Don’t Replicate the Office

Conscious leaders can forge a new way to work outside a physical office

I recently had the opportunity to attend a virtual conference for remote team leaders. The conference was initially scheduled to be held in my city, Austin. But due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was moved online. It was incredibly encouraging to come together with fellow remote work advocates and leaders around the globe to discuss best practices and the future of remote teams. And it was also entirely appropriate for remote work leaders to pave the way for successful online conferences.

One of the key concepts shared by many of the presenters was the idea that the goal of remote work is not to try and replicate the physical office. Many teams transitioning to remote think they need to try to replicate as much of their physical office experience as possible. It makes sense since it’s all they’ve ever known. So they seek to copy this known-experience in a new setting. But in doing so, it could lead to frustration, and honestly, stifle creativity.

There is another way to view this situation: an opportunity to innovate and create a new way of working. We’re at an inflection point for work as we know it. Because we’ve all been shaken out of our usual routines and ways of thinking, we’re able to take time to evaluate what’s truly working and what isn’t.

We no longer need to look at how things are and then make incremental improvements within the old paradigm. Instead, we can look at the very fundamental beliefs that have created the system we’ve experienced for so long. That’s the paradox of a crisis: the loss of old, familiar systems is painful, but the opportunity for new, innovative systems is a blessing.

So as a conscious leader with a new or established team remote, how can you create a new way of working for your team, your business, and you industry? Here are some things to consider that could jumpstart your intuition and creativity:

What do you want to accomplish?

It may seem like a pretty basic strategy question, but answering this one question will guide the majority of your decisions. As a conscious leader, do you want a workforce that draws top talent? Changes the world for the better? Provides unparalleled customer service? Produces a product that will transform society? Rewrite your organization’s vision and mission to reflect the answers to these questions.

Once you know what you want to accomplish based on the conscious leadership principle of creating abundance and success for everyone, you’ll be amazed by the flow of ideas that will come to you and how synchronistically your plans will come together.

What does your team look like a year from now?

What teams members do you need to add? Which roles do you want to streamline or reimagine to best suit the needs of your team members and your company? We don’t have a crystal ball or even all the facts right now, but you can follow your intuition and get creative about what your business and team will look like short, mid and long term.

How can you provide conscious leadership for your team?

Conscious leadership is self-awareness of who you really are. It’s bringing to your consciousness, or awareness, the self-limiting beliefs and patterns that could block you and your team from achieving your vision for a thriving business and workforce. There are many ways to enhance your level of consciousness as a leader.

One excellent way is coaching with an unbiased partner, like a professional coach, who can help you process your beliefs, feelings and action so you can become the truly amazing leader you desire to be. Meditation, personal growth programs, and mentoring are also excellent ways to connect with your true self and bring forth your inherent leadership qualities. By investing in your own growth and development, you’re also investing in the growth and development of your company and team.

How can you empower your team?

Just as it’s essential to work on your own personal growth, it’s also important to offer this opportunity to your team. What if you offered incredible personal and professional growth opportunities to your team? Work wouldn’t just be about mundane tasks exchanged for a paycheck. It would mean joining a team focused on helping provide a service to the world while growing and thriving as an individual. How’s that for a powerful, talent-drawing mission statement?

This means putting into place support systems for your team. Perhaps providing life and career coaching to each member. Including mental health coverage in health insurance plans. As a remote team, it means giving your team true flexible schedules so they can take care of themselves and their family while offering their best talent and creativity to your company.

This also means getting to know your team. It doesn’t matter if you have a team that’s 5 or 5,000. The more you invest in getting to know each team member as an individual with unique talents and abilities, the more your team will thrive and give back to each other. It starts with the conscious leader and permeates the entire organization. Find out the dreams and passion of each team member, then do whatever you can to help them achieve those dreams. The good karma will come back to benefit your company in ways you never imagined possible.

We’re living through an unprecedented time, full of uncertainty and fear. We don’t know what tomorrow will look like. But we do know this paradigm shift is when conscious leadership will ascend and transform work as we know it. We don’t need to replicate the office and business as usual. This is your chance to bring the future of work to the present.