Skip to main content
Spotify for Podcasters
Leading Virtual Teams with Dr Maren Deepwell

Leading Virtual Teams with Dr Maren Deepwell

By Maren Deepwell

Hybrid, flexible and virtual working are changing the way we work in education and the non-profit sector. This podcast offers inspiration and practical resources for all types of leaders developing their own authentic approach to managing people and projects. Each episode explores holistic strategies for hybrid and home-working and the skills needed in our evolving workplaces. Join Dr Maren Deepwell each Friday and develop into the kind of leader you want to be in your community, team, project or organisation.
Available on
Apple Podcasts Logo
Google Podcasts Logo
Spotify Logo
Currently playing episode

S02E14 - How to Lead Virtual Teams: Part 3 - Setting shared expectations

Leading Virtual Teams with Dr Maren DeepwellMay 05, 2023

00:00
33:07
S03E04 - The story behind... Hybrid Working Habits

S03E04 - The story behind... Hybrid Working Habits

In this episode I share the story of how I came to develop courses about hybrid working, specifically my upcoming course all about how to Change your Hybrid Working Habits. From Germany to London in my art school years, and from Athens to Oxford as my work moved from Art to Anthropology and then Education, this episode sets out what I think is interesting about hybrid and virtual working, why it's important and why now is the time to really find ways of working that work for you.

Find more information about this episode:

What are your hybrid working conundrums? Leave a comment or email me with you questions and problems when it comes to hybrid working, and I'll pick these up in the upcoming episodes.

Enjoyed the episode? Learn more about:

If you have ideas for future episodes or feedback about the show, get in touch and rate or review the show. Thanks for listening! 


Sep 22, 202329:23
S03E03 - Plant pace... houseplant inspired tips for coping with change

S03E03 - Plant pace... houseplant inspired tips for coping with change

I've previously published leadership lessons from office plants and in the same spirit this episode is all about houseplant inspired tips for managing a period of change or transition. It's inspired by my own experience of moving between jobs this month and my adventures in caring for a growing collecting of plants in my home and home office. It's the first time in a long while that I am changing jobs, but the last few years have brought so much uncertainty with them that I feel I have quite a lot of practice of coping with the unexpected. What the last few years have also highlighted for me is how important it is for us to have strategies for periods of transition - and like many I found solace and inspiration in bringing a bit of green indoors.

Read the Plant Pace blog post

Enjoyed the episode? Learn more about:

If you have ideas for future episodes or feedback about the show, get in touch and rate or review the show. Thanks for listening! 

Sep 15, 202321:56
S03E02 - Curious about coaching? Find out what to expect, how to prepare and how to make the most of it
Sep 08, 202317:03
S03E01 - September's 'new pencil case' moments + Season 3 preview

S03E01 - September's 'new pencil case' moments + Season 3 preview

This episode celebrates the start of September, and the new season or start of term for many of us. I have recently tried out a new gratitude journal share ideas for how to find bright spots in a busy time of year. I also give you a preview of what's in store for season 3 and the upcoming run of the Leading Virtual Teams course in October.


Enjoyed the episode? Learn more about:

If you have ideas for future episodes or feedback about the show, get in touch and rate or review the show. Thanks for listening! 

Sep 01, 202314:33
S02E21 - Season 2 Best Bits and Thanks!
Jul 21, 202320:04
S02E20 - A moment of celebration
Jun 29, 202313:44
S02E19 - Meditation and mindfulness for hybrid and virtual teams

S02E19 - Meditation and mindfulness for hybrid and virtual teams

During the recent Mental Health Awareness Week, I looked for new tips and ideas for virtual and hybrid teams keen to embed mindfulness and meditation into their ethos. In this episode I share ideas and practical approaches. You can find more information in the episode blog post

Find out more about:

Jun 16, 202313:48
S02E18 - A party without a cake is just a meeting…

S02E18 - A party without a cake is just a meeting…

June is my birthday month and inspired by my upcoming celebrations, I thought I’d share some ideas about celebrating occasions like birthdays or milestones at the home office. You may prefer to ignore these all together or not celebrate with work colleagues, and I share some of the reluctance. However, during the pandemic especially, celebrating birthdays became a welcome focus for our virtual team, an excuse to spend an hour or two doing something other than fire fighting. And so, I came to enjoy and value moments of connecting with colleagues and spending time having a few laughs more and more.

Like many people I prefer not to work on my actual birthday, and take a bit of time off. Alongside the time away from work, I make it a point to have some celebration at work, and to share something that I am comfortable to with colleagues as a way to get to know each other a bit better.

In 2020, when I turned 40 having moved to a new city just months before, at the start of lockdown here in the UK, my colleagues organised a surprise birthday party, dropped off by a safely socially distanced colleague who lived close enough to make it both legal and practical to visit me in my garden. We ate cake, with other colleagues joining via video call, and I received lots of small, thoughtful gifts and cards that brought a huge amount of cheer to me during a dark time.

As a manager or a leader it’s especially important I find to spend some time with colleagues informally, and when you are based at home or a hybrid worker, then those opportunities can be few and far between. More often than not, team days or long planned meet ups don’t happen with everyone involved, and although interacting online can feel less connected, it is often more achievable.

In this episode I share some ideas to help make that moment of celebration stand out a little, and create memories. Read the episode blog post.

Find out more about:

Jun 02, 202318:36
S02E17 - How to Lead Virtual Teams: Part 6 - Course reflection
May 26, 202324:53
S02E16 - How to Lead Virtual Teams: Part 5 - Leading team activities

S02E16 - How to Lead Virtual Teams: Part 5 - Leading team activities

This episode is part of my free and flexible course: How to Lead Virtual Teams. Each course topic includes a podcast to listen to, prompts to help you reflect on your practice and inspiration to explore the topic further. 

Topic: Leading Team Activities

Download the course companion book, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Leading Virtual Teams⁠⁠⁠⁠. The book is free to download in different formats and we will use individual chapters from the book throughout the course. For each topic, individual chapters are sign-posted, so you can explore issues particularly relevant to your practice further.

Find out more on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠course homepage⁠⁠⁠⁠ or head over to my ⁠⁠⁠coaching offers for individuals and teams⁠⁠⁠ if you are interested in working with me.


May 19, 202334:57
S02E15 - How to Lead Virtual Teams: Part 4 - Fostering a shared team culture

S02E15 - How to Lead Virtual Teams: Part 4 - Fostering a shared team culture

This episode is part of my free and flexible course: How to Lead Virtual Teams. Each course topic includes a podcast to listen to, prompts to help you reflect on your practice and inspiration to explore the topic further. 

Topic: Fostering a shared team culture

Download the course companion book, ⁠⁠⁠Leading Virtual Teams⁠⁠⁠. The book is free to download in different formats and we will use individual chapters from the book throughout the course. For each topic, individual chapters are sign-posted, so you can explore issues particularly relevant to your practice further.

Find out more on the ⁠⁠⁠course homepage⁠⁠⁠ or head over to my ⁠⁠coaching offers for individuals and teams⁠⁠ if you are interested in working with me.

May 12, 202334:42
S02E14 - How to Lead Virtual Teams: Part 3 - Setting shared expectations

S02E14 - How to Lead Virtual Teams: Part 3 - Setting shared expectations

This episode is part of my free and flexible course: How to Lead Virtual Teams. Each course topic includes a podcast to listen to, prompts to help you reflect on your practice and inspiration to explore the topic further. 

Topic: Setting shared expectations

Download the course companion book, ⁠Leading Virtual Teams⁠. The book is free to download in different formats and we will use individual chapters from the book throughout the course. For each topic, individual chapters are sign-posted, so you can explore issues particularly relevant to your practice further.

Find out more on the ⁠course homepage⁠ or head over to my coaching offers for individuals and teams if you are interested in working with me.

May 05, 202333:07
S02E13 - How to Lead Virtual Teams: Part 2 - How we work and onboard new colleagues

S02E13 - How to Lead Virtual Teams: Part 2 - How we work and onboard new colleagues

This episode is part of my free and flexible course: How to Lead Virtual Teams. Each course topic includes a podcast to listen to, prompts to help you reflect on your practice and inspiration to explore the topic further. 

Topic: How we work and onboard new colleagues

Download the course companion book, ⁠⁠⁠Leading Virtual Teams⁠⁠⁠. The book is free to download in different formats and we will use individual chapters from the book throughout the course. For each topic, individual chapters are sign-posted, so you can explore issues particularly relevant to your practice further.

Find out more on the ⁠⁠⁠course homepage⁠⁠⁠ or head over to my ⁠⁠coaching offers for individuals and teams⁠⁠ if you are interested in working with me.

Apr 28, 202340:26
S02E12 - How to Lead Virtual Teams: Part 1 - Course Orientation

S02E12 - How to Lead Virtual Teams: Part 1 - Course Orientation

This episode is part of my free and flexible course: How to Lead Virtual Teams. Each course topic includes a podcast to listen to, prompts to help you reflect on your practice and inspiration to explore the topic further. 

Topic: Course Orientation

Download the course companion book, ⁠⁠Leading Virtual Teams⁠⁠. The book is free to download in different formats and we will use individual chapters from the book throughout the course. For each topic, individual chapters are sign-posted, so you can explore issues particularly relevant to your practice further.

Find out more on the ⁠⁠course homepage⁠⁠ or head over to my ⁠coaching offers for individuals and teams⁠ if you are interested in working with me.

Apr 21, 202328:19
S02E11 - OER23 Special: What’s so important about open practice for hybrid leaders?

S02E11 - OER23 Special: What’s so important about open practice for hybrid leaders?

At the moment, a lot of my work is focused on the upcoming OER23 Conference. OER23 is the 14th annual conference for Open Education research, practice and policy is organised by ALT, the Association for Learning Technology, in partnership with UHI, the University of the Highlands and Islands. OER23 will bring together the strong Scottish Open Education movement and international participants to leverage our shared expertise for change in policy and practice. The conference will be co-chaired in partnership with the GO-GN Global OER Graduate Network, connecting emerging researchers and a global perspective with local and national knowledge.

Suffice to say, I am super excited about this event which I have been fortunate enough to help organise since 2015 and which is always a great highlight of my year. This year, I am especially looking forward to heading up to the conference, partly because it’s in one of my favourite parts of the world, the Scottish Highlands, and partly because it will give me a chance to catch up with many friends and colleagues I haven’t seen in a while, including long-time collaborator, Lauren Hanks.

Lauren and I have been talking about hybrid working and leading virtual teams for the past few years, and at least year’s OER Conference we even ran a session together: As leaders of virtual teams, we critically examined what lessons we can learn from open approaches to learning and teaching and how we can use that knowledge in an increasingly virtual workplace. Since then, I have been thinking a lot about why open practice is so important for knowledge workers, and particularly managers and leaders who work in hybrid, distributed or fully virtual team: Read the blog post.

Find out more about:

Apr 01, 202323:06
S02E10 - Library Geek out
Mar 25, 202310:32
S02E09 - Tranquility by Tuesday follow up

S02E09 - Tranquility by Tuesday follow up

Recently I talked about Laura Vanderkam’s Tranquillity by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters. Now that I have finished the book, and tried out some of the rules for time management, here is a follow up sharing how things went.

Read the episode blog post.

Find out more about:

Virtual Teams Book
Free online course starting Spring '23
Coaching with me
Resources and blog posts
Mar 18, 202312:16
S02E08 - Leading Virtual Teams Course Preview
Mar 11, 202314:57
S02E07 - 100 Dreams
Mar 04, 202314:43
S02E06 - Lunch break ideas for hybrid workers

S02E06 - Lunch break ideas for hybrid workers

At this time of year, it’s easy to focus on ever busy work schedules instead of activities that help with balance. Here in Cardiff the weather is dreary and grey, and not particularly inspiring even in the lightest hours of the day. Leaving my desk and screens in favour for a proper break feels much easier on sunny days.
When I came across a book called Gone for Lunch: 52 Things to do in your lunch break (by Laura Archer), in the library recently it felt like a great opportunity to find some inspiration.
In this episode I share 10 favourite ideas for lunch break activities, inspired by the book but specifically adapted to the needs of hybrid workers.
Read the episode's blog post
Find out more about:

Virtual Teams Book
Free online course starting Spring '23
Coaching with me
Resources and blog posts
Feb 24, 202316:32
S02E05 - Trying out a new habit: Weekly Planning on Fridays

S02E05 - Trying out a new habit: Weekly Planning on Fridays

I’ve really enjoyed reading Laura Vanderkam’s Tranquillity by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters. From an anthropological perspective, it’s interesting to read a book rooted in the experiences of a group of people putting the productivity and time management ideas into practice and I especially enjoyed reading why things did and didn’t work for particular individuals.

Being on a journey of trying to work less hard and find more balance made this book appeal to me more with a central focus on calm and wellbeing alongside more traditional productivity techniques. The first ‘rule’ that I put to the test for me is Rule Two: Plan on Fridays.

In this episode I share what happened in the first few weeks of the experiment and what I learnt along the way. Here's the blog post with all the details if you are curious to try this out for yourself. 

Find out more about:

Feb 18, 202310:56
S02E04 - Newsletter v dashboard: Two approaches for reflecting on monthly progress

S02E04 - Newsletter v dashboard: Two approaches for reflecting on monthly progress

It’s long been my practice to regularly record what I am up to, and I update my personal archive with links to talks and podcasts and resources that I have contributed to or published elsewhere.

I find it useful to have a list that covers most of what I do for reflection, the annual appraisal process and professional development. It’s also a great short-cut for compiling my monthly newsletter, which in itself provides an opportunity to reflect on my practice.

In this episode I share two different strategies I use for reviewing my progress regularly: compiling a monthly newsletter and using my personal dashbaord in Asana

Find out more about:

Feb 11, 202315:06
S02E03 - A glimpse behind the scenes of the Leading Virtual Teams Course
Feb 03, 202309:15
S02E02 - The world is bigger than my desk

S02E02 - The world is bigger than my desk

Do you travel or commute for work? Beyond the obvious, how does that shape your professional practice and your skills?
In this episode I share my perspective on some of the things I value about travel as a hybrid worker, and what I find challenging.

Read the post

Find out more about:

Virtual Teams Book
Free online course starting Spring '23
Coaching with me
Resources and blog posts
Jan 27, 202310:31
S02E01 - Blogging as a professional practice
Jan 21, 202309:11
S02E00 - Getting back into the swing of work after a break
Jan 15, 202310:10
10 Milestones from 2022

10 Milestones from 2022

When I look back at what I wrote this time last year, I can’t quite grasp how much has changed and how much has been achieved in the past twelve months. It’s mind boggling. In a good way.

At the same time, it’s been a mixed year for me personally. Great happiness and joy at home were overshadowed by a serious injury that required trips to the hospital for me, as well as much family upheaval and emergencies.

This is why it is especially important to me not to move on from this year without making space to celebrate the milestones of the past year, and to express my gratitude for inspiring and supportive colleagues, collaborators and friends.

Find out more about:

Dec 22, 202215:27
Special Episode with Lauren Hanks
Dec 19, 202232:37
Preparing to wind down work for 2022
Dec 17, 202211:40
Change your habits with a Pie Chart diary
Dec 10, 202209:42
Special Episode with Martin Weller

Special Episode with Martin Weller

In this episode I welcome a special guest, Martin Weller, as we talk about writing books, virtual learning and virtual working and what we are learning along the way. 

From 1 December you can read and download a free digital edition, published as an Open Access publication by ALT in partnership with Open Academia. The Open Access print edition, published by Lulu.com, will also be available to purchase.

If you'd like to learn more about leading virtual teams, join my free course starting in spring 2023. This course translates key parts of the book into practice:

  • Onboarding and setting expectations
  • Fostering a shared team culture
  • Managing people and processes
  • Strategies for succeeding in hybrid workplaces in the long term

This course offers a unique blend of inspiration, practical support and resources. Join us to explore ways of working in the hybrid workplace that are aligned to your goals and values and how to lead with agency and authenticity.

Nov 30, 202237:06
Small celebrations: Strategies for noticing bright spots
Nov 26, 202208:59
25 hacks to make hybrid work 1% more comfortable
Nov 19, 202212:21
Exploring the Hybrid Working Wheel
Nov 12, 202210:60
Book Preview: Introduction to Leading Virtual Teams

Book Preview: Introduction to Leading Virtual Teams

In this episode I read an extract from the introduction of my book, Leading Virtual Teams. 

Leading Virtual Teams – Field Notes from a CEO by Dr Maren Deepwell, will be published 1 December 2022 as an open access publication by the Association for Learning Technology, UK.

What is it like to manage a virtual team and to lead an organisation from home? How can you not only meet budget targets and KPIs but balance business needs with employee happiness and wellbeing?

Leading Virtual Teams explores current practice in succeeding in a virtual workplace and questions what the future may hold.

In 2017 I set out to find creative and fun ways to work and build meaningful relationships in a virtual team. To find ethical ways to work online, respecting employee privacy and building trust between the organisation and its staff.

This book provides practical advice and case studies as a source of inspiration and a prompt for reflection for virtual teams and their leaders. From recruitment and induction to establishing effective and sustainable ways of working in the virtual workplace for small and medium sized organisations, Through case studies and practical advice this book explores the highs and lows of what it means to work from home long-term and sets out a new kind of professionalism for virtual teams.

Nov 06, 202214:01
Looking forward to book launch & Hacks for Hybrid Working
Nov 05, 202210:04