Leading Virtual Teams with Dr Maren Deepwell

A journal of professional practice can easily turn into a superpower at work. For over two decades, I have used different forms of professional journalling to create just those moments for myself, and so this podcast is an invitation to try out some new approaches to this fundamental practice. If you’re not a fan of writing, never fear, as I have included some approaches that use voice recording, conversational reflection and drawing, too . Curious to learn more? Head over to my blog or subscribe to my newsletter on LinkedIn. Blog https://www.marendeepwellcoaching.com/blog LinkedIn Newsletter https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7414966770748301312

It’s been a few years now since I started working in my own consultancy business full-time and being my own boss really suits me. On this episode I reflect on how life has stopped feeling unmoored in the way it did when my CEO days were fresh in my mind. Instead, life has taken on a new rhythm... . Mentioned in this episode: https://marendeepwell.com/?p=5939 Find out more about my coaching and consultancy https://www.marendeepwellcoaching.com/ Connect with me on Bluesky and Mastodon or subscribe to my LinkedIn newsletter.

Have you heard of Podcasthon? It’s the biggest charity Event in Podcasting world! An incredible and fast-growing non-profit initiative that unites thousands of podcasters globally. There's no money involved—it’s all about raising awareness for various charitable causes. I’ll be dedicating this episode of my podcast to support a charity and a cause that truly matters to me - mentoring emerging leaders with One Million Mentors.

It’s Open Education Week, from 2-6 March, celebrating all things open in Education AND it’s also International Women’s Day on 8 March. Perfect timing to celebrate all things (and people!) inspiring in open education and beyond - and for this very special episode we welcome a very special guest: Chahira Nouira . Tune in to share plenty of inspiration, hear Chahira's perspective on how things are changing in Open Education and the enduring importance of Open Education practice AND join in the fun as we share some of the projects and people that inspire us and bring a smile to our face.  Meet my Special Guest Economist by training, Chahira Nouira has been active in the field of EdTech for over 18 years. She is based in Germany and has worked for a few institutions like the University of Göttingen and the United Nations University (UNU). She is passionate about Education and has contributed to many European projects and initiatives related to Open Educational Resources and Practices. Her work is dedicated to helping learners to strengthen their digital competences and enhance collaborative teaching and learning, especially in international settings. Mentioned in this episode Chahira Nouira interviews Lilia Cheniti live from Hamburg! The game Chang(O)ER: Demystifying the Buzz around Innovation, Openness and Sustainability  https://youtu.be/9iPWjWmQBBc?si=IQUk_U7d_l-98rfP ILTA Annual Conference https://ilta.ie/edtech-2026/ Reclaim celebrates Wikipedia @ 25: Knowledge is Human https://archive.reclaim.tv/w/dfVdJXVUvKoPhBJjBketmH Guest Post: Conference Blogging in the Open https://blog.reclaimhosting.com/guest-post-conference-blogging-in-the-open/ The DS106 Daily Create https://daily.ds106.us/ Bryan Mathers Fabulous Remixer Machine https://remixer.visualthinkery.com/ Higher Education for Good. Teaching and Learning Futures https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0363  Radio info https://marendeepwell.com/?p=5896 

In April I am joining forces with Lou Mycroft for an AmplifyFE webinar hosted by ALT (it’s free to attend, so register if you’d like to join us). The theme we have picked is rest & resilience, inspired by both Lou’s work on radical rest and my work relating to building healthy hybrid leadership capabilities for uncertain times. Although the work for the webinar has just gotten underway, I want to share one piece already: the mini retreat. In this episode for this post I share stories of some of the retreats I have organised for myself as well as some ideas and tips for creating your own. Mentioned in this episode: Episode blog post with resources https://www.marendeepwellcoaching.com/blog/miniretreat Webinar Registration link https://www.alt.ac.uk/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=1079 Course Registration and further info https://www.marendeepwellcoaching.com/hybridhabits

Tune in to find out how Pilot Irwin combines online engagement with playful approaches to create unique conference sessions and what we can learn from this for leadership in hybrid and fully remote teams. Pilot, an early-career edtech professional whom I met first working for Reclaim Hosting, brings a wealth of creativity, inspiration and impressive improv skills to the world of online conferences.  Read Pilot's blog post to learn more https://pilotirwin.com/the-power-of-games-in-virtual-events/ Mentioned in this episode: Reclaim Open Conference session: Let’s Play Brand Actualization: Selling Out the Open Web DS106 Radio Summer Camp session: "Long Time Listener, Last Time Caller"  Brand Actualization Long Time Listener Last Time Caller the LTLLTC podcast episode from DS106 Summer Camp Connect with Pilot on LinkedIn. 

I'm thrilled to kick off this season of interviews with a fascinating conversation with Blaine Roissetter, from the University of Oxford. It's a valuable opportunity to hear about digital capabilities and digital leadership from the unique perspective of a very large, complex and federated institution and its people. From digital skills to digital leadership, remote working and effective digital governance in uncertain times, I loved hearing Blaine's perspective on what it takes to empower and support a large workforce at an institutional level during uncertain times and how we can think through rapid technological change.  Mentioned in this episode: University of Oxford Digital Skills Connect on LinkedIn

January is usually a time for planning for the year ahead. Whether at work or at home, there’s a whole year of goals yet to achieve stretched out in front of us, and I find that can be a little bit overwhelming. Whilst I am a fan of planning ahead, with so much to do, and only a finite amount of time and energy to do it with, I find I need an antidote to the madness of January’s resolutions and good intentions. In short, I am looking for a source of fresh inspiration and motivation: a DONE List. In this episode I share how and why this is such a useful tool and how to get started. Also mentioned in this episode: What if you're already on top of things? by Oliver Burkeman Forget To-Do Lists. You Really Need a ‘Got Done’ List in WIRED Check out the blog post for links and resources https://www.marendeepwellcoaching.com/blog/start-the-year-with-a-done-list Subscribe to my LinkedIn newsletter https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7414966770748301312

On this episode we welcome back a very special guest: Amanda Coolidge, Principal and Founder of Coolidge Collaborative, Inc.  Amanda shares an update on her career transition and offers a rare insight into what it's really like to start your own business as we reflect on the year together.This is the kind of open leadership conversation I value the most and something that's rare for me to have nowadays, so I am delighted to have had an opportunity to record an end of year special and dive into what's in store for 2026. Enjoy!  Find out more about Amanda's work:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandacoolidge/ Website: https://www.coolidgecollaborativeinc.ca

It’s the season for office parties, and I am in a festive mood. In this holiday-themed post (and on the podcast, too), I want to share a few of the ways in which I reflect on, celebrate and end the year. If you are a fellow freelancer or small business owner, you might find inspiration for your own celebration here. Like you, I’ve been to a lot of office parties and work do’s, and most of them weren’t all that festive and bright, but some years it all came together and we had a lot of fun together. So in my “Office Party for One” I’ve tried to keep the best bits of what I enjoy and add my own twist of reflective spirit to come up with a end of year celebration that brings me joy and is highly practical, too. Party hat optional.

This month, as a little gift from me to you, you can join in with my leadership coaching subscription service, AKA Long Distance Leadership Postcards for free. I’ve made December free for all to access, and this month’s topic includes three free resources to explore. Whether your 2025 has been busy and productive, or brought unexpected challenges, whether you are getting ready to rest or just about to set out in a new direction, I have designed this month’s coaching moment by mail to offer new inspiration and encouragement by focusing on your creativity, develop leadership capability or clear the decks with increased productivity. Enjoy the listen and explore the free resources: https://www.marendeepwellcoaching.com/leadership-postcards/chooseyouradventure

On this episode we hear from a very special guest: Professor Helen O'Sullivan, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost at The University of Chester and from 2026  Chief Academic Officer at QA HE.  This is a precious opportunity to hear from an experienced senior leader about pioneering hybrid and remote working with different institutions, the central importance of building trust and how to effectively set boundaries to protect your work/life balance.  This interview is going to feature in ⁠my upcoming book⁠. Get in touch with me if you'd like to join us for an episode and contribute to the book. My ⁠⁠blog⁠⁠, this ⁠⁠podcast⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠newsletter⁠⁠ are the best ways to connect and ⁠⁠get in touch⁠⁠ with me.

It's time to celebrate as the podcast turns 3 this month! I've recorded this special episode to say thank you to all of you, my listeners, and to share a few of my reflections about the show. If you have ideas for topics or special guests for 2026, I'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with me https://www.marendeepwellcoaching.com/contact .

Join me to celebrate a personal milestone as we kick of 3 year of my business venture, and also share a conference special for Reclaim Open, for which my contribution is all about Blogging as a Professional Superpower. Mentioned in this episode: Year 3. Boom. https://marendeepwell.com/?p=5727 Blogging as a Professional Superpower https://marendeepwell.com/?p=5732 Reclaim Open https://reclaimopen.com/ Blog-a-thon https://blog.reclaimhosting.com/reclaim-open-blog-a-thon/ Coaching & Consultancy https://www.marendeepwellcoaching.com/

This time of year always feels busy, with so much going on, and yet it’s also a season when there’s less daylight time, and colder months are starting here in the Northern Hemisphere. Whether at work, in leadership practice or in relation to personal goals I often have conversations with my coaching clients about wanting to accomplish more whilst feeling that there is less energy. What I find especially helpful at this time of year, however, is to focus more on what energy I have and how I want to spend it between now and the end of the year. This small shift in emphasis opens up a different reflective frame and in this episode I show you how to use a basic template of the resource to help do that. Check out the episode blog post for more information and resources https://marendeepwell.com/?p=5719 Learn more about my coaching and leadership development at https://www.marendeepwellcoaching.com .

It's World Mental Health Day! In this episode I share some resources for mental health in the workplace. It's been a summer of personal milestones for me, and this week feels like starting a new chapter. There’ll also be some new developments on a professional front in the coming months, but more of that in a future post. For now, I’m focusing on getting my head back in the right mindset for work. As I’m also making the switch from late summer in Crete to autumn in Wales, I’m using the seasonal changeover as a way to help me gain focus. I find it really helps to change some things around to mark a new season or a new chapter, and in this post I share some examples of how I do that.

Over the summer I have updated my coaching course for leaders and managers, ready for the next academic year. I designed the course originally just over 18 months ago, and three cohorts later I have learnt a lot about what participants find most valuable. I’ve also had a lot of experiences working with coaching clients who are tasked with introducing AI in their teams, or supporting colleagues who are now using productivity suites such as MS Teams or Google Workspace with AI-powered tools, something I hadn’t specifically addressed when I designed the course. In this episode I share my thinking about how AI and hybrid working practices are shaping the way we lead, and give you a preview of updates to the course.

On this episode we hear from a very special guest: Amanda Coolidge, Principal and Founder of Coolidge Collaborative, Inc. . I am thrilled that Amanda joins me to talk about navigating career transitions that combine values with meeting the demands of establishing a new career chapter.  We swap tales of the freedom that comes with no longer running an organization and becoming your own boss, open approaches to leadership and how to balance work with rest.  Find out more about Amanda's work: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandacoolidge/Website: https://www.coolidgecollaborativeinc.ca/

Tune in for a deep conversation with Lou Mycroft, Changemaker Extraordinaire, and meander with us as we reflect on the future of work, empowering green change and agency. Sitting in the a garden green space, both metaphorically and literally, Lou shares how making (green) change is possible within large institutions, tapping into the powerful potentia of individuals and community networks. This conversation is a breath of fresh air and left me feeling thoroughly inspired. Mentioned in this episode Learn more about Lou's work Lou's Substack on Joyful Practice Rhizo14 and the work of Dave Cormier Educational Leadership in Changemaking Times AI-generated Hip Hop Poem for AmplifyFE The Thinking Environment and the work of Nancy Klein Radical Rest and Rest is Resistance Megan Reitz and John Higgins work on ’spaciousness’

Join me for the first episode with not one but two very special guests: Marcela Morales and Igor Lesko, Co-Directors of Open Education Global. This is a rare and inspiring opportunity to learn about a co-leadership model as we chat across continents about open leadership and how to build relationships, trust and collaboration with a team distributed across the world.  Mentioned in this episode: Open Education Global https://www.oeglobal.org/  The people that make OE Global https://www.oeglobal.org/about-us/people-of-oeg/ Open Education Week https://oeweek.oeglobal.org/ Network of Open Organisations https://www.networkofopenorgs.org/ OE Awards https://awards.oeglobal.org/