148: JJ Reeder - Thriving in Distributed Work: Self-Managed and Digital-First

“JJ” Jessica Reeder, a workplace innovation and culture transformation leader, shares insights from her deep experience designing communications systems, scaling multicultural teams and aligning culture with strategy. Bringing pivotal learnings from early fully-remote companies such as Toptal and GitLab, JJ explains how self-management, thorough documentation, and systematized collaboration underpin successful remote work. She describes the cultural shifts required for hybrid and distributed workforces and advocates for systems thinking and clear communication to empower modern work managers.

 

 

TAKEAWAYS

 

[01:24] JJ didn’t know what studying linguistics would entail when she chose it but she loved it.

 

[02:47] Linguistics gives JJ a framework to understand the history of humanity and migration.

[03:10] Living in another culture opens up her global perspective and gives her a different lens.

[04:24] JJ’s appreciation for engineers stems from their clarity and direct information transfer style.

[05:49] JJ transitions early to working remotely focused on content and communication projects.

[06:35] Noticing the growth of formal distributed work, JJ joins one of the first all remote companies.

 

[07:14] JJ starts building a distributed community across cultures for a global virtual developer network.

[08:15] Nurturing connections among talented remote professionals requires deliberate strategies.

[08:56] Remote talent feels more connected when engaged with a peer community.

[09:54] JJ moves to GitLab to explore systematized connectivity and is launched into remote work consulting by the pandemic.
.css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}