The Value of Gathering and Shared Space - and Hugs!

I had the pure joy of getting to gather with the Prosci Executive Team and US Leadership Team last week at our Global Headquarters in Fort Collins, Colorado. While we've excelled at virtualizing delivery and at many aspects of hybrid work (the planning and doing), there are just some aspects of interactions that are better when we're together. Aligning. Rumbling. Connecting. Celebrating. Shared space made each of those feel so different this week than they had over the past 2+ years.

As a leadership team, we've declared two seemingly paradoxical aspects of our future of work philosophy: a) we proved we could do almost anything virtually, and b) gathering matters!

Gathering matters! And since we don't need to be in shared space all the time just to work anymore, we are striving to be strategic and get the most out of the time we do.

Following our week and some reflection, here are five areas where shared space added tremendous value:

1. Side conversations
2. Riffing and interjecting
3. Unstructured time
4. Foundation setting
5. Hugs!

1. Side conversations

Think about it; there aren't any side convos in remote land. Perhaps a text message on the side to another meeting attendee, but no real side conversations. And while we have effectively used small group breakouts to improve virtual engagement in our programs and meetings, it's not the same as multiple conversations in real time around a table. The conversation around a table of 10 or 15 is living and breathing, with sub pockets of energy and exchange. Shared space gives back side conversations.

2. Riffing and interjecting

I don't mean talking over or interrupting someone. But, when a number of people are working to align or curate or co-create or complicate (in a good way), being physically together lets us pick up on and groove with those around us. We have clunkier "off ramps" and "on ramps" between contributors on video calls when a frame highlight signifies an abrupt passing of the conversational baton. Shared space lets us riff, build off one another, and improve through back and forth.?It also takes a minute to remember how to do it when we are in the same room instead of on the same screen.

3. Unstructured time

Like side conversations, unstructured time just doesn’t exist in a purely remote space. We’ve employed “intentional informality” and tried to create both time and virtual space to connect in an unstructured way, but it was challenging. Partly because of the clipped exchanges between one speaker and another, partly because of the lack of side conversations. The hallways, coffee pots and water coolers gave us the scene to engage and exchange in unstructured ways. The structure of walls and presence when we are together afford the space for actual unstructured time.

4. Foundation setting

The “when” we gather matters when we are working with a team to accomplish a goal. Gathering at the start of an effort seeds the trust needed for collaboration - whether it is a strategic planning cycle, a critical initiative, or a direction setting transformation. While the n-th update can easily be virtual, those first laps of alignment critical at the start can happen so much more effectively around a table or breaking bread. Sharing space at the start of endeavor lays the brick and mortar for virtual collaboration, trust, and success.

5. Hugs

Oh how I've missed hugs. If you caught any webinars from the first year of the pandemic, you heard me talk about my nearly diagnosable hug withdrawal (the wonderful people of Prosci even organized a virtual industry hug to celebrate my 20-year anniversary). The hug I exchanged with my CEO as I arrived at nearly midnight after a delayed flight will be permanently etched in my brain, when we were able to gather once during the short reprieve of the summer of 2021. Being able to embrace so many of my colleagues this week, after the collective trauma and growth we experienced while being kept separated in space, was priceless.

At the core - values and culture

Prosci refreshed our six values in early 2021: Impact. People. Inclusion. Excellence. Experience. Integrity. We’ve defined “we statements” that embody the behaviors of living our values, and as we step into those values each day we create the common language of culture at Prosci. It’s a very very special place ??- even with our numerous quirks and chances to do better. I’ve felt those values in the organization – especially the People value – while we’ve been apart, and they’re likely the reason we made it through. But I felt it in my core when I stepped into the physical space this week. #ProsciProud

#ProsciProud

We turned a headquarter-centric, in-person training company into a virtualized global business enabling client change success through a virtual solution portfolio. And while we can do nearly anything apart, I’m so glad we were able to be together to enjoy some unstructured time complete with side conversations, riffs, and many, many hugs.

Until the next time we are able to make the most of shared space!? ???

~ Tim

Tim Creasey, Prosci Chief Innovation Officer

Tim Creasey is a dynamic presenter, researcher and thought leader on managing the people side of change initiatives to deliver organizational results and outcomes. His work forms the foundation of?the largest body of knowledge on change management in the world. His role as Chief Innovation Officer at Prosci gives him unparalleled insight into change management challenges, trends, and futures. Tim’s background in economics gives him a data rich, analytic perspective. He is authentic, knowledgeable and unassumingly funny, enabling audiences with valuable data and actionable insights.