Are You Up For The One On One Challenge?
BUZZ QUOTE - “What often fails to be appreciated by everybody is just how significant an act of leadership it is, simply to give somebody your undivided attention for a while.”― Nick Robinson
Covid may have killed coffee (and that's not necessarily a bad thing), so how are we catching up? Sure zoom is great for accessibility, so let's keep it for that. Agreed, we wasted a lot of time networking before, let's get more strategic. If this experience has taught us anything at all, it is the value in individual conversations. It has forced us to review, revise and reconnect.
Today is National Best Friend Day, so it got me thinking...
I've spent many years analysing friendships and relationships and question the need for one bestie that covers it all. I realise that losing my first best friend was really hard at the time. We lost touch when she moved away, so I haven't had an actual best friend since primary school (year 4 to be exact).
Looking back, I never let myself get too close to just one person again. We thankfully re connected last year after the first Covid restrictions eased, so here we are, then and now (1986 & 2021).
Now in my forties, I realise I have crafted a network of supporters/ advisors/ confidants in my personal and professional worlds. So a whole bunch of besties really!
The pace of life before Covid had us all racing. "Busy" was the common response to 'how are you'?, gatherings were done in groups to save time and we had lost touch with the actual individuals we have relationships with!
I've always believed in informal one on one meetings with team members, but what Covid gave me was the time to connect one on one with everyone!
When restrictions eased, I organised a few one on one dinners with various girlfriends. Each evening was honest, open and sincerely enriching. There was laughter, there were tears, we realised we hadn't talked properly in years!
I then started meeting up with my wider networks. Many had seen my kids and dogs over zoom, I was good with that. I enjoyed the insights into people's lives and found it was a chance to be real without worrying what anyone thought as we were all dealing with our versions of the situation. We discussed the good and the bad. I always walked away feeling more connected, especially when you find shared commonalities.
For any relationship to work you need a foundation of similarities, and very importantly, things that the two of you learn from each other. So, to the people pictured above, and all those whom I've shared time with over the last few months, I thank-you for your presence and perspectives.
To everyone reading, here is your challenge - please take the time to meet up to 10 people, one on one in the next two months.
My best advice for you is to put the devices away and enjoy each-others company. Ask open questions, genuinely listen to each answer, share things about yourself and be comfortable just being you.
On reflection, maybe we don't need just one best friend, what we need is lots of close connections to count on, covering all our work and life.
I'd love to hear how you go...
Happy Netships,
Julia
ps - remember to reach out if I can help you develop your soft, social and emotional intelligence skills
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