Thursday evening we had a multi-family picnic in an NYC playground under beautiful skies. One friend shared that when she was a girl, her extended family had Sunday dinner at her grandparents’ every week. I asked her if her family still does this today. The expected, and given, answer was “No.”
My friend’s story was evidence of something I’ve thought for a long time. The fabric of our society has seen foundational changes over the last 40-50 years that have had a profound impact on today’s work culture. Geographic mobility has moved us away from family to pursue opportunity. Companies got leaner, leaving less time and energy for mentoring, and removing the security of lifetime employment. The movements that diversified workforces, which have been great, have also upped the ante on competition. Globalization has increased business uncertainty and pressure, leading many to play the blame game at work. And technology has us missing out on the small talk that can be so vital to community. Reading a NYT article last week I sighed my relief, realizing I’m not alone in my thinking.
How do we tackle this? How do we create communities at work that support well-being, collaboration and vital innovation? Normally I give a quick idea to try. But building community takes more than that. One of my favorite go-to tools is the Social Style. It’s an assessment, followed by a 2-3 hour de-brief, that I regularly deliver it to individuals and organizations. It builds communication and emotional intelligence that lets you have really positive and effective relationships with your colleagues. For you, it means enjoying work more and going home with enough energy for the others in your life. For your organization, it means being ahead of the business craziness. How cool it that?
If you would like to learn more, please email me or take a look at Tracomcorp.com.