How leaders build in-person moments that matter

September 24, 2024

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In the inaugural episode of The Desana Podcast, Michael Cockburn, co-founder and CEO at Desana, launches the series with an incredible first guest, Brian Elliott, best selling author and co-founder of Future Forum. 

Over 30 minutes they discuss the importance of intentional, purpose-driven in-person interaction, highlight effective engagement strategies and data-driven insights, and provide tactical advice for team leaders on optimizing employee dynamics.

You can listen live at the link below, search for 'The Desana Podcast' wherever you get your podcasts, or read on for our key takeaways.

The importance of in-person moments 

In today's rapidly evolving workplace landscape, the importance of purposeful in-person moments cannot be overstated. As companies navigate the complexities of hybrid work models, these moments have become essential for fostering connection, collaboration, and productivity. 

Brian emphasizes the significance of in-person moments like Desana’s upcoming Forward> event in San Francisco:

 "I love events because what you're doing is bringing peers together from across different organizations that are grappling with similar problems. Putting them in a space that’s Chatham House Rules, meaning you can share with each other what you're really working on, what your challenges are, what’s working for you, what’s not…”.

Brian's insights are rooted in extensive research and practical experience. He shared how time together is the single most important factor in building effective working relationships, driving productivity and new ideas:

"You develop relationships a lot faster, and more deeply, if you spend concentrated time together”.

Practical strategies for leaders

Brian recommends a simple yet effective approach for leaders looking to build employee engagement: start with an "anchor day" that provides designated time for in-person collaboration and relationship building:

"Put an anchor day out there and put on things that matter for people.”

However, what he also made clear is that it

“should be your least productive day of the week as an individual."

This represents a significant shift away from the ‘productivity at all costs’ previously tied to meetings, and a sign that the industry is maturing through a focus on the ‘how’ of work. Anchor days are about bonds, letting teams develop and creating a great environment of trust. Far from damaging delivery, building up trust and connection through in-person time actually lets the async and focus work, where innovation and productivity happen, move at speed. 

For project kick offs or major milestones, a great way to boost delivery is to bring the cross-functional team together in-person for a few days. As Brian noted:

"We're going to kick off in person. We're going to bring everybody together. Wherever you are - we're going to fly you in for it. We're going to spend three or four days doing team formation, as well as projects establishing goals, objectives, and rules of the road."

As with all elements of workplace engagement, finding the right balance is essential. There should be a combination of work activities and specific relationship-building time during in-person gatherings. As Brian noted, avoid at all costs:

"death by PowerPoint in some hotel conference room where you don't see the sunlight all day long."

If you’re stuck on collaborative space for your teams you can leverage third-party spaces flexibly for group events when your office can't accommodate. Michael highlighted key points to consider for this approach: "How do you create policies around the use of third party space, and how do you create controls around that? Because we can see that rack up massive unacceptable costs as well". Setting, and clearly communicating, your policy is essential to leveraging third party space effectively.

Addressing workplace challenges

One of the major challenges faced by workplaces today is the effective use of space. Brian highlighted how some traditional offices are not well-suited for modern needs:

 "I was talking with a workplace leader yesterday who said they started tracking, using sensors, meeting room utilization… because the boardroom is heavily occupied and heavily used but the vast majority of it is a single person using the boardroom to take calls."

This insight matches with challenges faced by a number of our enterprise clients. Michael explained that:

"We’re seeing this everywhere: open office plans are underutilized while meeting rooms are overbooked, often misused for individual tasks."

It’s no longer simple enough to simply provide the spaces your employees might need. How they interact with these spaces and use them effectively needs to be shaped through understanding, analysis, communication and relationship building.

Key takeaways

We wrap each podcast with key takeaways as our goal is to deliver practical guidance for real estate and workplace leaders. Brian summarized the crux of powerful ‘moment’ building:

"Have a conversation with your team about the core aspects of how you operate as a team that you want to do together in person. That time together should be your least productive time of the week because a big part of the objective should be relationship building and relationship development."

Brian shed much needed light on the importance of these moments in the workplace and how they play a crucial role in building stronger, more resilient teams.

Stay tuned for more insightful episodes of "The Desana Podcast," where industry leaders share their best practices and experiences. Don’t forget to apply for our in-person moment that matters on November 7th in San Francisco, where Brian Elliott is leading a half-day workshop for real estate and workplace leaders.

You can listen to the full episode of "The Desana Podcast: How Leaders Build In-Person Moments That Matter" for more insights and detailed discussions.

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