Balloon Time

I turned on my camera for my first meeting of the day, expecting to see nothing but myself and a curated professional background. In all its colorful glory, the helium tank we used to fill balloons for a celebration over the weekend loomed large. The juxtaposition of the personal, even silly, with the professional seemed symbolic of the shifts we’ve seen and experienced over the last year and a half.

While one could argue the boundary between our professional and personal lives was forever altered by a little gadget called the BlackBerry, for many, a global pandemic forced the collapse of any boundaries that remained. Now we’re seeing the implications of that collapse and trying to reimagine the relationship between personal and professional. Few believe we should rebuild directly on our old footprint, but how much of that footprint should remain? How do we support employees personally while holding them accountable for performing professionally? We recognize now more than ever that the professional and the person are one in the same, but what does that mean for how we do business?

The policies and practices of each organization, and really for each workgroup are dependent on a number of factors: type of work, requirements for success, degree of interdependability of team members, among others. In a remote or hybrid organization or workgroup all of these factors are influenced by individual and team comfort with technology, remote management style, connection and disconnection among employees, and individual needs.

Often in my consultations, my answer (to a variety of questions) is “it depends.” That doesn’t mean there isn’t an answer… it means there is exploration, questioning, data collecting, integration, and collaboration that must occur before the best answers emerge. It is work, to be certain, but enlisting a trusted advisor to help navigate that path can be enlightening and exciting.

And to be honest, I don’t really mind that helium tank… it adds a bit of levity to my day that I welcome.