Building teamwork resilience during lockdown

What the coronavirus and self-isolation are teaching me about collaboration, remote working and overcoming creative blocks.

Knowledge workers in Countries affected by coronavirus are adapting to new “extreme working conditions”. The bright side of being “isolated” in 2020 is that technology is there to mitigate the disruption.

Actually, we can’t say anyone of us is ever completely isolated!

Technology can be transformative in overcoming the issues that distance arises. There is no doubt, though, that smartworking can be a real challenge for creatives. If anything, in countries like mine, where a strong remote working culture hasn’t quite rooted yet, the coronavirus ordeal could be a springboard for change.

However, some things need considering, to avoid it becomes a lost opportunity of transition to more flexible frameworks for collaboration in creative teams.

Restoring rituals in the online space

Daily rituals are very important in our perception and measurement of time. Such moments help us prioritise tasks and better manage our schedule. The thing about them is that they´ve always been concrete, tangible, as linked they are to actions and interactions with people and objects in the physical space. As their loss could ultimately impact on productivity, one important thing for both individuals and teams is to cut out space in our timetable to re-create our daily rituals, even if in a digital- mediated way.

Re-wiring the inspirational process

We very well know that the creative process depends upon the inspiration coming from diverse sources. Much of our mental processing owes to our movements within a physical space and our direct interactions with things and people. As creatives we very well know the importance of the chatter, the insights we get from observing people, the spark we feel while looking out to things on our commute to work and the way back home, finding patterns and drawing imaginary lines in the physical space around us.

So, how do we cope, as creatives, with isolation? When all of the above is missing, we simply need to look somewhere else: munching new books, trying out new courses (online!), drawing on paper, or taking a virtual stroll in a museum. Easier said than done? Psychological training can offset the burden of anxiety. The starting point is coming to the acceptance that there is no point being frustrated, and finding your own personal way to become patient and laid back. Acceptance and patience are key in overcoming creative blocks and finding new sources of inspiration.

Call, listen, tell. Now repeat.

Screen-based communication is particularly hard when it comes to co-design and enter the hands-on phase of a creative projects. Tips include sharing advancements more frequently, strictly committing to meeting-reporting (and possibly post the reports on a project wall, instead of sending tons of emails), as well as defining a specific a way of working for any given project and discuss it with the team beforehand.

Understanding the psychological toll

Team leaders need to be aware of the impact on mental and physical wellbeing of estranged team members. It’s easy to forget how uncertainty and situation-based concerns are big hurdles to achieving serene and task-oriented brainstorming-sessions. In a recent blog post, design strategist Sami Namiela makes a good point about the amplified consequences of leadership styles in distance working. While planning actions to ensure that collaboration will continue smoothly, leaders need to re-kindle their empathy and human connection with their teams.

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Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.