A little about me…. Like many of you, I worked and managed teams in a traditional office setting for years. I was a strong believer in MBWA (management by wandering around). I thought it was best to be in front of employees and interact face-to-face. Then, I switched jobs and began working for a technology firm and was unable to relocate to the corporate headquarters. I started working from home primarily with the occasional visit to a remote sales office as my backup. I was managing employees on the other side of the country, 3 times zones away. I’ll be the first to admit that I struggled initially to adapt to this new working structure. I was forced into the virtual workplace and had to adapt my leadership style and work habits quickly. Over the years I have learned to love the virtual environment and find it more productive, efficient and effective than my old ways of working. I hope to never see another office cubicle ever again.
As the workplace evolves at a slightly uncomfortable rate, I believe we can all be better at what we do by leveraging the new tools, techniques, and methods now available. It also gives us a chance to improve work/life balance and give us a chance to do the things we really want to do.
A little about this blog…. The main purpose of this blog is to offer practical, how-to advice on leading and working in a virtual environment. It is intended for anyone that works in the virtual workplace – teleworkers, remote workers, mobile workers, dispersed teams, global teams, virtual leaders, and those that lead and manage when they can’t be in the same physical location with others they work with. This blog assumes that leaders are already working in or about to work in a virtual environment. From time to time I may digress into a brief editorial, but I try to stay away from topics like creating a business case for telework or telework arrangements or creating a case for telework law.
How often and when does the blog come out? I try to be consistent and have it out every Tuesday.
What do I do with the extra time I have gained through telework? Since my productivity has increased dramatically since I started teleworking, I have used the extra time to continue writing. If you’re interested, you can check out some of the books below.
Happy virtual working!
-Jason
Fiction
Nonfiction
thevirtualleader 
I think you have amazing clarity at presenting information on telework. I really like your site. Thanks for posting this.
Thanks, David!
Thanks for promoting teleworking!
Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you.
Tony Gialluca III
http://peerdrum.com
Dear Jason,
My name is James with Career Press Publications and I am currently promoting one of our newest titles and I would like to offer you a ecopy for review for Virtual Leader. Below is some information about the book as well as my contact information. Thank you in advance for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.
THE VIRTUAL MANAGER
Cutting-Edge Solutions for Hiring, Managing,
and Engaging Mobile Employees
By Kevin Sheridan
Currently, 82 percent of Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” already have virtual employees and policies in place. This number is expected to rise as time and technology advance. Whether employees work from home, clients’ offices, or across the globe, more and more managers do not see their direct reports on a day-to-day basis.
In his latest book, The Virtual Manager: Cutting-Edge Solutions for Hiring, Managing, Motivating, and Engaging Mobile Employees, renowned human resources consultant, Kevin Sheridan tackles the challenges that many companies are facing as the business world adjusts to a virtual workplace.
As organizations look to the future, the most innovative and successful leaders realize the potential virtual workforces have to change the face of business. Increasingly, leadership and organizations are viewing “work” as something you do, rather than somewhere you go.
In The Virtual Manager, Sheridan outlines the top benefits of a virtual workforce:
– Attracting and Retaining Top Talent
– Fewer Overhead Costs
– Reducing the Carbon Footprint
– Increased Productivity
– Health and Wellness
Based on years of research, The Virtual Manager provides any manager with the tools he or she needs to successfully work with virtual employees. Trust us: it’s not like managing office-bound employees! This book is a tell-all user manual for a new generation of managers.
We hope that you will consider this new book as a resource for your site and are happy to provide you with a review copy if you so desire. Opportunities exist for you to take an excerpt from the book for use on your site (with pre-approval) or for you to review for your audience. If you are interested in a review copy please get back to us with a full mailing address and contact.
Many thanks for your time.
James Thompson
Promotions Department
(201)-848-0310 ext: 510
Career Press and New Page Books
Promo@CareerPress.com
http://www.careerpress.com / http://www.newpagebooks.com
http://www.newpagebooks.blogspot.com
Available 8-4 EST
Great posts on the tax situations that can, will, and do impose barriers to all forms of working independent of location.
It’s difficult enough dealing with the resistance to change, but an additional tax burden will not help this evolving way of working gain the momentum it needs to address our employment, energy, and environmental needs.