This morning, I hopped on a conference call with a segment of my network that meets via zoom on a monthly basis. We meet virtually because we are spread out all over the country from NY, PA, DC to San Diego, Seattle, Spokane and quite a few cities and state in between. We always meet on the third Monday for our virtual get together. We have a mandatory rule that everyone must have cameras turned on if they want to participate, which I do believe makes a difference. We are all making eye contact with each other, seeing reactions along with hearing tone, and engaging the way we would if we were meeting in a physical, brick & mortar environment. It was nice to return to normalcy, even if it was only for a short time frame.
Each meeting starts with a round robin question, and today I asked the question that Cindi Johnston from in my network posted on LinkedIn, "Life in the epicenter - how are you coping?" As with most folks on the call today, Cindi is an outgoing "persuader" or "influencer" (if you are familiar with assessment related designations) who gets her energy from the people around her. Isolation due to self-quarantine or any other reason (such as company closures) can have a largely negative impact on what we actually accomplish in our daily routine. This question hit home for everyone on the call. Some folks bared their soul around concerns, others took it in stride, and some
Everyone had very well thought out opinions, suggestions and thoughts on how to cope, and what it seems to come down to is the need for social solidarity in this time when "social distancing" is the buzz word. We had an invigorating meeting this morning, and I am still receiving emails and texts thanking me for spreading a little sunshine by puling everyone together. With technology today, we have the ability to continue to engage in a safe environment. We should be talking about how we can support and help each other, while practicing #CoronaSafe ideas.
2 examples include:
Example #1:
During the call, Chantelle Fitzgerald from my network, extended an invitation for everyone to attend her weekly meditation sessions via zoom. Chantelle is the Founder and CEO of Mindset Strategies, and focuses her work on mindfulness, helping employees be more present at work, which is crucial in today's recently expanded virtual workforce. Check this out and pass it along to your team - some folks have never worked from home before this and will need a little assistance in maintaining focus.
Example #2:
Here's a little blatant self-promotion! My company, Puzzle Break, is currently developing team building escape room experiences that we can facilitate virtually to every team member sitting in their home office, living room, basement, or anywhere. We know that creating a collaborative environment for your team can be difficult when everyone is in the same physical location, and how that difficulty elevates when working with remote employees. The environment today has shifted the workforce for an unpredictable amount of time, shifting the majority of folks to a virtual workforce. We are working on ways to keep them engaging with each other and communicating effectively.
In the effort to stay #coronasafe while practicing physical distancing + social solidarity, what thoughts, recommendations, events, ideas do you have to keep your community and network engaged? Let's practice social solidarity and tag the folks in your network that can benefit from or contribute to this conversation!