Designing Distributed: Leading Doist’s Fully Remote Design Team in Six Countries

Key Insights

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  DeWist differentiates between remote work and emergency work-from-home during the pandemic, despite longstanding remote experience.

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  Trust is fundamental; DeWist avoids employee monitoring software and focuses on work quality, not hours logged.

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  Employees at DeWist design their own flexible schedules based on natural productivity rhythms and life needs, like Gonzalo's night schedule or Becky's gym breaks.

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  Transparency is practiced by making nearly all internal communications public, including leadership discussions and post-mortems.

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  The company experienced a 50% expansion in work cycle times during 2020 while keeping scope constant to accommodate human stress.

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  Asynchronous communication via a custom tool without 'online' indicators helps reduce pressure for immediate responses and supports global time zones.

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  Meetings are minimized, short, and focused on brainstorming or personal check-ins, never used as primary decision-making forums.

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  Care for mental health is open and normalized at DeWist; burnout is publicly acknowledged to foster understanding and support.

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  Detailed documentation (product, design, implementation specs) is key for knowledge sharing and onboarding across teams and time zones.

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  Effective remote leadership means creating safe space for vulnerability, encouraging self-care, reminding about vacation usage, and promoting accountability with clear task ownership.

Notable Quotes