Taking Ownership of the Next Normal

We’ve probably all heard the term “new normal” uttered more times in the last three weeks than we had in the previous three years. “The unprecedented times” have created a “new normal.” 

In some ways, yes, but I don’t think we’ve actually reached the new normal. We’ve had our recoil, we have felt uncomfortable, and we’ve grieved. We have felt depressed and over-eaten or over-walked our dogs. But we are a long way away from fully adjusted because there is still a lot of uncertainty. 

We’re in an in-between phase, and yet, we have the power to start purposefully shaping the next normal right now.

From ‘the office’ to ‘the office online’

We have gone from “at the office” to “at the office online.” That was required given the speed with which we had to adjust to COVID-19. But now, we have an opportunity to think about the next normal very differently. 

Work was broken before all this. In my upcoming book, “Work Like a Boss,” I have an entire chapter titled “Shit’s Broken.” In it, I highlight a selection of outdated and dysfunctional aspects of traditional and mainstream workplaces. I’m not alone in thinking this. A recent Harvard Business Review article did a fantastic job of illustrating so much of what didn’t work about work, and begins with a great hope: “As people postulate how the country may be forever changed by the pandemic, we can hope that one major shift will be a move away from the harmful assumption that a 24/7 work culture is working well for anyone.” 

I think we’ve discovered pretty quickly that “the office online” is exhausting us as fast, if not faster, than “at the office.” With no physical transition between work and home, many find themselves working more. Our online office existence has many of the same behaviors, distractions, and intensities of the physical office, without the boundaries; the workday can just go on and on. Add to that the new distractions of home and children and you've got a recipe for overwhelm.

The “office online,” as we’re doing it now, is a replica of our patterns and behaviors of the office itself. We went from having a lot of meetings with each other in person to having the same amount of meetings on Zoom. We went from sitting with our teams in person to assuming we have to work together on everything while we’re distributed. Filling up our calendars with virtual collaboration sessions (usually in the form of meetings) takes a similar -- if not greater -- toll on us. I don't know about you - but I'm growing tired of Zoom meetings. Very very tired.

We have to stop copying what we did four months ago and start thinking about new ways of working. We have to re-work work.

Changing work is not a huge endeavor. It just feels that way.

Every business requires innovation right now -- this was true before COVID and will be true after. It’s simply the reality and pace of business in the 21st century. 

Contrary to what many may think, software and technology don’t equate to innovation. Innovation happens because people make different choices and new decisions; take risks and initiative. Innovation happens when an individual tweaks or changes the way things worked before -- when they look at the landscape and make a decision to see it differently and put a new twist on what’s in front of them. 

Re-working work starts with our own individual abilities -- and desire -- to try new things. We all have grief, anxiety, and angst right now. But that can’t dictate how we show up every moment of every day. We have to recognize that there are still ways to see things differently, try something new, and learn from our actions.

How do we start developing the next normal?

We start by questioning the patterns and behaviors we’re copying from the office. Some of what I’m saying will be familiar -- it’s nothing that we haven’t talked about -- but I want us to think about it in new terms, in a new light.

Explore what flexibility and remote means for your teams and business.

We all know we aren’t going to flip a switch and reopen. It will be gradual. But maybe, we don’t have to go back to “at the office” at all. At least in its purest and most traditional form: butts in seats from 9:00 to 5:00.

If you’re not in a position to make that decision, make the business case to the people who are making it. Last week, I participated in a conversation titled, “Not Everything Sucks,” hosted by Ciceron. Several business owners and I explored the upsides and positive outcomes we’ve experienced since the move to completely remote work. People are finding new highs and lows, and one of the highs is the ability to be more productive. At least at times. This is a great insight for business owners and managers to hear. 

Break out of the assumptions about time.

For the majority of people who can work from home, 9:00 - 5:00 isn’t the only time frame to work. Our family arrangements, work styles, and personalities impact how and when we do our best work. If we let people make decisions that optimize their work, we might see a radical shift in how work gets done. What if we worked in chunks of time during which we’re actually fully engaged, and stopped pretending to work when we’re not fully engaged? 

Time-shifting should be happening right now -- we should all be experimenting with it. Work happens when you’re out for a walk -- thinking is a necessary part of getting work done well. Taking a break helps us work better when we come back. I have been emphatic with my colleagues and staff over the years about not thinking work looks one particular way -- i.e. butt in the seat or eyes on the computer. If you think about how you’re going to solve a problem while on a walk, and then go back to solve it, it’s equally as valuable as if you’d stood at the machine the entire time.

Deconstruct meetings and strategically reconstruct them.

As we all know by now, Zoom fatigue is a thing. Not only are hour-long video meetings cognitively challenging, they don’t give us the same social or emotional boost in-person meetings do. 

When scheduling a meeting, make your agenda direct and actionable and think hard about the length of time you actually need to accomplish your goals. Default meetings to 15 or 30 minute durations rather than assuming the standard hour-long meetings. I don't want to look at anyone's face on my camera for an hour. I am fairly certain most people feel the same about me. I mean, unless you're Brad Pitt. That I can do. But for the rest of you - most meetings don’t need an hour, yet we will expand to fill the hour if it’s allotted. Complaining about meetings is nothing new, but all of a sudden we have really immediate experiences that could help us commit to new ways to manage them. 

Re-think collaboration.

In-person whiteboarding has become synonymous with collaboration but we have to think bigger than that. Yes, that format can be rewarding and effective, but it can’t possibly be the be-all-end-all of collaboration. First, remind yourself and others that collaboration is about the people, not the place or the technology. If people want to be collaborative, they will be. 

If collaboration is a necessary part of your work, think critically about how, when, and why. Is your goal getting buy-in or getting approval? Is it about collecting ideas or vetting them? These conditions point to different alternatives to all-hands meetings. Maybe a group message or a shared document can allow for co-working and input without a real-time meeting. 

Force yourself not to rest on real-time communication as the default to see what other collaboration is possible. This challenges our patterns but also accommodates different work styles.

Focus on communication.

If it would be helpful, I would just write here: Everyone please get better at communicating everything! But that’s not that helpful, nor that interesting. So, I will instead focus on a few key problems, and solutions, I see.

Passive aggression → Directness

Passive aggression leads to more issues in the workplace than nearly every other bad habit. It puts out terrible energy and then gets it right back in return. Passive aggression is ugly and undermines, well, everything. Being direct is more effective and kinder. I hope that somehow we emerge from our sheltering-in-place with a new-found respect and desire to tell it like it is at the office. 

Delivery → Dialogue 

I see people spend hours, even days, trying to craft the perfect difficult message to someone. They consider it from 1,000 angles and try to play out every possible response and outcome. Here is the problem: they are usually thinking about how to deliver the message, not how to have a dialogue about it. They’re thinking of it like chess, If I say this, and they say that, I can then say this about that. Instead, they should be focusing on developing conversation skills like listening, asking questions, and being humble about how hard the conversation is. That leads to connection, which in the end will result in better communication no matter what the message.

Tardiness → Timeliness

We sit on the stuff we know we need to say because we’re afraid or worried or even just really busy. But timely conversations almost always add efficiency to things, maybe not on the day-of, but in terms of keeping communication lines open and building trust and transparency with whomever you’re working. So yes, it might take an extra 20 minutes on Tuesday to have that kinda-tricky talk about how Daniel derailed the meeting, but that 20 minutes will save a ton of time down the road.

Take initiative.

Hierarchy has dominated how we think about what we “can” and can’t” do at work for too long. We wait for instruction or an assignment; we wait for permission or the go-ahead. That just doesn’t cut it right now: we all have to lead because your “leaders” aren’t down the hall. Oftentimes, movement is what people want -- not an exact right move. Make a best-guess, take risks, and speak up with the whys and hows of what you did. 

Good ideas can come from everywhere and we have to start acting more like that is the case.

Get creative.

Now’s the time. There are no rules or “they way things are” because nothing is as it was! That’s scary, I know, but think of the opportunity. The reality is that we constantly live in uncertain times, so the more we adapt to adapting, the better off we’ll be.

You can find similar ideas to the ones above in my upcoming book, “Work Like a Boss: A Kick-in-the-pants Guide to Finding (and Using) Your Power at Work.” 

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