The New Age of Connection

2020 is a year none of us will forget.

It has been a year punctuated by challenges on a scale few of us have seen before.

From droughts and bush fires to floods and COVID-19, we have seen our resilience tested to the core. But like diamonds that are born in the earth's mantle from intense pressure and heat, so many innovations, inventions, learnings, new ways and fresh beginnings have metamorphosed in the last year.

The physical distancing and social isolation that became our new way of living in the COVID pandemic battle has had a number of good and bad implications.

Manoeuvring for Mental Health

On the negative side, as humans we crave social connection and so the enforced isolation gave rise to an increase in mental health issues. This was of grave concern for the Australian Government who made mental health and suicide prevention a national priority, which according to The Hon Greg Hunt MP, Minister for Health (Source: 2020-21 Budget Press Release 6/10/2020) led to an unprecedented spend of $5.7 billion in 2020-2021 for mental health initiatives, charities, programs, systems and support structures.

For the world of business, this added further pressure on company leaders to tackle as they pivoted to find new ways and work-arounds to continue operating, stay afloat and serve their customers, all the while needing to to make remote working possible, practical and painless for their staff.

Creatures of Habit

Even though humans are remarkably adaptable, as creatures of habit, even in the best of times we don't like change. Thus, the enforced changes in working practices, environment, approaches and procedures created new types and levels of organisational tension.

Whilst employees found convenience in working from home and enjoyed avoiding the usual tedious commute, they also lost the comfort and companionship of being around their colleagues.

As is often the case when we don't or can't have something we may have taken for granted previously, staff started to notice and miss the absence of the chats in the hallway or by the photocopier, coffee catch-ups and lunchtime conversations. Instead, these informal connections were replaced by formal Zoom, Google, or Microsoft Teams Meetings...

The Missing Ingredient

Whilst business got better at communicating this way for commercial purposes, the personal touch was missing. Some companies introduced new initiatives to fill the gap such as Friday drinks online, virtual coffee sessions and get togethers. Whilst they initially had some traction, many dwindled in appeal and attendance as they were too large, impersonal, unstructured or informal to work virtually.

So is it all doom and gloom? Not at all. The last year has taught us new skills and people have learnt to adapt and communicate in different and arguably better ways. We have also learnt the value and significance of connection to our fellow human beings, peers, colleagues, friends and family.

In this same time, we have seen people spend more time with their family and within the local community. Where I have seen this play out the best is when there was a structure and process to facilitate this. One such example was found in my street where neighbours reached out and connected with the other residents in the street, many for the first time. We saw street drinks (at your gate) parties, across-the-street get-togethers and more recently a series of pre-Christmas neighbourhood drinks and street BBQs.

At the core of this revival of the neighbourhood culture was a drive for connection and heightened compassion. I found this development particularly interesting as it effectively met Hugh Mackay AO's call to action in his 2019 Australia Day speech (see excerpt below), when he called on Australians for a revival of the somewhat faded "culture of compassion" and a fostering of a spirit of kindness and mutual respect in our local neighbourhoods and communities.

Words of Wisdom from Hugh Mackay

"So a call to become more compassionate is partly, perhaps mainly, a plea to do all the simple things that good neighbours routinely do: smile and say hello when you pass someone in a local street, or wait with them at a bus stop. Be especially alert to the well-being of anyone in your street, or your apartment block, who you know is at risk of social isolation particularly the frail elderly. Keep in touch with them; be ready to offer practical support – even if it’s only the gift of listening. Engage with local groups – book clubs, community choirs, U3A groups, community gardens, events at your local library, sporting and service clubs, neighbourhood associations, faith communities – anything that will put you in touch with what’s going on in your local area, and make you more aware of people potentially in need of your help. Organise occasional street parties or picnics in the local park. If you really need an excuse, invite the neighbours in for a drink to celebrate Australia Day.

No one is suggesting neighbours have to become best friends – though some do. But each of us needs to recognise that we are not only members of a family, or of friendship circles, or of workplace communities; we are also neighbours, and that’s an important and distinctive dimension of our role as citizens. There’s no virtue in being kind and respectful towards your friends – people you like and mostly agree with. Social virtue demands that we treat everyone kindly and respectfully – especially those we don’t like much, and most especially those we disagree with about politics or religion, or anything else."

Excerpt from Hugh MacKay AO 2019 Australia Day Speech

So how has this translated in the workplace?

Whether at home or work, people crave connection and compassion has become an increasingly important currency in the workplace. This translates to the existence of greater empathy between peers and managers and their staff and the heightened need for leaders to demonstrate empathy to their workforces. Aligned to this is the ever growing urge and need for a sense of purpose. For some time people have been looking for more than just a job. They have been looking for more meaning in their life and work than just the pay cheque. And this sense of need for belonging, purpose and meaning has at its roots, the need for connection. With the physical disconnection the world has been forced to endure due to COVID-19 and its predecessor natural disasters, it seems entirely expected that we need to strengthen bonds and connections, particularly as we approach Christmas and the end of 2020.

Team Dynamics and Optimal Functionality

In the world of business, for me, this translates to this being a critical time to foster the connectivity of your teams. In Patrick Lencioni's book 'The Five Dysfunctions of a Team' the author's model highlighted "five natural but dangerous pitfalls" that organisations fall prey to - An absence of Trust, Fear of Conflict, Lack of Commitment, Avoidance of Accountability and Inattention to Results. Observing his model and applying it to our world today, I believe that in order to build trust, you need to foster collaboration, which in turn will drive commitment, encourage accountability and enable a collective (vs individualistic) spirit. But central to all this is the need for connection. If people feel connected to one another they are more likely to work together towards a common shared goal.

We intuitively know this already and have seen this demonstrated many many times in the past when Society has faced and overcome great challenges or when groups of people have come together to either overcome the sometimes impossible and/or achieve greatness. One example of this is sporting team legends the All Blacks whose connectivity has made them the most successful international mens rugby side of all time with a 77.41% winning record since their first test match in 1903 and one of the World's most prolific winning sides in any sport. But this principle can equally be applied to the celebrated 1988 Winter Olympics Jamaican Bobsleigh Team and many other countless examples where the connection and collaboration of a team has enabled them to rise to the challenge and beat the odds.

United we Stand, Divided we Fall

Much like geese who by working together and flying in formation are able to travel further and faster than they would be able to individually. This principle of connection is what has already and will continue to enable teams to overcome the odds, become more productive and effective. So for what it's worth, here is my 4 Ps formula to success for 2021:

People + Passion + Purpose = Prosperity

So my prediction is that the year ahead will be one of greater connections and an era of heightened connectivity. Leaders who grasp this will see new levels of success, but central to all this will remain a shared need for purpose. So any person or business that can deliver this combination of purpose and connection will have a potion to revive the spirits of many, the ingredients for unrivalled business growth and at the same time mobilise the type of community spirit High Mackay AO called for on 23rd January last year.