The ultimate guide to asynchronous collaboration
A practical deep dive into why and how you should lean into more collaboration that doesn't require meetings and real-time workshops
In the ever-evolving landscape of modern work, the challenges we face are as diverse as they are numerous. The pandemic in particular has accelerated the use of digital technology for virtual collaboration but that has largely resulted in meetings-overload. Research has certainly indicated an increase in both number of meetings and people in meetings.
Enter asynchronous collaboration: a savvy approach that respects individual timelines while optimising team output. This isn't just a buzzword; it's the future of work, especially for teams scattered across time zones or juggling multiple commitments.
This comprehensive guide is filled with actionable insights, real-world scenarios, and tips that you can actually use. And plenty of links to dive deeper into as you please.
Ready to break free from the conventional grind of being overwhelmed with meetings in your calendar and assuming that’s a prerequisite for collaborating well? Let's dive in.
What's the difference between synchronous and asynchronous collaboration?
Synchronous collaboration is all about real-time interaction. This is the realm of face-to-face meetings, video conferences, and instant messaging. It's the immediate exchange of ideas, often requiring team members to be available at the same time.
Asynchronous collaboration, on the other hand, allows for a more flexible approach. Team members can contribute at their own pace without the need for immediate responses. This includes communication methods like email, task management tools, and collaborative documents that can be edited at any time.
Why do people assume collaboration needs to happen synchronously?
The roots of synchronous collaboration can be traced back to traditional office settings where everyone worked similar hours and were physically present in the same location. In such environments, it was often easier and faster to gather everyone for a quick meeting to discuss issues or make decisions.
As Cal Newport, author of "Deep Work", astutely observes:
"The principle of least resistance, combined with the social nature of humans, tends to move workplace cultures toward more connectivity, but that doesn't mean it's the most productive or satisfying state."
Why should you ease off of synchronous collaboration?
Time inefficiency
Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, in their book "Remote: Office Not Required", argue that synchronous meetings often "take longer than actually required" and "procrastinate the real work." Amazing book, by the way!
Cognitive overload and the challenge of context switching
A study from the University of California, Irvine, found that it takes an average of 23 minutes to refocus after an interruption, such as a meeting. This constant context-switching can lead to cognitive overload, diminishing the quality of work. Asynchronous collaboration helps mitigate this by allowing team members to focus on tasks for longer periods, reducing the mental toll of switching between different types of work.
Meeting fatigue
The phenomenon of "Zoom fatigue" has been studied extensively, including this paper that outlines the psychological effects of prolonged video conferencing. The study found that constant eye contact and the need to focus on multiple people at once can be mentally exhausting.
Email is not the answer
You might be thinking, "Don't we already do asynchronous collaboration with email?" While it's true that email is a form of asynchronous communication, it often falls short as a comprehensive solution for modern collaborative work. Email can become a cluttered space, filled with a mix of important project updates, casual conversations, and even spam. This makes it difficult to organise tasks, track project progress, or locate specific pieces of information.
Moreover, email lacks the integrated features of more advanced asynchronous tools, such as real-time document editing, task management, and version control. So, while email is a step in the direction of asynchronous collaboration, it can often cause more problems than it solves when it comes to collaborating.
Adopting a more structured and feature-rich set of asynchronous tools can take your team's productivity and collaboration to the next level. Before we get to tools though…
What are some of the biggest benefits of leaning more into asynchronous collaboration?
Reduced stress and burnout
Asynchronous collaboration allows team members to work at their own pace, reducing the stress associated with tight deadlines and immediate responses, allowing for a healthier work-life balance.
Inclusivity
Harvard Business Review highlights that asynchronous collaboration "gives everyone an equal voice and enables participation from individuals who might be less inclined to speak up in real-time settings." This fosters a more inclusive environment, enriching the team's collective wisdom.
Equality
As Doist points out in their awesome article How Doist Makes Remote Work Happen:
“95% of our team communication is asynchronous (as opposed to real-time like meetings or group chat) as well as transparent and searchable (unlike email). Keeping communication fully accessible to the whole team supports one of Doist’s core beliefs: the best argument always wins – regardless of who you are, your title, or your seniority. It’s impossible to live by such a rule in a remote structure unless you have a centralized place with full transparency around what’s going on, including decision-making.”
Better work quality
When team members can focus on tasks without constant interruptions, the quality of work often improves. This aligns with the principles of Cal Newport also, in his extensive advocacy that uninterrupted focus leads to high-quality work.
Global talent pool
Asynchronous collaboration is particularly beneficial for teams spread across different time zones. This eliminates the need for someone to be awake at odd hours just to attend a meeting, making it easier to tap into a global talent pool, as highlighted in that same Harvard Business Review article.
Cost-effectiveness
Reducing the number of real-time meetings can also lead to cost savings. The Financial Review discusses the financial burden of excessive meetings and how reducing them can lead to more productive work.
Improved record-keeping
Asynchronous tools often come with features that automatically document discussions, decisions, and updates. Even without that automation, an overreliance on synchronous collaboration can compromise good record-keeping as people either become complacent or end up taking elaborate minutes that are not useful.
Accessibility
Asynchronous collaboration allows for more inclusive participation, including those who may have commitments like childcare or schooling that prevent them from being available for synchronous meetings. This point is supported by research from Gallup, which shows that flexible work environments can lead to higher employee engagement.
Skill development
Working asynchronously can help team members develop important skills like time management and self-discipline. These are valuable skills that are often discussed in the context of remote work, as seen in "Remote: Office Not Required".
Environmental benefits
With fewer requirements for real-time meetings, there's less need for commuting for face-to-face interactions, which can have a positive environmental impact. Green meetings. It’s a thing. Check it out.
By incorporating asynchronous collaboration into your workflow, you stand to gain these additional benefits, making it an even more attractive option for modern work environments.
5 key principles of collaborating well asynchronously
Assign facilitation
Whilst it may seem obvious that trying to collaborate in real-time without a facilitator is often going to nose-dive efficiency, asynchronous collaboration also requires good facilitation and is helped by having an individual or small group of facilitators that can facilitate asynchronous collaboration well. This isn’t a guide to facilitating asynchronous collaboration, so I won’t spend a lot of time on that here, but this principle is fundamental.
Don’t assume that a group can effectively self-organise around processes, tools and documentation asynchronously without a facilitator. Asynchronous collaboration is also just as vulnerable to bystander effect and overly divergent discussions as a workshop that isn’t facilitated well.
Prioritise clarity
As Simon Sinek, author and motivational speaker, says, "Simple is hard. Easy is harder. Invisible is hardest." In asynchronous collaboration, clarity is paramount. Ensure that your messages are concise, straightforward, and leave no room for misinterpretation. Use bullet points, numbered lists, or even visual aids like charts to make your point clear.
Set expectations
The importance of setting clear expectations for team performance becomes even more important when you want to lean into asynchronous collaboration. In an asynchronous setting, this could mean clearly outlining tasks, deadlines, and the expected quality of work in written form somewhere easily accessible like a project management app (see tool stack recommendations below).
Be proactive
Stephen Covey, in "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", talks about the importance of being proactive. In asynchronous collaboration, this means taking the initiative to update team members, offer help, or even anticipate challenges and propose solutions. Don't wait to be asked or “facilitated”; cultivate the habit of being the one who steps up.
Check-in regularly
According to research from Gallup, regular check-ins lead to higher employee engagement. In an asynchronous environment, this could be a weekly update thread where everyone shares what they've been working on, challenges they're facing, and what they plan to do next.
Document lightly but consistently
Atlassian's playbook for effective teamwork suggests keeping records of all discussions and decisions. This is crucial in asynchronous collaboration, where team members may be working at different times. Going heavy on documentation will definitely be counter-productive, but some documenting of decisions and discussions enables anyone to catch up or join the project at any stage.
An example tool stack for better asynchronous collaboration
Slack: For quick chats and updates, Slack offers a range of integrations and bots that can automate many aspects of collaboration.
Alternatives: Microsoft Teams for medium to large organisations. Very small organisations could start with WhatsApp or Signal groups.
Asana or Trello: These project management tools offer features like task assignments, due dates, and progress tracking, making it easier to manage projects asynchronously.
Alternatives: For a more sophisticated solution you could try Jira or Notion.
Google Drive: For document collaboration, Google Drive offers real-time editing and robust commenting features, allowing team members to contribute at their own pace.
Alternatives: Dropbox is the only other solution I can confidently recommend as an alternative.
Loom: For times when a video explanation is more effective than a long email or document, Loom allows you to record and share short videos.
Alternatives: I’ve heard Jumpshare is a great alternative but haven’t used it myself at the time of writing this.
Miro: Miro, the incredibly popular infinite canvas app, is great as a digital alternative to having a large wall space in a physical room. However, that doesn’t mean it has to be used exclusively to collaborate in real-time. By incorporating annotations, comments and a clear structure and layout of frames, Miro can be used for collaborating asynchronously very well!
Alternatives: Mural is the most popular alternative but there are others. Microsoft’s whiteboard has also been beefing up its features to creep closer to Miro and Mural in functionality but last time I checked it’s still well behind.
Notion: Yeah, I’m mentioning Notion again. I’m a bit of a fanboy (and an official affiliate partner), as Notion serves many use cases and does it well. You can combine knowledge management with the power of relational databases for project management and various other use-cases all in one platform. There is a bit of a learning curve to configure it for your context but once its set up and you have a couple of power users, it can make collaboration - both synchronous and asynchronous - a lot easier. If you sign up for Notion using any of the affiliate links on this page, you’ll also be supporting my work.
When should you choose to collaborate synchronously?
While this guide focuses on the benefits of asynchronous collaboration, there are instances where synchronous communication is beneficial or even necessary. The best team workflows will find the optimal balance between the two for themselves. Here are some scenarios where synchronous collaboration will probably make more sense:
Urgent decision-making
When a quick decision is needed, and the matter is too complex for asynchronous methods, a real-time meeting can be more effective.
Example: Imagine your team is working on a marketing campaign and a last-minute opportunity for a high-impact media placement comes up. The deadline to submit the materials is in two hours. In this case, a quick Zoom or Teams call can help the team decide whether to seize the opportunity and allocate resources accordingly.
Team building
Synchronous interactions, like virtual coffee breaks or team lunches, can help in building rapport among team members, which is often hard to achieve in an asynchronous setting.
Example: Your team has recently onboarded several new members. To build rapport and facilitate a sense of community, you might schedule a virtual "Welcome Lunch" where everyone can introduce themselves and engage in some light-hearted conversation.
Complex discussions
For topics that require nuanced conversations, immediate back-and-forth, and the reading of social cues, synchronous communication can be more suitable.
Example: You're in the planning phase of a new software development project. While asynchronous tools are great for tracking tasks and timelines, the initial brainstorming and architectural decisions may benefit from a real-time discussion. This could be a scheduled video conference workshop where team members can hash out the details, ask questions, and clarify doubts on the spot.
Initial project kick-offs
The beginning stages of a project often require a lot of clarifications and setting of expectations, which can be more efficiently handled in a synchronous meeting.
Example: Your company has just landed a major client and you're about to kick off a year-long project. The initial meeting might be best done synchronously to set the tone, establish key contacts, and ensure everyone is aligned on objectives and expectations.
Client interactions
Sometimes the client or stakeholder may prefer real-time interactions, and accommodating their preferences can be crucial for the relationship.
Example: You're in the consulting business and your client prefers a weekly check-in meeting to discuss progress, roadblocks, and next steps. While you could provide all this information asynchronously, accommodating the client's preference for a real-time meeting can be crucial for maintaining a good rapport and relationship.
By understanding when to use each form of collaboration, you can make the most of both synchronous and asynchronous methods to achieve effective and efficient teamwork.
Conclusion
Asynchronous collaboration is not just a trend; it's the future of work. With the backing of various authors and research studies, it's clear that moving towards a more asynchronous model of collaboration has numerous benefits, including increased flexibility, productivity, and inclusivity.
However, it's also important to recognise when synchronous collaboration is the better option. By adopting the lessons in this guide and nurturing a culture of continuous improvement, you’ll be mastering the art of both asynchronous and synchronous collaboration and enjoying a more efficient and enjoyable workflow.
Helping teams work better together is a big part of what I do professionally. If you have any questions about collaboration, let me know in the comments or contact me directly.
Love this, completely in my awareness right now. I serendipitously watched Sam Corcos on the Tim Ferriss pod layout similar thinking with a lot of how to intertwined
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtrkDoQFArU