In the past few months, teams have adapted swiftly to remote working. It’s been a revelation for many just how well it’s worked and surprisingly, the uplift to productivity. Work has become more personalised with zoom meetings in track pants, dogs on laps and children making unscheduled guest appearances and there is a reluctance from many to go back to the old ways.
It feels somehow a rebalancing, a step change in a more nurturing life, a chance to take stock of what’s important and a conscious embrace of ‘working to live’ rather than ‘living to work’.
As the sense of crisis recedes now is the time to lock in those gains and reset your team operating rhythm. Agree and hang onto what’s worked and reject what hasn’t. Unpack in your teams how each of you have found the energy to motivate yourselves when you’ve had an off day, what’s been helpful in team meetings and what you’ve done to build trust and boost personal connection.
Here’s a quick 2 step process to help you reset your team operating rhythm:
Step 1: Create a session with your team to individually answer the following:
How have I energised myself working from home?
What have I missed about being in the office?
What have I found hardest about working from home?
What changes do I hope are here to stay?
Step 2: Based on the collective responses, together answer the following to craft the principles of your new operating rhythm:
As a team, what do we need to:
Do more of …
Start doing…
Let go of…
Once you’ve created your new team operating rhythm, decide how you want to collectively hold yourselves accountable for applying it. Schedule an 8 week then quarterly check-ins to see how it’s going and what tweaks need to be made to ensure it’s becoming self-sustaining.
Embrace the opportunity now to choose and establish a new way of working together that’s energising and connecting for all in the team.
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