Nick Gold: The 1st in-person Team Meeting

Nick Gold, MD of Speakers Corner considers how that first ‘in person’ meeting is likely to pan out, as the UK moves out of lockdown

For the first time in a long time, there is confidence we have a pathway out of lockdown. The business community, while understanding there will be bumps in our journey ahead, are looking forwards with a degree of positivity and maybe more importantly, appreciation as a society of what needs to be done to keep ourselves functioning and coming together in a physical as well as a virtual world.

For businesses, looking forward involves the conversation about a return to the workplace and what this means for individuals and for businesses.  There is no doubt the polarised positions that were taken throughout the various lockdowns of ‘never returning to the office again’ or ‘everyone needs to return to the office’ have been tempered. Indeed, there is a high degree of consensus that we, as businesses and individuals, are looking to find that balance between home and office working.

Business leaders and employees recognise the benefits of a balanced remote working/office hybrid model that exceeds either practice as a single entity.  However, leaders need to work together with their employees to set guidance which is clear enough to realise the requirements of the business, while maintaining and enhancing the freedom and flexibility that each individual has benefited from in their experiences through the pandemic.

That is the long-term plan which will strengthen the bond between the individual and the business as we work together to find our way to the best solution for everyone.  However, there is an opportunity in the short term for businesses to make an impact both for themselves and for their businesses.  As employees start looking forward to coming into the office, a chance to see their colleagues, to exchange ideas, to share stories, to revel in the joy of learning and experiencing together, the business should think and plan carefully that first in person meeting and how to maximise its impact.

Our journeys through the last year have all been different, we have all forged the same path in navigating the pandemic, but shared experiences have taken place through the medium of the virtual. Finally, for the first time in over a year, we will be together planning forward.

We do not know what the future holds; there are many differing opinions as to whether society and the business environment will change due to the pandemic. To progress, businesses need to discuss, debate and implement new ideas. Employees will need to feel as though they will be supported to think differently, try new things, and revel in the changes that might or might not come.

Leaders need to demonstrate to their teams this new way of thinking.  They need to show that leadership does not mean having the answers or clear direction.  They need to demonstrate, that now more than ever, they are part of the team and the strength comes from the collective in forging a path forwards.  Whether it be conversation about what return to the office looks like, clarity of the business strategy, or demonstrating resilience and fortitude to the twists and turns of the pandemic rollercoaster, a leader who immerses themselves as part of the team and encourages the team to speak, support and come together is a leader who creates a team that will take the business forward to better places.

As such, what better way can there be for the first in person meeting to have an external voice speak to them, sharing their thoughts, their ideas, and their stories.  This external speaker will deliver a shared experience that binds the team who have spent so long apart together, injecting fresh ideas with no ulterior motives, encouraging discussion with no ulterior motive to inspire the team to come together through this experience.

And from this, the team will emerge stronger as a unit. There will be messages and ideas that they can debate, discuss, and bring back to the plans of the business. With the right content, they can look to start moving their business thoughts from pandemic survival mode to strategic planning.

This first in person meeting has a chance for the business to demonstrate to their team, the power of the shared collective thought, how creativity and innovation stems from them all coming together. This meeting will also demonstrate how new thoughts, external stories and ideas are critical to the success of the business as society moves into recovery mode and then to growth and success.