The Office is a Place, Not a Solution.

Look, I want to recognize something first: the COVID-19 pandemic did a lot of harm and I have empathy for the many hardships it caused.

With those hardships, there were also some silver linings to the pandemic—especially from a work standpoint.

One of those silver linings? A truth was finally exposed:

The old ways of working weren’t working.

And as organizations, CEOs, or team leaders, it presented us with a unique opportunity to re-examine the way we viewed the office and our expectations for communication, collaboration, and development within our teams.

From where I sit, one thing has become extremely clear:

Organizations that ask "What will it take to optimize this new way of working?" are the ones that are winning now and will continue to in the future.

Organizations that blindly force people back into the old ways of working (like requiring people to go back to the office) are losing out on the benefits of a global workforce and will suffer because of it.

Today, I want to share a few key components of what I've seen it takes to optimize the new way of working and position ourselves for success based on my experiences as a CEO and observations from acting as an advisor.

It starts with a big (and for many people, scary) mindset shift.

From Proximity to Intentionality

In the public accounting world, there was a common phrase:

"Cheeks in the seats"

Basically, if you can't see someone at their desk or at their computer, they're not working.

I mean, what an antiquated and short-sighted thought process that is... "If I can't see you, I automatically assume you're not working."

Really?

I've been a part of many conversations at the organizational level around remote work and continue to hear phrases like:

"But how will we be able to make sure people are working?"
"People won't develop if we aren't able to follow our old development models." "We won't be able to bill as many hours without people in the office all day." "People won't be as productive as they would be in the office."

From my perspective, the answer to all these questions is "Maybe... so what will take to optimize this new working reality?"

The answer when thinking about remote work vs. in-office is a BOTH-AND approach. It's not an EITHER-OR.

Remote work is not a fad, it's here to stay.

People aren't willing to compromise a happy personal life for a vibrant career and they don't want to sacrifice their health and well-being for hours clocked in swanky offices that try to compensate for relentless work expectations.

People expect more from their work and want their style of work to be fulfilling, flexible, and focused.

So, as organizations, we have to shift our mindset from proximity to intentionality.

Because the ways we work have changed—for good.

So the question now needs to be: How can we be intentional about making sure we have the same (if not greater) productivity, development, communication, and outcomes in this new working environment?

Intentionality Defined

There are three important elements to being intentional in the new virtual / hybrid working environment:

1. Intentional Connection

2. Intentional Development

3. Intentional Collaboration

Intentional Connection

Let me be clear on something: I'm not suggesting being in an office or being face-to-face isn't valuable.

In fact, I prefer to start my coaching and advising engagements with in-person meetings and have clients that I visit in the office on a weekly basis.

Remember, I'm saying this is a BOTH-AND equation.

And being face-to-face doesn't have to require sitting in cubicles together in an office all day.

Find opportunities to meet co-workers at a local coffee shop or host 1:1's at a co-working space once a month with remote team members who might be in the same city.

Bring team members together on a planned basis for strategic thinking and brainstorming.

And for those team members that are virtual and hundreds of miles away, be intentional about scheduling weekly 1:1's and team meetings to build connection.

You won't bump into each other at the water cooler, so be intentional about the type of team dynamic you want to have and work backward to implement tactics to create it.

Intentional Development

The old ways of development included standardized development plans, and in the professional services world, an over-reliance on the apprenticeship model.

We expected everyone on our teams to follow the same systematic development path and people were going to learn the skills they needed from watching the people above them do the tasks over and over.

Look, I'm not saying it didn't work. It did. AND it won't work anymore.

Good luck having Steve shadow Sally's everyday tasks from 3,000 miles away.

People need individualized development plans based on their unique needs/aspirations.

If someone can't shadow your every move, what are you going to do instead to ensure they are developing at the same rate (or faster) to be promotion-ready?

We need to be more intentional about coaching and actively instructing rather than assuming people are growing by watching us in action.

Intentional Collaboration

I recently hired someone to help me with marketing for my coaching and advisory work.

We've never met each other in person. In fact, he travels full-time in an RV so it's unlikely we'll be together in the near future either.

But we're succeeding in our work together because:

• We're focused on outcomes, not production or hours worked.

• We've designed an intentional strategy to achieve the outcomes we've agreed on.

• We have weekly time on the calendar to brainstorm, think about what's possible, and collaborate on the tactics that are part of the strategy.

Sure, collaboration can look like a group of people sitting in a room together around a whiteboard. But it doesn't have to.

It can also look like text threads, email chains, slack channels, and Zoom calls if we've been intentional about what we're trying to accomplish and how we’re evaluating our success.

Just because we're collaborating DIFFERENTLY doesn't mean our collaboration efforts aren't as effective—and what if they could actually be more effective?

Conclusion

The office is a place, not the solution.

It can be a place for connecting, collaborating, and developing and so can many other places—both physical and virtual.

Here's something I believe wholeheartedly to be true:

Organizations and leaders who BREAK THE MOLD™ will be the ones who embrace this new work environment and are intentional about how they go about thriving within it.

They will attract the leaders of tomorrow and because they've been intentional, they will develop them (and therefore their organizations) into the ones who will be relevant and sustainable in the future.

So, as a leader, you have a choice to make today and each day...

Will you follow conventional ways of thinking and force people back into the old ways of working?

Or will you embrace the art of the possible and be intentional about designing a workplace that encourages and allows people to thrive personally and professionally well into the future?

I know which route I am taking.

With intention,
Alan D Whitman