Gathering
How, when, and where we gather matters more now than ever before. When it comes to bringing employees and teams together, we need to be even more thoughtful and intentional than we have been in the past. Employees now want to understand upfront why we are gathering. Doing things because "that's what we always do" is out the window.
The pandemic has forced us to challenge the status quo and I'm so impressed with our clients' creativity. I recently taught a workshop on communication styles in the courtyard of a company's building. I admit I’ve been to that building multiple times and didn’t even realize that it had a courtyard. This location afforded an opportunity for staff to gather in person for the first time in over two years. But most importantly, employees felt safe because they were able to socially distance themselves outdoors. Being around nature and away from the confines of a traditional conference room I think added some inspiration to the group conversation. When the workshop ended, the group left energized, happy, and ready to implement what they learned.
Another client of ours decided to toss the idea of their traditional mid-year staff retreat. Employee engagement data and anecdotal evidence revealed that employees were burnt out. Their team-oriented culture had eroded into silos and fighting for resources. I worked with senior leadership to redefine the purpose of the staff retreat and shape an off-site meeting that met the needs of the employees where they were (as opposed to where they “should” be). So, they scrapped their traditional onsite conference room and spent the day at a nature preserve. They started the day with a team hike around the preserve. Then, we facilitated several team-building activities in a meeting room that overlooked the preserve. Leadership's acknowledgment of the need to deviate away from the status quo resulted in a successful off-site retreat that reengaged their staff.
So, just because you’ve always done something one way doesn’t mean that it’s how you can and should proceed moving forward. It takes a little bit of creativity on all our ends to make sure that we’re meeting the needs of our employees.
Here are some considerations for your next gathering:
Ask why. Why are you gathering? Are you meeting for the sake of preserving ritual? Are you meeting with your direct report only because you have a standing meeting on the calendar? Consider why you are meeting. Don’t just keep gathering people to preserve tradition (“our team has a standing meeting at 9 a.m. on Wednesdays and that's just how it's always been."). Employees are savvy and are questioning now more than ever why they need to gather in the first place. Leaders need to be a step ahead of them in this process. This means pausing and asking why you’re meeting in the first place.
Consider the location. Can you mix up your traditional meeting spot? If in-person, try a different conference room than your usual spot. Consider meeting outdoors or having a walking meeting (preferable for 1:1 meetings). If virtual, invite your team to move to a different location of their homes to mix it up.
Critique the guest list. Does everyone that is invited bring value to the meeting? Will each attendee benefit from attending the meeting? Just because you have always invited an individual or a team to your gathering doesn’t mean that you have to continue that way. In her book, The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters, author Priya Parker provides some guidelines for ideal group sizes:
Groups of 6: Parker maintains that the ideal number of people who can engage in intimate conversation is six people. It promotes intimacy and honest discussion. The downside of this small number is that it often lacks diversity of thought.
Groups of 12-15: This group size allows for trust and intimacy, but large enough to introduce different opinions (think: King Arthur and his 12 knights of the round table, Jesus and the 12 apostles).
Groups of 30: Gatherings of 30 people or more have an energy akin to a party. It’s difficult in groups this size to maintain one conversation; however, breaking the group up into two groups of 15, five groups of six, etc. can produce a fruitful conversation.
This month I challenge you to question the status quo of your regular gatherings. For more information on the importance of gathering, check out my book review on the Art of Gathering by Priya Parker.
If you’d like to brainstorm some creative locations or delivery formats for your upcoming training or facilitation, schedule a 30 minute discovery call with me.