Bond with a Difference
A sense of belonging needs to be reiterated, and leaders need to make conscious effort to keep the team together. This has been the case all along, but with the ‘Work Environments’ dominantly turning digital and distributed, leaders need to find creative means to engage with their teams. I always used to look forward to my team meetings in the pre-pandemic world where it was mostly in an informal setting, or we moved into one after a formal meeting. Those were the moments where we got to know each other better and which led to a sense of bonding in the team.
A recent study released by Microsoft “The Next Great Disruption Is Hybrid Work—Are We Ready? ”, surfaced the inevitable. The two trends that I picked up (quoted below) which were shared in the report need an introspection.
- Leaders are out of touch with employees and need a wake-up call.
- Shrinking networks are endangering innovation.
It is evident that teams are becoming siloed in the modern hybrid world, and hence as leaders, each of us have a responsibility that comes without a prescription and hence need a constant vigilance on the overall wellbeing of every member in the team.
Like in the medical parlance, need of the hour is to accumulate antibodies to fight against the digital fatigue and to avoid a sense of disconnect from the work environment.
A tip that I want to pass on which I acquired through a workshop that I recently attended on leadership. The task was to showcase a virtual background that truly represents one’s persona. Well! We got innovative and built collages as ‘Virtual Background’ with an authentic narrative of oneself.
A very refreshing exercise and I got to do the same with my team in an informal team meeting where each of them surfaced who they are in a pictorial way. Trust me when I say this.
As a team we got to know more of each other which otherwise was difficult and probably was a reality in pre-pandemic world when people met in person over lunch or dinner.
Are we ready to bond and in ways that foster networking? Time to get creative…