Leading Virtual Teams with Dr Maren Deepwell

• ILTA Conference https://ilta.ie/edtech-2026/
• Reclaim at ILTA Preview https://blog.reclaimhosting.com/reclaim-ilta-annual-conference-2026/
• Jim's blog https://bavatuesdays.com/
• Bava.studio https://bava.studio/
• Reclaim Case Studies https://blog.reclaimhosting.com/tag/case-study/
• Maren's ILTA Memories https://youtube.com/shorts/IkioyzkHjOQ?si=MCArEpb7bZE1_Fkz
• Openness Reimagined… from How to Who https://altc.alt.ac.uk/blog/2026/05/openness-reimagined-from-how-to-who/

• Newsletter is moving! Subscribe via LinkedIn 
• Read via the blog (and subscribe via RSS)
• Follow me on Bluesky or Mastodon 

• Helen Tarokh Coaching Supervision https://www.mrstcoaching.com/
• Wales & Shropshire Coaching Group

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

• 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

• 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. 

• University of Oxford Digital Skills

• Connect on LinkedIn

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

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 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/

• 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’

• 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/ 

• Learn more about Doug Belshaw https://dougbelshaw.com/ 
• Doug's doctoral research on digital literacies
• How co-operative principles shape our decision-making and collaboration at We Are Open Co-op
• Doug's involvement with Open Badges and Verifiable Credentials, and how open recognition can support virtual team culture

• The strategic uses of ambiguity — i.e. not everything needs to be pinned down straight away. Allowing some ambiguity in projects and discussions can spark creativity and encourage exploration.

• Doug uses the term serendipity surface to describe how we can make chance encounters and unexpected discoveries more likely, especially when working remotely.

• Living like a Hydra

• Mission Statement blog post

My ⁠⁠⁠⁠blog⁠⁠⁠⁠, this ⁠⁠⁠⁠podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ and free monthly ⁠⁠⁠⁠newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ are the best ways to connect and ⁠⁠⁠⁠get in touch⁠⁠⁠⁠ with me. Find out more about my work and get in touch via ⁠⁠⁠⁠my business site⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This year I got back into running, and regular readers will know that this comeback has been years in the making. I started blogging about it in 2022.. and in 2023. So I am pleased to report that I have finally managed to get there! From a personal perspective starting the day with a morning run is a joy for me, and the photo at the start of this post is a snap shot from earlier this morning, as I was jogging down the river near my house and passed my favourite river oak tree. It’s a majestic sight and today the water was clear and still, reflecting the beauty of this glorious sunny morning.

So it’s a personal win, and it’s also professionally interesting because the coach in me is reflecting on what’s changed this time round? Why did I succeed this time when I have failed to do the same thing since 2021? Plenty of us struggle to stick to habits or achieve goals, and so I want to use my example to share some coaching tips that have helped me along the way.

Read the episode blog post.

My ⁠⁠⁠blog⁠⁠⁠, this ⁠⁠⁠podcast⁠⁠⁠ and free monthly ⁠⁠⁠newsletter⁠⁠⁠ are the best ways to connect and ⁠⁠⁠get in touch⁠⁠⁠ with me. Find out more about my work and get in touch via ⁠⁠⁠my business site⁠⁠⁠.

• Angela Gunder https://angelagunder.com/ 
• Angelda Remixes https://angelaremixes.com/
• Opened Culture https://openedculture.com/
• The 100 Year Ed Tech Project https://100yearedtechproject.org/
• Confluence of Commands https://angelaremixes.com/2025/03/12/confluence-of-commands/ 
• Color Bird Match-Ups
• AI Literacies Unlocked: Open Course on AI Literacies developed for UNESCO IITE that we launched on National AI Literacy Day
• AI Literacies and the Advancement of Opened Culture: Global Perspectives and Practices: MIT Open Learning article on AI literacies and open pedagogy
• Hewlett Foundation Grant with Tennessee State University and MERLOT/SkillsCommons on Open Culture: Free webinar series and open playbooks

A couple of things that have been percolating in my mind over the past couple of weeks have come together: the reflective post in which I shared a ⁠story of my career⁠ prompted me to think more about where I am heading and why; then I completed the ⁠review of my tech stack⁠ which made me focus on whether I have the right tools for the work I want to do and what that is… ; and thirdly I have been preparing for the next run of my ⁠hybrid working leadership course⁠ (incidentally, if you’d like to join us, ⁠register ⁠before 26 May), which includes a topic about how to find your own measures of success.

My ⁠⁠⁠blog⁠⁠⁠, this ⁠⁠⁠podcast⁠⁠⁠ and free monthly ⁠⁠⁠newsletter⁠⁠⁠ are the best ways to connect and ⁠⁠⁠get in touch⁠⁠⁠ with me. Find out more about my work and get in touch via ⁠⁠⁠my business site⁠⁠⁠.

A couple of things that have been percolating in my mind over the past couple of weeks have come together: the reflective post in which I shared a story of my career prompted me to think more about where I am heading and why; then I completed the review of my tech stack which made me focus on whether I have the right tools for the work I want to do and what that is… ; and thirdly I have been preparing for the next run of my hybrid working leadership course (incidentally, if you’d like to join us, register before 26 May), which includes a topic about how to find your own measures of success.

This is part 1 of 2 in which I share my strategies for reframing success in the context of my career and how I find and measure personal KPIs.

My ⁠⁠⁠blog⁠⁠⁠, this ⁠⁠⁠podcast⁠⁠⁠ and free monthly ⁠⁠⁠newsletter⁠⁠⁠ are the best ways to connect and ⁠⁠⁠get in touch⁠⁠⁠ with me. Find out more about my work and get in touch via ⁠⁠⁠my business site⁠⁠⁠.

• Long Distance Leadership Postcards
• April's topic: Walk'n'Talk

My ⁠⁠⁠blog⁠⁠⁠, this ⁠⁠⁠podcast⁠⁠⁠ and free monthly ⁠⁠⁠newsletter⁠⁠⁠ are the best ways to connect and ⁠⁠⁠get in touch⁠⁠⁠ with me. Find out more about my work and get in touch via ⁠⁠⁠my business site⁠⁠⁠.

• ⁠National Digital Leadership Network⁠
• ⁠My Report
• The Percolator ⁠- my space for brewing new ideas
• ⁠Long Distance Leadership Postcards

My ⁠⁠blog⁠⁠, this ⁠⁠podcast⁠⁠ and free monthly ⁠⁠newsletter⁠⁠ are the best ways to connect and ⁠⁠get in touch⁠⁠ with me. Find out more about my work and get in touch via ⁠⁠my business site⁠⁠.

• Amanda Coolidge 
• OEG Voices Podcast Studio with Amanda Coolidge, Marcela Morales, and Maren Deepwell
• Positive Postcards

My ⁠blog⁠, this ⁠podcast⁠ and free monthly ⁠newsletter⁠ are the best ways to connect and ⁠get in touch⁠ with me. Find out more about my work and get in touch via ⁠my business site⁠.

• N-TUTORR
• National Digital Leadership Network
• My Report

My ⁠blog⁠, this ⁠podcast⁠ and free monthly ⁠newsletter⁠ are the best ways to connect and ⁠get in touch⁠ with me. Find out more about my work and get in touch via ⁠my business site⁠.

• Blogging Community of Practice
• Ready Writing Blog
• EdTechie Blog
• Maren's Blog
• Bonnie Stewart's work
• Jim Groom's Blog
• Community of Practice Blogging Mojo Event
• Getting your Blogging Mojo back

My ⁠blog⁠, this ⁠podcast⁠ and free monthly ⁠newsletter⁠ are the best ways to connect and ⁠get in touch⁠ with me. Find out more about my work and get in touch via ⁠my business site⁠.

• The Percolator - my space for brewing new ideas
• Long Distance Leadership Postcards
• Re-inventing Mondays revisited

My ⁠blog⁠, this ⁠podcast⁠ and free monthly ⁠newsletter⁠ are the best ways to connect and ⁠get in touch⁠ with me. Find out more about my work and get in touch via ⁠my business site⁠.

This year’s theme for International Women's Day is Accelerate Action, and I am offering three pro bono coaching packages to contribute something to this effort. So if you are looking to progress an action, take a decision or make change happen, then get in touch if you’d like to work with me. 

Mentioned in this episode:

• Open Education Week
• My FemEdTech Years

My ⁠blog⁠, this ⁠podcast⁠ and free monthly ⁠newsletter⁠ are the best ways to connect and ⁠get in touch⁠ with me. Find out more about my work and get in touch via ⁠my business site⁠.

• Critical Cadence
• Reflective walking
• Kin Lane's post on seeing human beings as resources
• Bryan Mather's permission slip

My blog, this podcast and free monthly newsletter are the best ways to connect and get in touch with me. Find out more about my work and get in touch via my business site.

Welcome to this conference special of my talk atEducation after the algorithm: Co-designing critical and creative futures, 20-21 February 2025.

In this recording I expand on strategies and practical ideas to use movement in contemplative pedagogies and outdoor learning, and to notice how the pace of thinking and doing changes in motion.

You can find more information and the talk slides

https://www.marendeepwellcoaching.com/critical-cadence

This week a cohort of 16 leaders and managers wraps up the current run of my ⁠Healthy Hybrid Habits course⁠. As this is the second time I have run this course in this format, I’d like to take this opportunity to reflect on and celebrate what’s been achieved.

In this episode I reflect on the wider context of the course, the social and political context, Digital Productivity Double Speak and AI "Solutions" to Hybrid Working.

Course homepage https://www.marendeepwellcoaching.com/hybridhabits24

Episode blog post https://marendeepwell.com/?p=5429

Join me for a conversation with special guest Lucy Crompton-Reid for a deep dive into leading a successful distributed organisation. Lucy shares inspiring examples of putting wellbeing at the heart of hybrid working policies and we discuss how working with the open knowledge community has inspired how the organisation operates.
As Chief Executive at Wikimedia UK Lucy led her organisation to successfully adopt hybrid working during the uncertainty of the pandemic and in this episode we explore how practice and policy has evolved since. 

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.

• Education after the algorithm: Co-designing critical and creative futures
• Blogging Community of Practice AKA Bloggers Anonymous
• Healthy Hybrid Habits for Leaders and Managers

Since I first published this list of 25 obvious, yet effective, ways to improve your working environment, all the way back in 2022, it’s become one of the most read posts on my blog. Many of my coaching clients and course participants come back to this again and again, to find new ways to tweak their set up and improve their working environment.

Given that we are once again in January, and given that this week I’d do just about anything to make work a little easier, I’ve gone back to review and update the list to include a few new things and approaches. There are a lot of things you can try to make your day a little more comfortable, calmer and more balanced. What will make a real difference to you depends on the way you work and your personal preferences.

What makes this approach work (for me at least) is that the aim is to start thinking about making very small, incremental improvements, not big or radical changes that new year resolutions so often come with. I can always find ways to make myself 1% more comfortable, even on a bad day. And along the way, I gain a little more awareness and distance from being lost in digital productivity curves.

You can access the full list on my blog.

My ⁠blog⁠, this ⁠podcast⁠ and ⁠newsletter⁠ are the best ways to connect and ⁠get in touch⁠ with me.

Join me for a wonderful conversation with special guest Alan Levine as we talk about  the early days of remote and distributed working in the 90s, creating and keeping your domain on the open web, and discovering the joy in small things. 

Alan and his dog Felix share the story about how work and life have evolved over the past few decades, from working in Iceland to the last influence of DS106. We create a 'garden in the stream' to talk about conference catch ups, pizza and what it takes to flourish on the free web. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Clive Thompson on Twitter and 6th Sense 

Blog, flickr as timelines The Web Timelined Self 

Into the Great Wide Open (my year long self sabbatical) 

  From AZ to NZ AU 6 month Sabbatical at Maricopa, 2000 

It Came from DS106 

Aloneness and Loneliness 

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.

Visit Martin's blog to learn more about his work.

My blog, this podcast and newsletter are the best ways to connect and get in touch with me.