EM 178 | Staying Connected with People Who Matter Most

In this week’s Executive Minds, David and Shane discuss a topic that plenty of us are wrestling with which is how to stay connected to the people who matter. You may still be in the midst of a lockdown or perhaps a bit of your economy has opened up and your company is resuming business in a limited capacity. Either way, staying connected in a virtual space with those in your team and partners is challenging. Whether introvert or extrovert, we were made for connection. It’s fundamental to how we work, live, and play. We hope this conversation is enlightening and that you’re able to glean some best practices that will help you nurture and grow your interpersonal relationships. Thanks for tuning in!

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Three Takeaways:

Stay Engaged

It’s really important in this season and those to come to leverage technology in a way that enables us to stay engaged. One such thing to do is to ask everyone on the call to be on camera. This helps everyone stay engaged and minimizes distractions. There’s no way to check emails or listen in with split attention. It helps make it feel like a one-on-one conversation. Also, make a point to take notes. It helps you be intentional. Finally, take inventory of the people that you lead. It’s important that you check on your team and how they’re doing - particularly those that may live alone or could be more prone to feeling isolated.

Establish Circles and Rhythms

There are 3 concentric circles. The smallest are those that you’re closest to - immediate family members and those on your team. The next tier is those you don’t see all the time, but you have some regular interaction. The final tier is those that you have to work to stay in contact with because you don’t need them often. Your rhythms are outlining how often you have to communicate or connect with those in the circles. Once you know these things, you can make a point of leveraging technology to shrink the communication and connection gaps in your circles.

Less AND More

In this season, we’re able to talk more often in less time with technology. Virtual meetings have empowered us to be a lot more productive than we may have been with our in-person meetings. There’s a lot more intentionality in our times together and it helps us stay focused on clear agendas. Quicker hits can be done more frequently. We’ve lost the water cooler moments and so we have to create those times with our concentric circles. Better and stronger connections are paramount. So create a BLUF (bottom line up front) story or answer in your communication toolkit so that you maintain efficiency and peak engagement.