-between” moments online to build rapport. Use non-work channels on Slack, Teams, etc to connect over sports, movies, music, cats. Hit someone up to talk about how they’re doing, not what they’re doing.

🐱 Shift your one-on-ones from task-focused check-ins (that’s what email is for) to relational coaching sessions.

🐱 Become an internal influencer, using short videos and social media to keep teams in the loop and remind them you’re a real human who actually exists.

🐱 Give your big events (like all-hands) some production value. Invest some time and money in making those meetings engaging and worthwhile.

Remote work works. But not the way most of us are doing it. The good news is, none of the stuff Tim mentions is all that hard.

What do you think? What’s helped make remote work more workable for you?

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Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.

(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)

Let the desuckifying begin.

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You can follow Tim on LinkedIn. And check out swifttrustbook.com to learn more about how to make remote work, work.

If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!

Bye, everyone!

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Bonus question from Tim to our audience:What are the authentic moments, the memories, the anecdotes that live in your consciousness about past work experience with colleagues that you don’t think you could have today?

Chaos is a candy store.

The disorienting swirl, a chance to be useful.

We’re swimming in that swirl right now. AI, layoffs, mergers, tariffs, the headlines bonking us on the head every time we try to surface.

We need a lifeline. No, scratch that. We need to become a lifeline.

That’s how this works. “They” are not going to save us. We are. And in the midst of the madness, opportunity is everywhere.

CB Bowman Ottomanelli has been gobbling up the chaos candy for much of her life. Finding ways to serve others when we need it most. How does she see the candy when most of us are getting clobbered?Strategic courage. She’s written books about it and has more on the way. It starts with framing change as an experiment, where learning is the primary goal. Life is a university. As we learn, we’re able to make small calculated leaps, which she calls Microcourage™.

Don’t leap without a net though. Make sure you have a personal board of directors to keep you honest and keep you from falling back into the swirl.

Who would be on your board?

—

Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way.

(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)

Let the desuckifying begin.

——

You can follow CB on LinkedIn. And check out her site at courage-consulting.com. You should also visit acec-association.org to learn more about the executive coaching organization she created.

If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!

Bye, everyone!

——

Bonus question from CB to our audience:When is the last time you gave yourself permission to have strategic coverage?

All organizations are dysfunctional.

Those are the words of Michael Wade, consultant, advisor, author and former Equal Employment Opportunity Administrator for the City of Phoenix. And I tend to agree with him.

We’re just not that good at coming together to do stuff. We get in our way. We play politics. We blame. And we forget why we’re even doing the damn thing in the first place.

His solution? Three words: “wait a minute.”

Remember waiting? Pressing pause for a second to look inward, to see if we’re on the right track, to think. Remember thinking?

🐱 Imagine waiting a minute before deciding to redo the entire deck when all it needs is a few word changes.

🐱 Imagine waiting a minute before laying people off and realizing you can cut costs in a different way.

🐱 Imaging waiting a minute before scheduling a meeting that could easily be an email.

A few “wait a minutes” a day could save us hours of chasing down bad decisions. And help us do everything better than we’re doing it right now.

Here’s a good decision. Listen to Michael. He really knows his stuff.

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Welcome to the DesuckifyWork® podcast. The show where we cut through the BS and find ways to make work more fun, more human and less ridiculous. All of which makes your business more profitable, by the way. Today’s episode is a part of the ProHuman Series, in partnership with the ProHuman Foundation, where Michael is an advisor.

(If you enjoy this one, please like, share, rate, review or subscribe to the podcast.)

Let the desuckifying begin.

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You can follow Michael on LinkedIn. And check out his site at execupunditconsulting.com. And be sure to read his Substack newsletter as well. It’s awesome.

If you enjoyed the conversation and would like to help your teams bring their absolute best to work, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour discovery session. Type “meow” in the calendar invite and I’ll also send you a free DesuckifyWork® t-shirt!

Bye, everyone!

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Bonus question from Michael to our audience:How can you better connect with other people? What can you do to help the community? What can you do to help other people? Because there are people out there who are hurting.