Remote: Maintaining Intensity, Consistency and Quality

Since getting back into a real gym for workouts (my area has started to phase in the reopening of gyms lately) I have noticed some immediate differences:

• Workout intensity is higher (probably due to seeing other people working hard).
• I am more consistent (easier to go to an air-conditioned gym than psyche myself up for a 108 degree garage workout).
• Workout quality seems to be better (there is a wide variety of equipment and weights to use).

While we can get great workouts at home and alone, there are some obvious benefits of working out in a gym with others. I think the same can be said of traditional work versus the work from home arrangements we are using now.

While I am not suggesting a rush back to the way things were (commuting is a huge waste of time for many), I am suggesting that leaders take a hard look at things that may be worse due to working from home and do their best to recreate the environmental dynamics that promote healthy work intensity, high quality, and consistency.

Actions might include things like:

·      Checking in with people personally

·      Getting teams working in ways that are highly visible to one another

·      Giving the team new tools and training to be even more effective in their role

After the initial success of Pixar with Toy Story, Steve Jobs was concerned the teams would lose their collaborative magic through distance and new staff additions. He decided the solution was to build a campus to keep the growing company under one roof. A physical “one roof” approach is difficult today, but with attention and good team leadership, you can keep your virtual roofs in good shape as we weather this storm.

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Note this is a particularly good time to get a handle on team dynamics. Contact me if you are interested in dramatically improving the effectiveness of your team through a Team Paradox assessment and team development experience.