In a globally distributed organisation, there’s someone at work pretty much all the time. As someone in Europe signs off for the day, someone on the US west coast starts their work day. And when they sign off, someone in the Philippines is just starting work. Because of this, it’s normal for work to be handed from one person to the next around the globe.
While working at Oyster, I coined the term Follow The Sun ☀️ to describe this.
The Four Pillars of Follow The Sun
The four pillars below are a great set of starter principles for empowering the people that make up globally distributed teams to work within our own time zones without losing the meaningful connections that are needed in any good team, and without dropping the ball when it comes to work. they’re a way to working together without the need for late-night or early-morning meetings. And they help folks to sign off for the day with trust that the work will continue, without fear we’ll be missing out somehow.
1️⃣ Project Management Done Well
Good project management systems create confidence that everyone is working on the right stuff and that tasks won't slip through the cracks. It takes some time to get a project kicked off right, but the benefits gained from this clarity are worth the upfront investment. What does this look like?
- Well-understood systems and conventions for managing projects and tasks.
- Keeping tasks (and conversations about them) updated with the latest information, so others can easily pick them up when you’re asleep.
- Explicit task prioritisation, with guidelines and checkpoints for re-prioritisation.
- A culture of internal documentation and clear communication about the status of projects and tasks.
2️⃣ Handoff Done Well
Handoff is the practice of “putting down work” in a way that it can be easily picked up by someone else (or by yourself in the future). It's a way of capturing open loops, and allows us to sign off for the day with confidence, knowing work will continue progressing as others sign on and pick it up. What does this look like?
- Clear communication when handing off tasks or updating their status.
- Well understood habits and processes for handing work to others at the end of the day, end of the week or before you head off for a holiday. 🌴
- Trust, openness, and assuming good intent when you’re collaborating asynchronously.
See Handoff for more on this.
3️⃣ Meetings Done Well
The way we do synchronous meetings hugely affects our ability to Follow The Sun. Nobody should need to get up at 6am or work until 10pm to attend routine meetings. Teams need to be flexible, understanding, and creative when they plan synchronous time. What does this look like?
- Asynchronous "meetings" for status updates – Asynchronous Status Meetings
- Different types of meetings for different purposes –Meetings
- Scheduling team meetings & 121s in a way that works for everyone on a team.
4️⃣ Connection Done Well
This last pillar is about maintaining connections with others, and has two components…
🌕 Socialising with the Bright Side
Socialising within our teams is important, but when we’re spread across timezones it can be difficult to get enough social time with teammates on the other side of the world. So intentionally socialise with folks who are in similar timezones as you, even if they’re not in your team or department. What does this look like?
- Real-life meetings and co-working with folks in your country or city.
- Virtual social events and meetings with other folks in a similar timezones.
- Async social chats with folks in your country. (E.g.
crewslack channels ‣ ) - Closing your day together with the other folks in your time zone. (E.g. all having a drink or coffee together at 5pm.)
🌑 Socialising with the Dark Side
Lack of timezone crossover doesn’t have to mean “no socialising”. It’s still important to socialise asynchronously via tools like Slack (see Socialising in Remote Teams, Loom Pals etc). What does this look like?
- Async social events and team building activities. (e.g. Loom pen pals.)
- Carefully designed synchronous social events that work across time zones.