Vlad Shulman Shares Favorite Remote Team Tactics His Team Used from YC-backed and Sequoia-backed CEOs
A fun benefit of working at the coaching firm which focused on YC-backed & Sequoia-backed CEOs was the exposure to surprising tactics for running scrappy distributed teams.
The Mochary Method curriculum has way more details (and even more frameworks). [A]
We used many techniques ourselves within the no-code software team, and a few I would gladly implement again:
- Loom meetings culture: asynchronously recording issues for group discussions, to bias into decision-making.
- Charettes: pair-programming for UI / UX / database schema, ie visual brainstorming.
- Rubberduck channel: write-in-public culture, to build team connection.
- Hotseat feedback: peer-to-peer structured feedback, to build team cohesion.
- Magic questions: check-ins on work / life areas, to address pent-up issues.
- Waterfall-of-appreciation farewell: saying goodbye to departing teammate, for catharsis to teammates remaining.
1 / Not sure if it affected existential / strategic topics, but Loom absolutely streamlined our tactical agenda items. Watching a Loom also shed light into someone's emotional investment for their submitted issue.
To add an issue into our group meeting agenda, I was expected to asynchronously record a short (3 - 5 minute) video explaining my concern. When discussing the topic synchronously, everyone watched my video at 2x speed. The discussion focused on asking clarifying questions, collecting input, and concluded with me being empowered to make a decision.
2 / Our lead designer pioneered a fun format for collaborative visual brainstorming. These sessions were the highlights of most weeks. [B]
On Zoom, they screen-shared a Figma doc (or Figjam board) and drove the session by talking-out-loud while browsing Dribbble / throwing together rough mockups / enhancing our Bubble app. Similarly, I would contribute with questions / observations / screenshots if helpful to their train-of-thought.
3 / Rubberduck Channels (RDC) provided a lite “write in public” ritual for everyone to asynchronously share things on the top of their mind, building connection outside of meetings. [C]
Every teammate had their own RDC in Slack. There were no guidelines or formatting standards, but an expectation to post daily. Common themes: brainstorming on the day’s top goal, troubleshooting a bug, braindumping on a source of fear / anger, celebrating an accomplishment, mentioning a notable discovery, sharing a family / hobby update. During coffee breaks, I would react / comment / reply on interesting threads posted within last 48 hours.
In particular, our manager read and reacted to every RDC thread within our team; this was notably appreciated.
4 / Hotseat Feedback was a mechanism of respectfully clearing-the-air and voicing specific ways to improve conditions on the team, with the intention of encouraging cohesion.
One teammate would be selected. Ahead of time, we would write appreciations (what they’re doing well) and suggestions (what would take their performance to the next level). Meeting owner would facilitate the session in a way that a) reinforced their value to the team, and b) unpacked the toughest feedback to get to a crisp decision / next-action.
5 / Magic Questions were a tactic used by our manager to check-in and catch individual issues early which might’ve been overlooked.
In a manager 1-on-1, I scored specific areas including a) five year goal, b) work life, c) personal life, d) office setup, e) working with team, f) working with manager. Then we unpacked the lowest area to understand its root cause and collaboratively brainstorm a solution. [D]
6 / One of our coaches pioneered a format for saying farewell to a cherished teammate leaving the company. For lack of a better phrase, it resembled a waterfall-of-appreciation and holy cannoli was it emotionally uplifting while providing some amount of closure to the rest of the team. [E]
When a teammate was at their last all hands, they closed their eyes. We all submitted one-liner appreciations (ie gratitude, fond memories, best wishes), and the CEO read aloud these appreciations as they rolled-in. Post-call felt bittersweet and cathartic.
Notes
[A] Mochary Method curriculum can be found @ https://mocharymethod.com/learn
[B] Shiku Wangombe was inspired by charette sessions from her architecture university classes, and introduced this tactic to improve my all-over-the-place product design sessions.
[C] Regina Gerbeaux (Mochary Method’s x-COO) published a thorough write-up on Rubberduck Channel @ https://www.coachingfounder.com/post/slack-best-practices
[D] Cee Ng was kind enough to share a real 1-on-1 session of her Magic Questions @ https://vimeo.com/872674034
[E] Faith Meyer introduced this compassionate farewell technique during a coaching bootcamp.
Credits
Thanks to Matt Mochary, Regina Gerbeaux, Nancy Xu, Shiku Wangombe, Nate Forster, Case Sandberg, Alexis d’Amecourt, Trishia Pasaquian, Celine Teoh, Quinn Ruiz, Faith Meyer, Adam Donkin, Bek Akhmedev, Matthew Holbreich.
