Alberto Silveira, LawnStarter’s new Vice President of Engineering, literally wrote the book on building and managing high-performance distributed teams.
Silveira’s book, “Building and Managing High-Performance Distributed Teams,” subtitled “Navigating the Future of Work,” was published May 14, 2021, and has already received media attention since workplaces worldwide switched to work away from the central office during the pandemic.
“Last year, when the pandemic hit us, many people asked me how to do it — how to lead distributed teams,” Silveira says. “Some even told me, ‘Why don’t you write a book on it?’”
That’s just what he did.
So what are distributed teams and how are they different from remote workers? That’s all explained in Chapter 3, Silveira says with a laugh. The two terms, along with offshoring and inshoring, are often used interchangeably and incorrectly.
What are the keys to leading a successful distributed team?
Connection: Establish a strong human connection with team members wherever they are working, Silveira says. Find things you have in common outside work to create stronger bonds. One Team One Heart is one of Silveira’s favorite sayings.
Communication: Clearer, streamlined communication and more thorough documentation are vital to the success of distributed teams, he adds. Establish regular collaboration times and catch-up times beyond the routine meeting times.
Tools: Make use of all the tools that make it easy to connect with people across the company and around the world: Slack, Google tools, and conference calls.
What are some advantages of distributed teams?
Companies can hire the best people from anywhere in the world, but they also can hire people who have mobility issues or are recent moms, Silveira says. UNESCO saluted Silveira’s book in April for improving work equality.
From the author’s bio for his book: Silveira is a passionate, energetic, and hands-on executive with many years of experience in building teams. He loves the art of gathering people as much as he likes being out on the water in his boat.
That enjoyment of being in a boat on the water is a recurring theme of Silveira’s book, from the cover art to the author’s photo to imagery through the chapters. Here’s why: Leading a distributed team is like being the captain leading a team, working together, and navigating change with a cohesive and functional crew.
Silveira’s experience captaining his Engineering team also helps other LawnStarter teams to better work together across cities, states, and even continents. That’s especially important now, because LawnStarter, like many companies large and small, moved away permanently from the traditional centralized office in summer 2020 amid the pandemic.
You can purchase Alberto Silveira’s book at Amazon, Apress, and Barnes & Noble. You can learn more about Silveira and contact him at Crossing the Equator (which is another theme of his book — marking both Silveira’s journey from Brazil to New York City and the year of COVID being a dividing line for many companies).
You also can contact Silveira for interviews about his book and how to lead and manage high-performance distributed teams by emailing Media@LawnStarter.com.
What is LawnStarter?
LawnStarter makes it easy for homeowners and property managers to book lawn care and other outdoor services with the click of a button.
Within seconds, homeowners can view pricing and book skilled lawn care and outdoor services pros.
Since its launch in 2013, LawnStarter has expanded its lawn care services to more than 120 U.S. markets. LawnStarter is based in Austin but its workers are all remote — or members of distributed teams — as Silveira prefers to say.
For more information, visit LawnStarter.com.
