“The harder we worked to convince each other that our way was the right way,
the further away we got from understanding each other.
We were pulling apart
instead of pulling together.”

— They Just Don’t Get It,” p 97

I am a practitioner at heart.

What do I mean by this? I practice my craft every day. My career craft reflects my strengths. My language is behaviors and systems. It is how my brain makes sense of what is happening around me.

I am an observer of people, systems, and behaviors. I get very curious when things come together and when things fall apart.

My role in the world of work is to support leaders and managers in finding the paths for ‘pulling together.’ Yet, most of my engagements start when performance and relationships are ‘pulling apart.’

• Why do we wait for pain to initiate change?

I am watching with great concern the quiet devolving of organizations and relationships as they work to operate in a world that is experiencing systems collapse and a reorientation to working after the onset of the pandemic. We are losing the fabric of our working communities and relationships.

It has been three solid years of adaptation.

It was remarkable the speed at which we repositioned. We demonstrated our strengths for change and pulling together. New businesses emerged, and many didn’t survive. Most learned to work on the issues day-by-day.

In the second year, we worked to create a “new normal.” New technology and work habits emerged. We learned, mastered, and grew fatigued by the volume of emails and virtual calls.

For some individuals and organizations, there has been a silver lining; for others? Hardship.

My concern? Even though we have navigated through so much, we know more will change. In the process, we have let go of, or have lost, some elements essential to human experience in working relationships.

We have demonstrated that we can work remotely and in a hybrid fashion. But. Does that serve us well?

I have met new employees who have never met their manager face-to-face. Remote orientation to team members might not foster trust or build an effective working relationship.

When we physically come together to plan, problem solve, learn, mentor, or celebrate, how do we translate values, culture, and the nuances of trust in interpersonal relationships?

I have observed many disconnects in email correspondence and on virtual calls. I have yet to see a conflict resolved on a virtual platform. I am concerned that we are losing our sense of being a living system and experiencing the joys of working on a collective mission with our shared values in hand.

We can work remotely – but should we? Is working remotely The best situation for employees?

• Is it fair?

• Is it equitable?

• Is it effective?

• Does it serve the mission?

• Does it support the clients?

• Does it advance the culture and workforce?

I have a prediction that this will be played out in future years. I believe that organizations that explore the pros and cons of designing a new approach to our working environments and relationships, that incorporate the possibilities and best practices for high performance and human need, and that build community will have a level of resiliency, retention, and collective well-being, and a differentiated advantage over those organizations that start to fall apart because they failed to nurture the’soft science’ of relationships.

If I were a betting person, I would wager on this outcome. Even now, I can see the cracks and hear the voices of pain.

• What are you observing?

• What is your response?

We know the value of human touch and connection. Without it, work is merely transactional and not transformational. As much as some individuals are wedded to working remotely — it has become a lifestyle — working remotely is not sustainable for growing a vibrant, high-trust, high-performance organization.

Let’s get creative again and blend the best of what we know with what we have learned. Let’s reinvent our relationship with each other, our work, and our world!

Leslie

“Talent wins games,
but teamwork and intelligence
wins championships.“

— Michael Jordan