How often do you sit down and actually ‘work together’ with someone? Side by side, in a conference room or at a desk? Not often? I’m not surprised. Although people spend a lot of time in meetings every day, I’ve found that most of the time, meetings mean a lot of discussion and then a long list of action items to be completed before the next meeting. Coaching sessions can be like that too. That can be fine, but there’s also many benefits to simply ‘working together’ to complete a task or deliverable. First, in terms of flow, there’s no waiting for work to be done (or not) after the session. As well, ‘working together’ with colleagues helps to form stronger bonds and promotes divergent thinking! Ideas build upon ideas! If you’re a leader, when you ‘work together’ with your team-members, you can ‘see’ if their thinking and capability are what you expect. And, if people are struggling, you can show them how to do something or help guide them to a better understanding! Right then and there! So, next time you have a project to accomplish or a task that requires multiple people to complete, try sitting down and ‘working together’! It’s a simple way to create a more effective, efficient and connected workplace! (Special thanks to Theresa Coleman-Kaiser for inspiring this Fresh Start!)
Karyn, you helped me identify that seeing colleagues working together brings me joy and that I can intensify that joy by working elbow-to-elbow with people myself. Great fresh start!