Another COVID Silver Lining?
Zoom calls with unplanned interruptions and glimpses into peoples’ personal lives has refreshingly made everyone way more human and way less formal these days. I don’t know about you, but as a recovering perfectionist and people pleaser, I have welcomed this collective transformation with open arms. It’s as if the masks we have been putting on to look and act a certain way in the corporate or business world and the reasons for participating have all been blown to pieces with COVID. Bye bye corporate formalities.
So what does this mean for the future? I see us at a cross roads- go back to how things once were or forge a new path. With the continued political, economic and social disruptions COVID has created, I think it will be the latter (thank God).
The Past – Masked Humans Interacting
My wife and I are finally watching Mad Men. I know it’s a fictional TV show but from what I have read, smoking and drinking at the office was indeed the norm. The suits, appearances and overly formal conversations also the norm. And while the drinking and smoking in the office has stopped, the formal conversations certainly have not.
Co-workers dancing around what they really want to say instead of coming right out and saying it. Or speaking as far away from the heart as possible. Or being forced to partake in office politics when they don’t want too. We’ve all been there and had to do that. And all the while our insides are turning and we arrive home – exhausted from all the mental gymnastics. Queue the shot of whisky. LOL.
Post COVID, I have been watching Mad Men from a different perspective. And I can’t help but wonder – why did it ever have to be this way when there are so many better ways to communicate and be with one another?
The Present – Shit Is Real
Enter the post COVID world of Zoom with millions of people working from home. Dogs, partners, kids interrupting meetings. No make up. Hair un-done. And the merging of personal and professional lives we could never have imagined or worse, thought we would ever allow.
I don’t know about you, but for me, this all feels really fucking refreshing. Whether I’m speaking with a Client, Employee or a Vendor, I want to be human and I want them to be human too. I want to connect in deeper more authentic ways and be able to show up as who I really am. We can be professional and still let our human, authentic selves come shining through. Isn’t that why we’re all here anyways? To get in touch with our true essence and then let it shine? Doing anything else is a disservice to our lives and to the world.
The Future – Becoming Our Authentic Selves
For upcoming generations that will soon be entering the workforce, freedom of expression is one of their most important values. This along with the fact that the business world has changed due to COVID, should provide a very different future when it comes to how we conduct ourselves at work.
My hope is that even if someone is in a formal field like law or finance, that they can drop some of the armor. Be professional, but also begin tapping into their more human side.
What does that look like? For me it means transparency, being imperfect, owning up to it and being vulnerable by sharing things that might make us look less than. For a much more in depth look at vulnerability and how to show up authentically I highly recommend Glennon Doyle’s best selling book “Untamed”. In her words, “Like a fucking cheetah” is how I want to show up in the world.
When we connect on this level, I believe that team spirit increases as does our compassion and patience for one another. Leaders become human and as a result, become better at their jobs. And overall, we become a more connected people, which is exactly what the world needs right now.
I’m always trying to find the meaning behind things. Especially when bad things happen. For other ways I think COVID has helped us make much needed changes to our life, click here.
Gala Magriñá Design works with Clients that understand the importance of creating a beautiful space and want to work with a no-nonsense design team that is able to clearly chart the best way forward. What separates our approach from other designers is our extensive knowledge of how people live and how best to create customized spaces that nurture that. We aim to merge cool and beautiful interiors with a holistic, mindful and intuitive approach to design that results in powerful, healthy spaces that elevate and transform people’s lives. For more information please visit www.galamagrinadesign.com.
Photo by Interior Design Magazine.