Wayne Turmel
Wayne Turmel is a speaker, writer and co-founder of The Remote Leadership Institute. He’s passionate about helping people present, sell and lead people and projects using today’s virtual communication technology. His books include Meet Like You Mean It - a Leader’s Guide to Painless and Productive Virtual Meetings. Wayne is based in Chicago, IL.
Five remote team new year's resolutions
07 Jan 2019
The new year is a great time to ask some fundamental questions about how your project team works together and what needs to change. So here are five "resolutions" you should at least consider for your remote team.
Do you run meetings or lead them?
24 Sep 2018
Any meeting, whether in a conference room or online, can be run. But successful meetings need to be led - and there is a huge difference between running a meeting and leading one.
Five reasons remote teams fail
20 Aug 2018
Leading a remote team isn’t that different to leading a co-located one. But we do have to re-think how we do certain things. Here are five ways you can get that wrong.
Are you hiding behind technology?
06 Aug 2018
We all get tired, rushed and overworked. And when we do, it's tempting to use technology as an excuse to take the easy way out by avoiding confrontation or uncomfortable conversations.
Earning attention on webinars
12 Jul 2018
I’m always being asked how to get people to pay attention during webinars. My answer is to ask a simple question: what are you doing to earn their attention?
Ask your team a 3,000 year-old question
22 Jun 2018
If you're mindful as to your meeting's purpose and desired outcome, you will accomplish far more than if you approach it as an empty ritual.
The mortar in a project's wall
04 Jun 2018
What holds a wall together is the mortar between the bricks. And what holds a project together is the effective, clear and proactive communication between individuals.
Shut up first, talk later
04 Jun 2018
On team conference calls, it can sometimes seem almost impossible to get people to contribute or share information effectively. Here’s how you can change that.
Accountability is more important than accounting
16 May 2018
What's more important: that people are working on exactly what you want them working on at that exact moment, or that important tasks and outputs are done on time and team goals are met?
Mapping the power in your organization
19 Apr 2018
Forget job titles, do you know who has the real power in your organization and who has real influence where it matters most?
Open questions, open communication
21 Mar 2018
Working remotely, we just don't get any of non-verbal signals we see in a meeting room. That's why asking open questions is one of the most critical skills the manager of a remote team can possess.
Office politics when you're not in an office
01 Feb 2018
People who work remotely often view the absence of office politics as a real plus. But they’re wrong. Understanding organizational and inter-personal dynamics is a critical part of that thing called ‘work’.
A whole new ballgame?
06 Dec 2017
Adopting remote teams might seem like a whole new ball game, but it’s the same game - just played on a slightly different field. The WHAT doesn’t really change, it's the HOW that's different.
Your team members aren’t pawns in a chess game
22 Nov 2017
Project management and team leadership are often viewed as chess games. But there’s one important difference. Those pieces on the chess board aren’t human. Your team members are - and they need to be treated accordingly.
Managing time in meetings
26 Oct 2017
Often when running a meeting - be it physical or virtual - we can get so focused on "getting everything done" in the allotted time slot that we forget to focus on what it is we're actually supposed to accomplish.
Learning is everywhere
02 Oct 2017
What you know now is good for now, but might be completely outdated by tomorrow. This means there's a constant need to learn new things - both formally and - increasingly - informally.
Building trust remotely
13 Sep 2017
Trust is one of the biggest challenges to working remotely. Trusting the people your work with (and for) has never been easy. When you work remotely it's even tougher.
Five simple, curmudgeonly email rules
01 Sep 2017
Many things in life are necessary but annoying - especially email. So here are five simple things everyone can do with their emails that will help make everyone less generally cranky:
Getting virtual meetings to start on time
07 Aug 2017
Why do webmeetings always seem to start late? While there’s no silver bullet that will solve the problem, there are some simple things you can do to help your odds of starting (and finishing) on time.
Don't use technology as an excuse for bad management
10 Jul 2017
When it comes to managing a remote team, technology is not a communication problem. So stop blaming the tools if you chose the wrong one for the wrong reason.