The Virtual Experience and What’s Next
It’s hard to believe we’re approaching four months since we launched into the world wide web of virtual, by necessity more than by choice. On the one hand, it feels like a 100m dash. On the other, a fast-paced marathon. Maybe a bit of both. Let’s call it enough time to experience the upsides and the downsides, and to realize that our ability to adapt will be critical as the technology evolves and our working and learning environment demands. Even as we navigate through a great deal of uncertainty and disruption, we will be problem-solving around how to function interchangeably between two still new and somewhat mysterious worlds of work: the virtual and the hybrid.
On the upside, by now, we probably share a few more things in common than we did four months ago. We’ve participated in virtual meetings with our co-workers, with clients, with peers in other cities, states, maybe even countries. We’ve found our way on to public forums, town halls, and community board meetings. We’ve managed to learn, celebrate, fundraise, and network in ways we never thought possible.
For many it has been a steep, often clumsy, learn-as-you-go curve. We laughed at our mistakes – the mispositioned cameras and the ill-timed live mics. We exercised patience with faulty audio and slow internet. We weighed in on chat boxes, and mustered up the courage to facilitate, present, or pose an uncomfortable question on live and recorded webinars. We discovered tools like virtual backgrounds, hand waves, screen shares, and breakout rooms. We did all that in a little more than a Spring season. So, a generous round of pats on the back and hat tips to US for the quick learning and the innovating, and lest we forget, for doing whatever it takes to make the best of the most extraordinary circumstances.
On the downside, we might have tripped over subtle permission to multi-task during meetings or failed to leave time to change into professional attire after a morning jog before hopping on. We may have let the virtual experience stand in the way of clear articulation of thought, active listening skills, and of signaling and being present. It reminds me that outside of the saved drive times, I miss nearly everything about in person meetings. I miss the ability to observe non-verbal cues to “read” a room, the energy of the audience when presenting, and the sense of community that one gets when sharing place, space, time, and experience. Much as we try and as technically savvy as we might be, we will be hard-pressed to find a virtual replacement for real-time and face-to-face. Not surprising because, well, as a friend so gracefully reminded me: “our most primitive instincts are to gather around a fire and share a meal with other humans.”
So the question becomes What next? This one hovers around as if looking for a safe landing under thick and low cover of fog. Like the ground, the answers are there. The search involves exploring what are not new, just different now questions: What core competencies, beyond the technical skills, will be required even demanded of us in this new environment, and; How will we preserve our fluency in the basic soft skills critical to social and relational currency, not just to doing business but to honoring the total experience of community, building resiliency in our organizations, and in our culture.
Not having the answers is an uncomfortable and sometimes frustrating place to be. But I’m optimistic we will find them, and we’ll do so by doubling down on what matters most. To me, to the chamber community, that becomes what’s good for People. It is not just business but the Experience of doing business. It is being fully present and coming together as a community around a common cause.
I hope you find inspiration in the featured stories around taking your business online. Please let us know how we can support you and your network as you work your way through these changing times.
