Today, after more than two years of disruption, one of the big challenges we face is how to successfully capitalize on the return to the office. Getting people to once again value face-to-face interaction and find additional value in it that excites them, motivates them, and exponentially improves productivity.
And for that, I want to share with you a methodology I created to help my entrepreneur friends achieve a triumphant comeback.
The first step is to introduce a trigger that shakes up the group and generates a strong emotional impact that unites them and motivates them to work as a team.
Next, collaborators must be provided with tools to strengthen their self-mastery muscle in order to become increasingly focused, productive, and happy. Just as they must be taught to recognize their personal saboteurs, as well as those of their collaborators, in order to build motivated, high-performance teams that foster win-win relationships.
And finally, we must celebrate the reunion and together commit to building the great enterprise that you will be happy to collaborate on.
I'm sharing the methodology I created that capitalizes on the separation effects generated by the pandemic to drive group integration for a renewed return to the office.
It begins with a full-day in-person workshop, in which we help collaborators explore, recognize, and embrace their humanity.
During the morning, we teach them to recognize the great challenges they have faced throughout their lives and to realize their capacity to confront them and to recognize how these have helped them grow. We also present them with a scientific tool that provides a simple yet powerful methodology for recovering more quickly from life's blows and using them to their advantage.
Finally, we explore the importance of embracing vulnerability, learning to face our fears, and being bravely honest.
At lunchtime, we conduct an activity that allows the people at the table to share profound moments from their lives with their colleagues, explaining how these events have been decisive in their outlook on life and how they interact with others.
The effect of the dynamics is profound. Suddenly, colleagues who have worked together at the company for 20 years see the human being in the other person for the first time, achieving a joy, closeness, and purpose that only this type of face-to-face catharsis can achieve.
Afterward, in the afternoon, we learn about the different types of saboteurs that humans possess, how they manifest, and how to confront them.
We did an activity where each group member identifies with a saboteur, who is provoked by their characteristic strength taken to the extreme, which ends up harming them in their work and personal life.
For example, we analyze what happens to the perfectionist when they take their quality to the extreme, isolating their closest collaborators and causing the opposite of what they desire. Likewise, we see how the same happens with the hyper-server, the hyper-conqueror, and the hyper-rational. Because each and every one of them, by taking their characteristic strength to the extreme, end up undermining their success, both personal and professional.
People end the day with a greater understanding of how and why humans sabotage themselves so easily and what needs to be done to overcome it. Likewise, they conclude the day with a true integration among their female and male companions, having seen them, often for the first time, as human beings like themselves.
And it is precisely this human integration, which establishes a new dynamic of collaboration, close and respectful, that helps achieve a great return to the office.
Now, one of the big shortcomings of training workshops and events in general is that they simply illustrate and inspire but do not transform. Transformation requires about 6 weeks of rigorous training to begin forming new neural pathways in the brain that become habits. Therefore, to solidify relationships between colleagues, we continue with a 6-week online training program designed to strengthen the mental muscle of self-management, drive integration, and boost collaboration.
And to reinforce the value of face-to-face interaction, we concluded the program with a half-day live recognition and celebration event.
In conclusion
We face the challenge of how to capitalize on the disruption of the past two years to return to the office with greater enthusiasm, determination, and strength.
My recommendation is to implement a structured return-to-office program that provides employees with scientific tools to take control of their minds and emotions. It's also important to implement activities that strengthen group integration.
Companies that do this correctly will develop a competitive advantage that will result in engaged, productive, and happy employees, who will provide an exponential return on investment.
If you are interested in exploring this topic further, please contact me.