Anthropologists have been looking at how families spend their time in the car . . . which reminded me of the secret to happy journeys with my own family . . .
When my children were young, and, ok, very much a captive audience, my one rule in the car was (for I am a very inclusive mother) that our time together was spent talking – no radio, no music, no reading. Exceptions were made of course for very lengthy journeys – who could ever imagine trekking up to Scotland or being stuck on the M25 heading to Gatwick without Radio 4? And Stephen Fry reading The Prisoner of Azkaban (in my opinion, the best of the Harry Potter books) was a must on a very slow, hot drive to Cornwall one year, saving us from too many are we there yet? moments.
This made me wonder about the opportunities we have at work to really connect with each other and benefit from the spending of quality time?
And before you ask, I’m ruling out planning meetings, board meetings, any formal meetings . . . conferences, lectures, presentations, AGMs . . . an unrobust appraisal, a forced team event, a poorly concucted 1:1 . . . or even time spent en route between jobs/people/tasks while talking on the mobile.
Each serves a purpose, true, and we might even learn something from them, but I’m not convinced they give us the opportunity to truly connect with a work colleague in the way that some other activities might.
It may come as no surprise that I’d say that coaching and mentoring are two helping activities that can aid that connection – I know the power of a good coaching session or a mentoring conversation – and I expect also that you’ve got your own ideas.
But I was just wondering . . . if you could do just one thing tomorrow that would truly enable you to connect with someone at work, for the right reason, in the best way . . . what might it be?
ChristineWilkinsonCoaching 