Intentional Remote Operating Model
Make remote work productive by scheduling connection in bursts, protecting synced deep-work blocks, and banning status meetings.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 90%
A deliberate system for high-output distributed teams. Connection is built in periodic in-person bursts rather than daily; deep work is protected via leadership calendars synced to the same long blocks; and meetings are reserved strictly for solving problems, with status pushed to async tools and async video used to bridge time zones.
Origin
Atlassian's 'Team Anywhere' learnings from ~1,000 days of remote work, described by Megan Cook.
Core principles
- 01Flexibility is not a perk — it's a fundamental part of how people work
- 02Connection needs intentional bursts, not constant contact
- 03Deep creative work needs 3-4 hour uninterrupted blocks
- 04Meetings are for problems; status is async
- 05Async video is a new document type that beats scheduling across time zones
How to run it
- 1
Bring people together intentionally, a few times a year
Instead of daily presence, gather the team in person periodically — Atlassian found connection and productivity each get boosted ~13% when you bring people together intentionally, on average about three times a year.
Pro tip Cook's PM team meets every 6 months and the whole team every other 6 months, netting ~four gatherings a year.
- 2
Sync and protect deep-work blocks
Have the leadership team sync calendars so everyone holds the same long stretches (3-4 hours) twice a week for deep work.
Pro tip Shared blocks also mean if something unexpected comes up that you all must tackle, the time is already there.
Watch out Deep flow doesn't happen with back-to-back meetings 30 minutes apart — creative work needs 3-4 hour runways.
- 3
Reserve meetings for problems, push status async
Make it explicit that a meeting exists to solve a problem; status updates are read asynchronously whenever it suits each person.
Pro tip Blocking lots of deep work makes remaining meeting time precious, which enforces the discipline.
- 4
Document rigorously and use async video across time zones
Document decisions, strategies, and kickoffs so anyone can reconstruct the reasoning later; record casual back-and-forth videos when live time (Aussie + American + European) is impossible.
Pro tip Async video conveys tone, is quick and colloquial, and can sit atop a document to explain it — a new document type.
- 5
Keep manager check-ins short but leave flex
Run quick, punchy weekly one-on-ones, and hold open space in your calendar so reports can grab more time when a hard problem needs it.
In the wild
Cook's leadership team syncs calendars so they all hold two long deep-work stretches a week — one filling an afternoon, one filling a morning — letting each person pick the slot that suits them.
→ They get protected flow time while retaining shared slack to handle surprises together.
With a direct report in France, Cook and he exchanged quick, casual recorded videos instead of struggling to find a live slot.
→ Async video became a core, tone-preserving way of working and part of why Atlassian bought Loom.
Common mistakes
Filling every calendar to replace hallway access
When people lose the ability to swivel their chair and ask a question, they overcompensate by booking meetings with everyone, which destroys the deep-work time productivity depends on.
Running status updates as meetings
Live status meetings waste precious synchronous time that should be spent solving problems; status belongs in async tools.
Is it for you?
Best for
Distributed product and engineering teams spread across time zones trying to stay both connected and deeply productive
Not ideal for
Co-located teams where in-person hallway collaboration already provides connection and fast answers
From the transcript
“we found that connection and productivity, they both get boosted by about 13% when you”
“my leadership team and I, we actually sync up our calendars, so we end up having these long stretches twice a week all at the…”
“You need sort of, you know, 3 to 4 hours to get that going, to get into that flow state”
“I personally hate having status updates as a meeting. So, I make it really clear that if we're having a meeting, this is to solve…”
“that's becoming almost like a like a completely new document type for us”
From the episode
Lessons from Atlassian: Launching new products, getting buy-in, and staying ahead of the competition
Megan Cook (head of product, Jira)