The Great Pretender
The Great Pretender was my own personal anthem. I had an incredible way of being in the world, both socially and at work that often felt as if I was taking on the role of someone else. It’s often referred to as Imposter Syndrome but for me it was just variations of me as I navigated work and home life. This theme is a regular feature with my clients . . .
Cue music by Queen…
As I work for myself now, I no longer create a persona. In fact it is one of the areas we coach our clients in; authenticity. But equally, I have noticed that the virtual world of working has removed layers of inauthenticity from our lives - overnight. Two months ago, staff of all levels of seniority were able to hide behind a smile or
a job title. They could leave chaos, sadness, lethargy and often depression and mental stress at home, or in the carpark. A quick change of personality, a smile, a full face of makeup (if applicable) and the door closed on home life or whatever chaos lingered in our thoughts.
Now that the divide between work life and home life has disappeared, many of us have been exposed. I have witnessed zoom backgrounds of all sorts; from chaos on bookshelves to neatly framed paintings and family photos. We hear kids, dogs and witness a sense of “please just let me get through this call and I will then sort out what is going on behind or around me”. Suddenly there is nowhere to hide. This is the world that many of us have been covering up with sticky plasters. The effects of overwork and overwhelm for many people juggling long and busy work and home lives has changed. We are slowing down. This merging of work with home is resulting in a disappearance of the work “persona”. I hope this is here to stay.
Times of crises are great amplifiers. If you are a great leader you step into a world where you thrive. If you are the opposite, you may start to struggle. Micro managers are struggling now and leaders are leaning on trust in this new environment; where staff and teams are dispersed across Ireland and even Europe and further afield in kitchens, attic rooms, playrooms and bedrooms. I have met many managers over the years who have struggled with Trust. It can take a long time to build up trust. Overnight, however, most leaders and managers have been catapulted into an unknown test of trust where outcome and results are now the new measures of performance. With home schooling, online exercise and constant interruptions for many people, work is getting done when possible. Deadlines are being adjusted but, in the main, the work is getting completed. We have thrown ourselves into flexible work environments that may actually work.
What’s curious about the situation that we find ourselves in, is that a transitionary plan to phase in such a working environment would have taken most organisations years to work through. Bureaucratic sign offs and testing would have been required. A remote working committee and team would have been engaged to create the new remote working policy. Covid 19, bypassed a lot of this process and now it’s impossible to unsee what we now know works - real lives and real trust. The return to a full-time office environment may not be the answer post Covid 19. Many of our clients see this new environment as a relief with one caveat; we will still need childcare. The result of the flexible remote working environment will see the return of kids being dropped to school, family dinners, a faster less-stressful commute and increased motivation and buy in from staff leading to; more authentic and productive teams and workplaces. Let’s watch this space.