In pursuit of our ultimate goal, our way of working is continuously iterated on by the team. We aren’t afraid to question defaults or find unique ways of working together to help us achieve our goals and grow professionally.
Ways of work
Our organisation is designed to help us get results:
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We build hierarchies of goals instead of a hierarchy of positions, which ensures clear ownership at all times without middle management.
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Tasks are targeted and transparent to make sure that individual achievements are made visible and get rewarded.
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Teams are fluid and form naturally, replacing organisational silos with orientation around common interests. Everyone can work proactively, choosing the goals they can best contribute towards.
As we grow and learn more about working together, we continuously re-evaluate our principles to ensure they remain relevant and fit for purpose.
Approach
We acknowledge the fact that people on our team are different and real-life characters are rather dynamic than static. We work together because we are effective together, and because we all believe that the goal is worth our time.
Our approach is intended to support us in this endeavour:
Collaboration: There are no static positions at PlantingSpace, we work amongst a team of peers who assume different responsibilities: sometimes you contribute a task to someone else’s goal, sometimes that person works on a task towards your goal. We find this strengthens collaboration and reduces complexity, as helping each other becomes highly reciprocal.
Communication: In a fully remote company, transparent and effective communication is absolutely essential. We document everything, from results to failed attempts; it helps us to build on each other’s work and increases efficiency. Regular progress updates on our tasks help other team members track the status, offer help and share feedback. We consider our time an investment, so avoid ‘progress review meetings’ and instead focus our joint meeting time on solving problems.
Focus: At PlantingSpace before creating a goal or task, team members ask themselves questions like: what will the impact of doing x versus y; is this the best path to achieving a next-level goal? By embracing this mindset everyone can contribute without slowing the pace of execution. As a small team with a very ambitious goal, this reflection is fundamental to our ability to stay focused.
Learning: Developing the ability to break down complex problems into smaller pieces of work, and then bring those pieces wholly back together is a key element of our work method. Self-learning in this regard is a core aspect of professional development at PlantingSpace; team members evolve from working on individual tasks to taking responsibility for bigger goals, involving other people. We’ve found that it’s an ability that needs to be constantly trained and challenged on every level.
Co-ownership: Team members develop a strong sense of purpose, and commitment to adding value and contributing towards our goal. Each person is accountable for their work, that it is high-quality and relevant to our goal. This sense of ownership has extended to co-ownership in PlantingSpace itself; over 70% of our team have chosen to become stakeholders in PlantingSpace.
Autonomy: Our team members have a high degree of self-determination in navigating their professional path at PlantingSpace, including asynchronous, remote work and good work-life balance. What does this mean in practice? You can choose what goals to contribute towards, what tasks to commit to, and who to work with. You have the freedom to move fluently between branches - try out different things, and teams form around common interests.