Work Together Anywhere — Start Here
Lisette Sutherland and Kirsten Janene-Nelson argue that working well together remotely is a learnable, teachable skill set, not a personality trait some people happen to have: clear communication norms, deliberate team rituals, and thoughtfully chosen tools can be built by any team, regardless of company size or industry, through practical habits rather than abstract philosophy.
The whole book, in one line
Lisette Sutherland and Kirsten Janene-Nelson argue that working well together remotely is a learnable, teachable skill set, not a personality trait some people happen to have: clear communication norms, deliberate team rituals, and thoughtfully chosen tools can be built by any team, regardless of company size or industry, through practical habits rather than abstract philosophy.
How the mechanism works
- Establishing clear communication norms and channels for different kinds of information, so nothing important gets lost in the wrong medium.
- Building team rituals and rhythms that replace the informal bonding and check-ins that happen naturally in a shared office.
- Choosing and using tools deliberately for their purpose, rather than defaulting to whatever happens to be already installed.
- Onboarding new remote team members and building trust with them quickly and intentionally.
Who this was written for
A team member or manager on a newly remote or hybrid team who senses that communication is breaking down or connection is thinning out, looking for concrete, practical habits rather than a big philosophical shift.
ACT tier. Both credited authors are living professionals with an active remote-work training and consulting business. Safeguards for every persona edition: both authors, Lisette Sutherland and Kirsten Janene-Nelson, must always be named together in exactly one sentence, never separately; the authors' real consulting/training business must never be named or referenced; no real client or case-study companies reproduced; no fabricated statistics; keep tool references generic (e.g., "a shared document," "a video call") rather than naming any specific commercial product.
Cross-book note
This is the tactical field-guide title in the category, focused on concrete rituals and tools any team can adopt regardless of size. Distinct from Remote: Office Not Required (a broader philosophy/manifesto), The Year Without Pants (one company's real story), Distributed Teams (a systems/process-design treatment), and Running Remote (scaling an entire company remote-first). Needs a cross-category check against New Manager and Team Leadership Skills and Job Search and Interview Skills.