Workplace culture is evolving quickly. In order to really understand and mold it, we must be seekers of patterns and insights. It’s part of what we listen for as we let our intuition guide us while we mine for the truth and help leaders and teams discover pathways for greater connection.  

Now, a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing pattern after pattern and insight after insight that tells us that we have just plain hit a wall. We are tired.

We miss the random interactions of team members in the office, the spontaneous conversations that spark new ideas, and the energy we get from team meetings that work well.

We know you are feeling these things too, so we’ve put together three ways to help your teams redefine their virtual workplaces and reignite their teams.

Culture Always Follows Structure 

It’s time to dust off the Team Agreements and reset.  More than likely, what served you then, doesn’t serve the team now.  Have you become a meeting stacker – with little time to breathe, transition, process or actually do the work?  Your calendar is a reflection of your priorities and your team needs the structure to do their best work.  What structures do you have in place that help your team engage and collaborate?  What structures need to be removed because they are limited beliefs made real and the team is finding themselves just going through the motions? How can you build in the hallway passing time that we relied upon for processing, spontaneous collaboration and sparks of innovation?

I wonder what might be possible if you and your team engaged in a conversation about structures or ways of operating that would serve them now.  We’re finding that these agreed upon ways of being together will need to be revisited every 3-6 months – at the speed of change right now, we need to ensure that we are agile enough to change with the business. 

Plan for Spontaneous Connection 

Remember the day we could just “pop into someone’s office” and it would be a welcome distraction and processing time to iterate, ideate or simply find downtime to connect?  You can make that happen.  It’s becoming a popular technique to have dedicated Open Office Hours to invite in the spontaneity and casual, social interaction we are all craving right now.  How are you intentionally creating opportunities for connection with the unexpected and help your people learn across the business?  For a recent viewpoint of the need to create an intentional Virtual Culture, please fill out the form below to request the latest e-book from Wiley, Tackling the Virtual Culture Dilemma. 

Freedom within a Framework 

Agile companies are having daily dialogues about the future of their workplace.  Should we be a hybrid workplace?  How much flexibility can we allow and still be productive and respectful of the life needs of our people?  It’s not about creating policies, it’s about determining what is right for you, for your people and the culture you want to nurture and protect. We are finding great success stories where workplaces are exploring the right balance between structure and flexibility – between desired and reality.  And, it may need to evolve.  We need to allow for the space to process, breathe and take shape – what is right for us now and that we can support a year from now?   Just like us humans – the workplaces, the cultures you are creating need the space to build connection and seek clarity. 

We are guiding leaders and teams in these important conversations each week.  If you’d like a guide to help you identify the structures you need to create the healthy culture you desire, let’s definitely connect! 

Request your free ebook “Tackling the Virtual Culture Dilemma”