I came back from vacation! The beach was left behind and with it the permanent buzz of a family home full of children laughing and running, lunch boxes to prepare, dinners where everyone talks at the same time forcing us to turn off because we can't think of anything else.

I'm a few days away from vacation and I started to think that this year is being a strange time, unlike other times of the year. Nothing can fail and I want to keep everything organized because rest is essential, but I have felt that this “holiday” theme has been a great challenge in the uncertain times in which we live today, a fact that I have never felt before.

In this last year I managed to count on three hybrid colleagues in the team. They are not cars, but very different from the classic programmers.

After 18 years of managing people in a web development company, today I am more certain than at the beginning that managing people is not about power! It is about being at their service with guts and pleasure. Understand what they need from me to be successful in their own role.

Being a speaker on virtual stages and webinars without being able to “feel” the audience is not easy! We are all learning and adapting. Speakers and the public are finding their role in this new digital model of online meetings, presentations and events.

A month has passed since Portugal has gone home and teams became remote at all costs. The web is growing exponentially, and remote leadership was imposed on  a great team that makes new daily commits on websites that demand innovation and communication by the minute.

We, at Softway, decided to overcome this together, being apart. We all continue well! Thankfully! We are not more than 20 and we do not fit the official numbers that impose distance. But as of today, we will work remotely, each one from each home.