Although we like to think that eventually we will return to a new status quo – We’ve learned so much and come so far, we can’t afford to fall back into our old workplace habits. Now is the time to escape the trap of the new normal and begin crafting the next normal. Companies whose leaders can harness the power of collaboration, communication and commitment will be ready for whatever comes next.
Virtual meetings have been an eye opener. I liken it to sitting in a meeting room with mirrored walls and ceilings. If we weren’t distracted from the agenda before, we are now. We’ve learned that if your attention can go elsewhere it does. Filters, sound, lag, lighting, dogs and children, backgrounds, emoji’s give us no end of distraction. How many times did our COVID enforced virtual meetings remind us that most meetings regardless of format usually take time from getting stuff done? It’s not that they kill productivity, they just put it on hold, like a break at the water cooler. While we’ve been busy rearranging participant windows, private chatting, and snacking our way through meetings, true collaboration has suffered. We need to find faster, cheaper and easier ways to collaborate.
The answer is facilitated meetings using standard productivity tools. In some businesses that will be Kanban boards or Mirro, in others it may be Data Analytic dashboards or Strategy Slams. Resources Unlimited offers the best collaboration tools on the market. Contact us about Dr. Edward de Bono’s Parallel Thinking approach. Thinking in Parallel is the inclusive, SCARF friendly, low drama alternative badly needed in the next normal.