A few weeks back, we wrote about how showing your pets on Zoom meetings, or at least not hiding them like guilty secrets, can help the team bond and get to know each other. But can it go too far? Here’s the other side of that conversation. Apparently, some people make their pets too central to the process. A reader recently told me about his boss, a lovely lady who has taken … [Read more...]
When Should We Use Virtual Backgrounds for Meetings?
Have you been on a zoom meeting with Bob in Accounting, and it looks like he’s sitting in a luxurious office with a view of Manhattan? He’s not, of course. He’s using a Virtual Background to hide the fact he’s actually working from the North end of the dining room table. Someone recently asked a question on our Long Distance Worklife podcast: When is it appropriate to use … [Read more...]
Why Do We Miss In-Person Meetings?
Remember back before we got sent home for having cooties? Two or three years ago, when the workplace was as it had always been, we hated meetings. We complained constantly about them: A waste of time. Productivity killer. Boring. Remember? Now, when we ask people what the biggest reason for returning to the office is, the number one answer is “so we can meet in person.” If … [Read more...]
The Meeting that Could Have Been an Email
I’ve been researching and writing on virtual meetings for almost twenty years. I’ve heard a lot of complaints, but the one that most amuses is, “I just sat through another meeting that could have been an email.” Sure, it’s funny and looks great on a coffee mug. And we have so many meetings it might be lovely to have alternatives to yet another hour spent staring into a webcam … [Read more...]
How to Find the “Right” Answer through Collaboration
One of the big challenges we hear about hybrid and remote work is that “collaboration is difficult.” One CEO I spoke to said, “My people just come up with better answers when they can work together physically.” That led to an interesting discussion: What does it mean to come up with the best, or right, answer? What makes it "right"? Before you can make a great decision … [Read more...]