Hybrid Teams
MethodKit for Hybrid Teams

Agree on how you work,
wherever you work.

65 cards covering everything a distributed team has to figure out, from communication channels and meeting norms to equity, culture and time off. In an office a lot of this goes unsaid. Spread across locations, it has to be made explicit. Put the cards on the table and decide together.

Explore the library Free to read
65 cards for hybrid teams
One deck · one team · every way you work together
65cards
7themes
325questions to discuss
1team agreement
01.

What this kit is

A hybrid team is one where people work from different places: some in an office, some at home, some in another time zone. Most of what keeps such a team working well is not a tool, it is an agreement. Four starting points.

In a split team, the unspoken stops working
Idea 01When everyone shared a room, norms spread on their own: when to meet, how fast to reply, what a raised eyebrow meant. Across locations none of that travels. The things that used to be implicit now have to be said out loud and agreed on.
The goal is a shared way of working
Idea 02This is not a deck of rules to obey. It is a way to reach agreements: how you communicate, how you decide, how you make sure the person at home is as included as the person at the desk. The cards are the agenda for that conversation.
Fairness has to be designed
Idea 03Hybrid quietly tilts toward whoever is in the room: they hear the side talk, they get the eye contact, they get remembered. Equal footing across locations does not happen by accident, it is something a team chooses and builds.
Culture is built on purpose now
Idea 04Belonging used to come free from being in the same place. Now rituals, socializing and trust have to be made deliberately, or a distributed team slowly turns into a group of strangers who share a calendar.
02.

Write your way of working

The fastest way to use this deck is to turn it into a short team agreement. Four moves, then go deeper card by card.

01 Lay the cards out together

Get the whole team looking at the same set of cards, in person or on a shared board. The point is that everyone sees the same picture of what working together involves.

02 Sort into three piles

Working well, not working, and never actually discussed. The third pile is usually the most revealing: it is the stuff everyone assumed and nobody agreed.

03 Decide the few that matter most

You cannot agree on everything at once. Pick the handful of cards causing the most friction now, talk them through, and write down what you decide.

04 Write it down and revisit it

An agreement only counts if it is written somewhere people can find it. Put it where the team lives, and come back to it when the team or the work changes.

03.

Building your way of working

The cards are the same, but this is one path through them: the order a team tends to set itself up in, from the basic deal to looking after people. Start wherever the friction is.

01Agree the basics

The deal underneath everything: what kind of team you are, where and when people work, and the few ground rules everyone signs up to.

02Decide how you communicate

The single biggest thing to get right across locations: which channels, what belongs in a meeting versus a message, and how you talk on camera and in text.

03Set up how work flows

How things actually get done when you are not side by side: the tools, who owns what, how decisions get made and tracked, and how work is handed over.

04Make it fair across locations

Closing the gap between the people in the room and the people on the screen, so location does not decide who gets heard, included and remembered.

05Build belonging

The culture that no longer comes free from sharing a space: rituals, time together, feedback and the small things that make a team feel like one.

06Look after people

Keeping the team sustainable: boundaries, real time off, individual needs, and helping people grow whether or not anyone can see them working.

04.

The library

Search freely or filter by theme. Each card is one part of working as a hybrid team, with its own page: the thing to make explicit, how strong teams tend to handle it, questions for your team, and things to watch for.

Filter by theme

Showing all 65 cards

Card 1: Appearance & Background 1Appearance & Background How we present ourselves Tools, space & tech Card 2: Asynchronous Collaboration 2Asynchronous Collaboration How we work & communicate between meetings Communication Card 3: Communication Channels 3Communication Channels What channels we use & when Communication Card 4: Scheduling & Planning 4Scheduling & Planning Schedule & invite to meetings & events Meetings & collaboration Card 5: Hybrid Benefits 5Hybrid Benefits Benefits of being a remote or hybrid team The hybrid setup Card 6: Cloud Storage 6Cloud Storage Established places for shared content Tools, space & tech Card 7: Synchronous Collaboration 7Synchronous Collaboration Collaborative sessions to get things done Communication Card 8: Communication Styles 8Communication Styles Tone & nuances in video calls or text Communication Card 9: Conflict Management 9Conflict Management Prevention & resolution of conflicts Trust & culture Card 10: Multitasking 10Multitasking Handle multiple conversations, tools & tasks Meetings & collaboration Card 11: Decision-Making 11Decision-Making Make & track decisions Getting work done Card 12: Hardware & Accessories 12Hardware & Accessories The technology we need & how we acquire it Tools, space & tech Card 13: Distraction 13Distraction Limit distractions & notifications to be productive Meetings & collaboration Card 14: Employee Perks 14Employee Perks Benefits, independent of location People & wellbeing Card 15: Ergonomics 15Ergonomics Set up a healthy physical workspace Tools, space & tech Card 16: Progress Tracking 16Progress Tracking Task completions & how goals are met Getting work done Card 17: External Communication 17External Communication Collaborate with external parties Communication Card 18: Face to Face 18Face to Face When & how we meet in person Meetings & collaboration Card 19: Facilitation 19Facilitation Guidance through meetings & workshops Meetings & collaboration Card 20: Feedback 20Feedback How we give & receive feedback Trust & culture Card 21: Ground Rules 21Ground Rules Expected etiquette & response time Communication Card 22: Handoffs 22Handoffs How we hand over partly completed tasks Getting work done Card 23: Intercultural Communication 23Intercultural Communication How we work across languages & cultures Communication Card 24: Internet Connection 24Internet Connection Source, speed & reliability across the team Tools, space & tech Card 25: Equity 25Equity Equal opportunities, independent of location The hybrid setup Card 26: Leadership 26Leadership Who leads the team & how Trust & culture Card 27: Learning & Reflection 27Learning & Reflection How we reflect, learn & share learnings Trust & culture Card 28: Psychological Safety 28Psychological Safety Things we do to create a safe environment Trust & culture Card 29: Lunch & Breaks 29Lunch & Breaks How & when we eat, rest & refuel People & wellbeing Card 30: Meeting Protocols 30Meeting Protocols Purpose, frequency, duration & participants Meetings & collaboration Card 31: Collaboration Methods 31Collaboration Methods Activities we use to collaborate Meetings & collaboration Card 32: Extended Team 32Extended Team External partners, freelancers & collaborators People & wellbeing Card 33: Offboarding 33Offboarding Transition, knowledge sharing & celebration People & wellbeing Card 34: Onboarding 34Onboarding Welcome, introduce & train new members People & wellbeing Card 35: Location Model 35Location Model All in-person, remote or hybrid The hybrid setup Card 36: Organizational Memory 36Organizational Memory Documentation of processes, progress & decisions Getting work done Card 37: Socializing 37Socializing Build human bonds on- & offline Trust & culture Card 38: Personal Needs 38Personal Needs What we need to function well in hybrid teams People & wellbeing Card 39: Personal Profile 39Personal Profile Present & explain what we do Tools, space & tech Card 40: Physical Workspaces 40Physical Workspaces How we set up the spaces for hybrid Tools, space & tech Card 41: Professional Development 41Professional Development Train, mentorship & community learning People & wellbeing Card 42: Recruitment 42Recruitment Attract, meet & hire new talent People & wellbeing Card 43: Hybrid-Friendly 43Hybrid-Friendly How we make work accessible from anywhere The hybrid setup Card 44: Rituals 44Rituals Events & habits that cultivate belonging Trust & culture Card 45: Culture 45Culture A community people are proud to be a part of Trust & culture Card 46: Roles & Responsibilities 46Roles & Responsibilities Define roles & decide on who is doing what Getting work done Card 47: Skills & Experience 47Skills & Experience What we have & what we need People & wellbeing Card 48: Tools 48Tools Software used for work & collaboration Getting work done Card 49: Support 49Support Assistance from co-workers Trust & culture Card 50: Task Management 50Task Management Keep track of tasks & projects Getting work done Card 51: Hybrid Challenges 51Hybrid Challenges Obstacles & difficulties working on- & offline The hybrid setup Card 52: Personal Space 52Personal Space Boundaries, time off & work-life balance People & wellbeing Card 53: Technical Problems 53Technical Problems How to handle malfunctions, downtime & bugs Tools, space & tech Card 54: Time Zones 54Time Zones How our locations affect how we work together The hybrid setup Card 55: Flexibility 55Flexibility Encourage & guide adaptability & resilience Getting work done Card 56: Updates 56Updates Keep people up to date Communication Card 57: Vacation & Time Off 57Vacation & Time Off Planned time away from work People & wellbeing Card 58: Working Hours 58Working Hours Expectations on when to be available The hybrid setup Card 59: Video Etiquette 59Video Etiquette When we're expected to be on-cam or muted Communication Card 60: Visual Collaboration 60Visual Collaboration How we ideate & collaborate visually Meetings & collaboration Card 61: Work Process 61Work Process How we normally get things done Getting work done Card 62: Security 62Security Password, backups & viruses Tools, space & tech Card 63: Hybrid Agreement 63Hybrid Agreement How & when we allow remote work The hybrid setup Card 64: Purpose & Goals 64Purpose & Goals The reason for the team's existence The hybrid setup Card 65: Turntaking 65Turntaking How we distribute speaking time in sessions Communication
05.

Does your agreement cover this?

A quick gut-check of what a hybrid team usually needs to have settled. Ticks are saved in your browser, so you can come back to them.

The basics

Communication

Getting work done

Fairness and inclusion

Culture and care

06.

About

A library for teams that work across places, built on a card deck that lays the whole subject out on the table.

Why

Working as a hybrid or remote team is not one thing, it is dozens: how you meet, how you communicate between meetings, how you decide, how you make sure remote people are not second-class, how you keep a culture alive when nobody shares a kitchen. MethodKit for Hybrid Teams lays those parts out together so a team can talk them through. Here each card gets its own page that asks the same questions: what is this part of working together, how do strong teams tend to handle it, and what should you agree on.

It is for any team that is not all in one room: leads setting up how the team runs, and members who want a say in the norms they live by. The texts are starting points for a conversation, not a policy to adopt.

How to use it

Pull the cards that matter for where your team is now, set the rest aside, and use the questions to agree on how you want to work before habits harden. Lay them on a table or a shared board, sort them into what is working, what is not, and what you have never actually discussed.

Want the cards in your hand? The deck is available from MethodKit.