Joining the dots and colouring in

I used to love those pictures where you had to join the dots and you could then colour in the finished picture when I was a kid. The idea that I could create something out of some seemingly disconnected dots was incredible and I loved doing them. Join the dots and colouring in was the way to go, as an artist I am not! As I sit here, I have a memory of doing an incredibly rewarding dalmatian at some point. I suspect it was the fact that there were simply some black dots to colour as my colour choices were often confused…but I digress.

This morning I had a great, short call (not great because it was short!) with David Prince from Microsoft. We had a really energising discussion around how technology has enabled us to function. We have all seen illustrations of how this pandemic would have affected work had it happened 10, 15 or 20 years ago. Technology has helped us to continue to function, operate businesses, keep supply chains and lines of communication open. As the pandemic hit, businesses that already had remote working and appropriate technology in place increased the volume of remote working. Others acquired laptops, webcams, headsets and rolled out Microsoft Teams Licences, or became Hangouts or Zoom aficionados and went through an exceptionally rapid, enforced change cycle. People who said it couldn’t be done discovered that it could be done. We could work successfully, remotely…in most cases.

we now work where we live and live where we work

But over the past three or four months, depending on where we are in the world, many of us have had our lives turned upside down. We now work in the place where we live and live in the place where we work. Many of us will not return to an office for some considerable time…perhaps by business mandate, perhaps by choice or perhaps our health is determining the difficulty of the return to an office environment.

Effectively technology has allowed us to “join the dots”, to keep working and to stay connected. We have drawn the outline of what could be a wonderful picture.

However, the hardest part is the colouring in…how do we make sure that people are not just connected to the periphery of the business but that they that they are still and integral part of the business and the daily lives of their colleagues and friends. How to we nurture and connect with the people who are the very heart and soul of our business.

When we went into this lockdown we felt as a leadership team that interpersonal connection was going to be important. We were going to need to have the space and time to just chat – sometimes about work with no set agenda and sometimes not about work at all…just to have the types of conversations that we used to have walking across the office, in the kitchen, popping out for lunch.

I was particularly concerned just a few days into the lockdown that my day was becoming entirely task and transaction focussed and that whilst my productivity was up, my mood was down. After checking with a few other people, I knew I was not alone.

So, we got intentional about creating space for conversation with no agenda. We have made space for nonsense and trivia, for the sharing of stories and the protection of and investment in, our relationships. Having connected the dots, we have endeavoured to colour in the picture.

Here are a few examples from our organisation, I’d love to hear some of yours in the comments down below

1)     Invest (and I choose that word deliberately) in making space for the conversation and fun that used to exist when you all worked in the same space. Book in a regular spot to just rebuild relationships and get out of the task and transaction relationship you have fallen into. That might be having coffee and cake, afternoon tea or a drop in lunch.

2)     Find a place for people to do the sort of informal problem solving and idea creation that used to happen at the start of meetings, when the team was together for a day or in other less formal office moments. We have three times a week 45-minute sessions to chat, learn, share stories and ask for help. Some people eat their lunch.

3)     Create social space and invite others to do the same. Remember when you used to go to the pub together after work, or head out for some food…do the same online. Have a virtual pop up pub, put a fun backdrop up, get online with a beer, a wine or a glass of fizzy water and just hang out. You can add structure if you need to, but our best nights have been entirely informal. Last night we had a virtual curry with partners and kids, a few weeks ago it was a family quiz night with a bit more structure. Variety is the spice of socially distanced life!

4)     Control your diary. Seriously this seems to be the thing more people are struggling with than anything else. Block out time to invest in informal, relationship building, supportive conversations. Especially if you are a leader who is highly motivated, driven and getting loads of work done. It is so important that we remember that some of our team members are missing the team, don’t like isolation and are finding the situation hard. Creating connections for them that might feel like a loss of productive time for us will boost their productivity as their mental wellbeing improves.

5)     Invite team members to suggest, organise and host informal sessions. Relieve yourself of the responsibility to come up with the ideas and the format for everything – create the space and permission for other people to colour in the picture