Seems to me everyone’s saying ‘the new normal’ a bit differently. “Work will never be the same.” “How do we get everyone back in the office?” “Covid has already increased automation and eliminated jobs.”
2021 halfway through appears to be an uneasy or unpredictable year. But in uncertain times, brightness still comes through the blinds. Every day someone asks me “How are you doing — how’s your family?”, less a passing comment than before, more heartfelt. There are often more exchanges of family issues that never would have been discussed before, these new bonds seem more genuine to me. In Covid-time, there’s more latitude to just reflect, or think, or listen (and I don’t mean podcasts). We can do all of that if we choose to do so.
Last week I met — through Zoom — a potential coaching client. He mentioned this book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. You may have heard of it, or read it — a (very) counter-intuitive approach to life. I’d picked it up and put it down more times than I care to remember at airport bookstores. After my Zoom call, I bought the book. (Amazon’s One Click is both magical and dangerous). I read it. and to my surprise, I found some insights.
For example, action = inspiration = motivation. (I’d thought it was the other way around.)
A re-framing and reminder that taking action has more punch than passively waiting for something to happen.
We learn from everyone.
It wasn’t the book.
When I was listening to this person’s story on Zoom, I learnt about myself. I can’t recall the exact words or pinpoint the lesson. But I definitely left the conversation with a sense of clarity — and a book to read. Good coaches help others grow, and in the coaching process, the wise ones learn from their clients. How could it be otherwise?
So what’s the lesson now, from the office to home and back to the office? We’ve seen that the orders for all hands on deck back-to-the-office by ____ is exciting for some and resisted by some.
This past week, someone mentioned to me that “At the start of WFH, I hated it, it was awful. But now I honestly can’t find a reason to return to the office, I’m so much more productive at home. And no more commuting!” And other people can’t wait to get out of the house and retake their place in the office. No question, work and life have become so much more intricately integrated the past year and a half, so that separation, from home back to the office, will be harder.
So that sunshine through the blinds has been consistent for me — a genuine sense of concern from strangers, an experience of more collaboration, more openness and from friends, colleagues, and yes, from strangers. I’ve observed how the WFH — Not WFH tap dance has made the ‘what-am-I-doing-with-my-life’ questions louder. Covid has surfaced plenty of career questions. That’s not a bad thing, is it?
In an uncertain world we must try to see the good, and there’s plenty. Plenty of certainty, too. And goodness. An employee may not need advice, but rather require to be listened to better than before, so we all learn from every interaction.
I have no idea if I’ll get that coaching engagement, but the conversation generated this writing, so that’s plenty. Maybe instead of The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck I’ll make my next book The Importance of Truly Giving a F**k; The Unsubtle Art of Listening.
