Recently I attended a Summit where all the individuals in our organization got together (many of us in-person) to connect and learn.
An observation I had while talking to several different colleagues is that there is an almost natural or default behavior to return to the way things used to be before COVID. What was “muscle memory” is coming back to all of us as we come back to the office. The challenge that this presents is that our default behavior completely disregards everything we have learned from our COVID experience.
We must learn from the past to be better each day. One leader at Microsoft told me about how she is being intentional about her “re-entry” plan so she can consider the learnings and overcome the old default behavior.
Astronauts that have made the journey to the moon and back do not return the same. They are forever changed by their experience in space. Similarly, you and I have had a life altering experience and we do not want to return to “the way it was”. We are stronger and better now and we cannot afford to lose the growth of the last 2+ years. Re-entry means we are learning upon re-entry we are forever changed.
What does a re-entry plan look like? Each individual plan will look different but consider the following to build your re-entry plan. Write things down and do not do this in your head alone. It will not have the staying power unless you write it down and share it with others.
- What did I learn about my priorities during COVID?
- When are in-person meetings better than virtual meetings? The default should now be virtual with the in-person being a truly clear value add. For all in-person meetings ask yourself, can this be done virtually?
- How will you manage productivity time? With hybrid working you cannot say “yes” to as many meetings. What are the highest leverage things you can work on?
The re-entry plan will allow you to learn from your most recent experience and lead more effectively.
