Unfamiliar is the new normal!!
Having been a projects person most of my life, I have a tendency to live in the ‘tomorrow’ … I am used to ‘today’ being allocated to my team and focusing my energy on the next steps. I thrive on the ‘unfamiliar’.
So keeping in line with that behaviour pattern, my mind has already wandered on to what the world will look like once we are out of our current situation with Covid-19.
A few people have commented on how we, as humans, will come out of this as better people. I hope so, even though I think all newly found good intentions will be lost in the rush to rebuild lives and economies. After all human memory is short.
However, I do think somethings will remain.
Integration of life will comprehensively replace work life balance. What does that mean and why is it so important?
With the technology advancements, working from home had become the norm. Clocking-off stopped existing a few years ago. We wake up and check emails on our phone and continue to do so even after we have left office for the day, including weekends. Only the more disciplined have been able to manage a strict routine, at the risk of getting left behind.
This constant presence of office even after-hours has increased the stress, trying to juggle work and life. Because we have always viewed these as two separate things, work life balance ends up taking a huge focus. Ironically, this merry dance of balancing has added to the pressures, resulting in a huge spike in mental health issues.
Now with ‘work’ officially coming to our homes, we have to look at co-existence of professional and personal – finally acknowledge that whether ‘work’ or ‘personal’ we only have one life – it is all the one ‘me’. So how is it unfolding in this new world of Covid-19 restrictions?
- People have been careful to keep their professional persona separate from their personal persona. This has it’s cost. With enforced working from home due to restrictions, people have quickly adapted and we are starting to get onto conference calls where normal personal life is clearly happening in the background and yet business outcomes are also being met
- We are starting to see our colleagues as humans now that the formality of office structures has been dropped. This will add a whole new dimension to the way we interact and do business
- This distancing and physical isolation, has in fact made people closer socially. Clients are telling me about the innovative meetings they are having and how they are replacing the casual water cooler discussion with virtual coffee/drinks sessions
- People are having meetings with their cameras switched on so you can see the face behind the voice. Making people even more present than they would have been in a physical room perhaps.
- Cutting down on travel time has made us more productive
- Managing multiple schedules with children homeschooling is making us better time managers. It is also helping us build empathy for other colleagues.
As someone who has made a career out of building high performing teams, my experience has shown that people always respond well to ‘humans’. When a leader shows their human side, the team can relate to them better. They can see where they fit in and the gap they help fill in the leader’s overall delivery landscape. After all we all want to belong. We are known to be social beings who thrive on being a community.
As a leader this is the best opportunity we will have to build our community that will stick together for a long time. This is the best time to show and own up your human!
What are some of the strategies you are using to maintain business as usual in this new online world?
What human leadership lessons will you be implementing in the new world we will enter post Covid-19?