Collaboration is labelled as the new model of work for the future. I sure hope not. To date, it has not proven to reduce the strain, stress, burnout, and burden of overwhelm – in fact it may have created a new cultural monster.
When you read this, it won’t be Thursday. I felt so strongly about some of the issues that have been surfacing on this topic, I had to put this note, literally, in the drawer for a couple of days!!
Collaboration models are credited to consume 85% or more of the people’s workweeks. While they may be enabling efficiency by 18 – 24% percent, they are in fact reducing productivity. That means people are getting more done but being less effective.[1] One must ask . . . At what price? We have good reasons to be concerned. Why? Because there are lots of opportunities with which to make a difference but not enough hours in the day to pursue them all. But then, not all opportunities are great.
Far too many decision-makers, leaders and managers are having a love affair with technology that is seen as the Mecca to solve all problems and support every strategy.
Frankly, we can’t blame this situation on COVID, though it did not help.
I’m an observer of patterns. After many years of looking at environments through a risk lens, I’m seeing more people living a drained and unsatisfying lifestyle than ever before. They seem to experience their lives in fragmented snippets – with video and voice interactions, not face to face with real people.
Everyone has become painfully aware of the toll on mental, emotional, and physical well-being – I won’t dig into that. What is a more piercing reality is the number of careers that are being derailed for both men and women. Organizations are losing their edge with innovation and resilience. Who is measuring the cost of that?
One recommendation I make is to block your calendar for some ‘think’ or ‘reflection’ time and stick with it. Breaks in the constant stream of meeting requests is a must or risk continuing the insanity of the overload cycle.
How did we manage it before the remote work arrangement?
Is there a ‘Fear Of Missing Out’ (FOMO) happening?
Some would call what I suggest a mindfulness break – it needs to be more than a minute or two. Catch your breath and refresh the mind space – take time to reflect. This is what raises effectiveness and productivity. It needs to be 20-30 minutes, especially after an intense meeting.
Consider not booking back-to-back meetings – an ‘always on culture’ does not contribute to organizational vitality.
As Jennifer Senior wrote in the New York Times: “We can’t find flow — not while working, caregiving, cooking, cleaning or even watching reruns of bad TV — because the demands of the kids, the house, the job (if we’re fortunate enough to still have one) collide with one another, subdividing our days into staccato pulses of two-minute activities before we switch to something else. It’s all disruption all the time.” While Ms. Senior was referring to women, the same applies to men. Their vitality is being sucked out!!
According to Gloria Mark, Professor at the University of California, Irvine, the human brain can take as many as 23 minutes to get fully back on task after each interruption.
Talk about a drain on productivity!!
As a personal recommendation, I suggest thoroughly analyzing the need to jump in on every collaborative initiative.
Cramming more short meetings into the day is not the answer.
This weekly note ‘Thinking and Tinkering’ was brought about because of this very condition in many businesses.
Several years ago, I read a book by Tim Ferris – If I took nothing else from his book it was that to be more productive, look at your email only three times a day – when you start your workday, mid-day and end of the day. Set your times and stick with that. The best advice I ever took from any author.
There is no email that is so urgent that it cannot wait 2-3 hours – even when you are waiting on approval, acceptance, good news, or disappointment.
I do support collaboration in the workplace and even remotely, BUT it must be paced. It is no easy feat to bring people together from different backgrounds, at times from different time zones to work towards a common outcome. Working towards the same goal instills team members with a strong sense of purpose and it enables them to fill in each other’s skills gaps and divide up the work to play to everyone’s strengths.
A structure for collaboration must be aligned to create time for reflection, especially when innovation is the goal. At times the best ideas come when our brain is still.
If you are wondering how to create the alignment, Uvidi can help. Contact us with your questions.
[1] McKinsey and Harvard have published papers and books on this phenomenon.
