How to connect authentically while working from home

Since the COVID-19 pandemic upended the modern workplace, leaders have consistently struggled with how to navigate our “new normal,” an environment where working from home and hybrid models have become more common than ever. My industry, management consulting, was uniquely well-adapted to the change. Since 2019, management consultants are spending more time sleeping in their beds, and connecting with their families, while our clients are no longer footing costly bills for travel and lodging. The transition has, for the most part, been a “win-win.” 

On the other hand, when an industry is so well-suited to remote work, there’s little reason to return to offices. Working from home has gone from a temporary response to a (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime event and become our long-term solution. Therefore, leaders have had to consider how to foster feelings of closeness and camaraderie in an environment where teammates might be thousands of miles away from each other. That challenge can be quite daunting.

Taking advantage of new ways of working

What I’ve learned is that the remote environment can, when approached correctly, actually provide an outlet for a more meaningful form of team building. Though we can’t replace the water cooler, we can be intentional about creating an environment where people feel comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work. 

Telework has, for the most part, increased productivity. Without the distractions of the office, people have gotten more work done more quickly. The downside of that is that office “distractions” are also one of the primary vehicles for teammates to connect and build relationships. Leaders now have to think about ways to reintroduce some of those naturally occurring pause points throughout the workday in a structured manner that allows people to get to know each other. That’s where intentionality comes into play.

Relationships aren’t built by osmosis

Since transitioning to a primarily remote working style, I’ve found that I actually form deeper connections with my coworkers than I did before. It’s likely that a good portion of that comes from the fact that I no longer have the luxury of forming relationships as a by-product of proximity. When you’re forced to deliberately schedule time to talk or seek out opportunities to share a slice of life with someone, it alters the mentality you have around being a part of a team. Working from home has forced both leaders and individual contributors to take active ownership of team building. The passivity of “catching up in the breakroom” won’t cut it when teams are spread across thousands of miles. Now, it has become essential that leaders create new chances for relationships to form organically. 

The importance of downtime when working from home

Since I joined my current organization, one of the regular events that I most look forward to each year is our team “offsites.” These are team-building events where our practice gathers in a single office to share ideas, collaborate around practice-specific priorities and, ultimately, get to know each other better. 

These offsites are immensely effective at bringing the team together, in large part, because they allow us the opportunity to slow down from intensive project work with the expressed intention of building camaraderie. Moreover, the nature of remote work means that these gatherings aren’t something the team begrudgingly attends. When team members aren’t marched into an office every morning or sitting on a 5 a.m. flight every Monday, events like these are viewed as an opportunity rather than an obligation. 

In a remote environment, effective leaders should curate “downtime.” Special functions like offsites or retreats can be leveraged to break down organizational silos and create meaningful relationships that promote more effective collaboration in tackling organizational challenges.

Learn to be open (and vulnerable)

Calls for leaders to tap in to personal openness and vulnerability aren’t new phenomena. However, I would argue that prioritizing emotional intelligence is even more critical when leading in a virtual environment. The nature of teams working from home is such that a leader’s interactions with their team become more structured and, sometimes, less frequent. That means fewer opportunities to foster trust and build rapport. 

People won’t ask for help or share feedback if they never get the chance to see your human side. Good leaders understand that operating in remote and hybrid environments means they must be willing to tap in to the power of authenticity to stay effective. Vulnerability is a potent tool in a traditional workplace and an essential one in the remote world.

Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.

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