Back in 2011, which seems like so long ago given current events, Jim Collins and Morten Hansen in their book, Great By Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck - Why Some Thrive Despite Them All (HarperCollins, 2011), wrote:
“Given this rise of complexity, globalization, and technology, all of which are accelerating change and increasing volatility, we must come to accept that there is no “new normal.” There will only be a continuous series of “not normal” times.”
Surely now, having lived through the last two months, we have come to realize that we are living in a “continuous series of not normal times.” We have no default experiences or memories to help us through this. We are stretched every day by COVID-19. And we are all looking forward to being on the other side of this all.
However, we must recognize that once we are on the other side of this global pandemic, things are not going to return to normal. There will not be a new normal. All of the other factors such as the impact of complexity within supply chains, market globalization, increased use of technology and in particular digital office platforms will increase volatility at the local, national and global levels.
Furthermore, as people migrate back to corporate offices from their current home offices, we should not expect everything to run smoothly and to be efficient. All of our fears and worries will not vanish when social distancing and sheltering in place ends.
In particular, let’s remember that within the analog world of team development there are four stages, namely forming, storming, norming and performing. We as leaders have to realize that with an adaptive challenge such as a global pandemic, people are not just going to return to the office and move forward at the performing level. Instead, it is highly likely that we will see a regression within teams and witness the rise of the storming and norming stages again before we see the performing stage that were taking place before COVID-19.
Therefore, my recommendation at this time period is that leaders at all levels need to sit down and think carefully about how they are going to bring their team back together once they are all back in the office. We need to develop proactive regrouping or re-teaming plans.
For example, just recently, I met someone I knew at the grocery store. After greeting them but not shaking their hand or bumping elbows, I kept thinking to myself “you are too close to me. Six feet is six feet.” As I witnessed my own anxiety around this interaction, I kept thinking that social distancing may one day become optional but that does not mean that I will become comfortable with closer contact any time soon.
When I take this experience and multiple it by all the people returning to the office, I know that this is going to impact teamwork and customer service. I also know that everyone is going to keep washing their hands and wiping down everything with bleach wipes for quite some time. Therefore, my earlier recommendation about building a plan to help a team become a post COVID-19 team becomes more and more important.
When I think specifically about building these re-teaming plans, I am reminded of the work that Marcus Buckingham and the late Curt Coffman wrote about in their book, First, Break All The Rules: What The World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently. (Simon & Schuster, 1999). As they explained, “Talented employees need great managers. How long he stays and how productive he is while he is there is determined by his relationship with his immediate supervisor.”
First, from my perspective, any effective re-teaming plan, needs to include in-depth and effective one to one level work, especially thoughtful and supportive coaching. This level of coaching is transformational coaching, i.e. the generation of a new mindset, rather than transacitive coaching, i.e. the development of a new skill set. This work needs to happen this spring before we all enter into the corporate office one more time. I, as an employee, need to know that you, my supervisor and coach, hear me and understand my fears and my concerns about being back in an office setting.
Another element is to go back to the four stages of team development, namely, forming, storming, norming and performing. In the area of norming, an effective manager needs to clarify what is expected of someone at the individual and at the group level. In their book, First, Break All The Rules, Buckingham and Coffman ask the following question: “Do I know what is expected of me?” If I, as an employee, are going to answer this question, then you, as my supervisor and coach, need to have come up with the answer before hand. And you need to have communicated it to me, as the employee, in a manner that I heard and understood it.
The challenge of this level of communication is that many supervisors and managers believe that when they have shared it, often for the first time, that the receiver, i.e. the employee, has heard it and understood it. With the mouth only being about 7% efficient as a communication device, this level of communication yields at best awareness but not understanding. And what the best leaders know is that awareness is not understanding.
At the same time, the best leaders know that anything you do at the one to one level within a team, you must also do at the team level. Therefore, we as team leaders need to sit down and think through what are our expectations for the team during the post social distancing time period as people migrate back to the corporate office. This level of thinking and later communication will jump start the re-teaming process because we will be re-norming the team so we can more quickly get into the new performing level of teamwork.
As Buckingham and Coffman note, the master keys to being a great manager begin with keeping the focus on the outcomes, valuing world-class performance in every role, and studying your best people and understanding how they perform at their best. Now is the time to start doing this so we are well prepared for when we all move back into the corporate office.
This week I hope you can continue to stay healthy, stay strong and stay safe. I look forward to seeing you on the other side.
