So near yet so far!

You’ve been faced with a double bind for several months now: how can you stay in touch with your teams while keeping your distance? You’ll have to adapt or even reinvent part of your job as a team manager.

Based on

Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World
by Vivek H. Murphy (Harper Wave, april 2020).

1/ START OFF BY MAKING EVENTS MEANINGFUL

Although you can recreate team meetings or individual reviews remotely, these only form a small part of the events that make up office life. After all, how can you replace Friday afternoon drinks together?

Draw a list of the events that structure the lives of your employees. You’ve written down the weekly team meeting, projects reviews, and successful certifications – but don’t ignore so-called “minor” events, such as morning coffee, birthdays, or someone returning from maternity leave. What new rituals can you introduce so you can continue to celebrate these moments large and small that help forge bonds?

Take the opportunity to rediscover what these events are really about. You’re used to going from meeting to meeting on automatic pilot whenever a notification pops up on your online calendar. But take advantage of working remotely to rediscover the meaning of these events: what do you really expect from this meeting or that interview? Why are you doing it? Should you keep it? If so, in what form, and who should take part? Re-examine your habits and sort through them ruthlessly, only retaining those events that are still meaningful.