Connecting with no watercooler

Many people grieve the spontaneous and serendipitous connections at the watercooler. 

Lots of moments have been lost with remote work: 
interactions in the kitchen, collecting documents from the printer, walking to and from (and in) the bathroom, riding the elevator, walking to the station or car park, strolling to the cafe, walking between meetings...

So many incidental interactions and happy collisions (or avoidance 🥸) that were happening, and now aren’t. 

Alex Howland, Ph.D. suggests 4 ways to spark watercooler moments in Forbes:
1 camera off and avatar on
2 channels for non-work conversations
3 cross functional digital events
4 creative virtual worlds. 


🎯 AND these techniques work well with teams I’ve been working with:
- drop in zoom for coffee or chat, anytime
- shorts: 12 minute check ins and catch ups
- play time: virtual casual play time, reminiscent of school days, no work only play
- commute pairs: hang out with 1 other person as you begin your work, to chat, connect and share 
- cowork: mics off and cameras on for calm companionship. 

Experiments are useful. What will you try? 

It’s the creative challenge of the changing times we’re in. 

Career killers to beware of

Balance, solution thinking, self-care. 

These kinds of things now fit into the category of helping your career ... not killing it. 

Check out this Forbes article and see how you might be killing it. 

And not in a good way! 

Self doubt. 
Willing to make mistakes. 
Risk taking. 
Empathy and biases ... 

They’re here too. 

Read on. 

Finding your way with the new

Copying someone else’s way of working might just work. 

And it might not. 

While there are methods, techniques and new habits to start, sometimes the best thing to do is simply try them out. 

No strings attached. 

Try it on. How does it feel? What do you like about it? How might it work for you? 

As businesses change to new and agile ways of working, there can be a little too much ‘don’t mess it up’ and not enough ‘let’s try it out’. 

I’ve been working with leaders and their teams as they try tools, techniques and methods like 
- visual management 
- timeboxing for tasks and meetings 
- backlogs of tasks to be done
- co-creating with customers 
- running experiments 
... and 30+ more ways of working. 

This is no switch to flip overnight. 

It’s an opportunity to learn, experiment and experience... over time. You might even bring some of the greatest detractors into the experience. 

‘This was so much better than I thought it would be’, said a participant at a Better Ways of Working virtual workshop recently. 

Safe. Experimental. Collaborative. Supportive. Experiential. 

There’s no other way to make these transitions to newer ways of working, but to help people find their way. 

Getting started when it’s all too much

Waiting for the perfect time? Waiting to launch an idea, press ‘go’ on a project - there may not be a perfect time. 

When we wait for the right time, perhaps we’re just waiting until we feel right. 

But if we keep waiting until we feel ready, brave, complete, right, correct and as perfect as can be, we will be waiting a long time. 

We can burn and waste a mighty lot of time in that state of inertia, waiting ... until. 

Before a hot air balloon takes off, pilots launch small lit balloons and watch how they respond in the air. 

They can read the weather forecast or muster all the courage and bravery they have, but that’s not as good as a trial. 

A trial balloon is a smaller version of the big thing and gives them some of the most real and visible evidence of what will happen when they launch the bigger one. 

Launching a trial balloon is something we can send out early on in our endeavor to check the market’s response ... and our response too. 

What’s a trial balloon you can put out there to help you get some insight on how your ‘thing’ might go? 

Launch something. Little. 

Fresh skills we want to learn

How does a team adapt in an environment of change like the world is experiencing now? 

What skills do leaders need to better lead in these times?

Remote work, extreme uncertainty and ongoing complex change are impacting so many sectors and organisations. 

Old learning topics like body language, negotiation skills and time management are being overtaken by more contemporary, practical and inspiring skills. 

These skills are more related to today’s workplace and aligned to the capabilities people need to be able to work better together. 

Plus they’re the kinds of skills people want to learn!

They are: 
Ingenuity 
Empathy
Creativity 
Curiosity 

Facilitation 
Visualization 
Experimentation 
Improvisation 

Sensemaking
Listening
Learning
Collaborating.


These kinds of skills help us stay relevant and motivated in the learning ... as well as the daily application.