On popular Live Television shows these days, we are seeing celebrities and leaders broadcast from their homes without the support of staff, professional lighting and special effects. As the optical trappings of authority (office) or fame (television studio) fade away, we see many stars, unmasked, in their every-day environment, simply as people – just like all of us. Devoid of external noise, we tend to pay more attention to the person, rather than their personas. Whether it is learning about a national crisis, a personal struggle, or a call to help others in need, words matter more than ever.
The same phenomena is also playing out at a majority of workplaces worldwide. At my nth video conference call by Zoom this week, I realized that the humanizing effects of our new environment will run deeper across our work and life. These effects are here to stay far beyond this crisis. When we set the Zoom window to gallery view; everyone in the meeting lives in the same sized box, like the Mondrian-style opening credits of The Brady Bunch. The pageantry often associated with leadership—the big stage, the array of micro-phones, the power of the podium, the preordained position at end of the table, or the corner office has all disappeared with a single click. On zoom, and other video conferencing tools, leaders don’t get an over-sized, or differently colored box.
Just as mediums such as radio, television, and then the internet (social media) created new styles of leadership to emerge, virtual meetings are paving the way for a different style of leadership. Virtual meetings are leveling the playing field for all, where ideas, not titles come first. While physical offices might have been constraining in the past due to location or space, virtual meetings help bring even more colleagues into important conversations, not fewer. In an increasingly crowded digital space where everyone occupies the same physical space on the screen and everyone has equal access to the micro-phone or the chat box, people whose ideas transcend the medium, are emerging as the new leaders.
What we say, is now even more important than how we show.
In virtual meetings – with video and text, there are fewer interruptions; more critical thinking, dialog and inputs and feedback. One thing that unites us all – the backgrounds and surroundings are surprisingly familiar and quite similar—softened by bookshelves, framed family photos, a dog or a child wandering through the room.
The presence of the pandemic has humanized us all in other ways, too. “How are you doing?” is no longer a courtesy; we are genuinely concerned and interested in each person’s answer. Any personal information shared has real significance—how are we home schooling, or whether we were wearing masks on a neighborhood walk, and how we are caring for the elderly.
The leveling effect of the medium is refreshing. But it also challenges us all to lead differently: Can you make strong arguments for your ideas in this level playing field; not simply expect them to hold sway because of your title? Do you consistently demonstrate the humility and discipline to wait for your turn to speak; are you granting everyone the professional courtesy of listening closely? Are you able to multi-task and engage in the live chat that is happening in parallel where important issues are raised? Are you answering the questions are asked that need to be answered in real-time? In short, the surprising effect of social distancing is that now, more than ever before, leaders must be at the top of their game – all the time without the benefit of pageantry.
I’m hoping that we will all be meeting in the same room soon; that we will all come out the other side of the pandemic healthy and unafraid. But I also hope we carry over the respect I’m seeing on video conferences, the genuine empathy and caring we’re showing each other, and the equalizing sense of purpose that comes from knowing that we are all in this together.
