125 - A new way of thinking about hybrid work with Cliff Pollan

After a year and a half of panicked, rushed remote and hybrid work, we are long overdue a calm presence - a voice of reason. Someone to steer the ship and settle the stormy waters, to help us see sense and chart a path towards a more successful, enjoyable, and thriving hybrid work environment.

We need Cliff Pollan!

Cliff’s been navigating the depths of hybrid and remote work for decades – having penned articles about video calls before Zoom was even a noun and worked in hybrid-first companies before the internet even existed!

I invited Cliff to hold a conversation about hybrid work, what we need to take on (and leave behind) to make it succeed, and the role of facilitation in that success.

This conversation truly opened up a world of possibilities, perspectives, and positive ideas for me – I hope it will do the same for you!

Find out about:

• The deeper-than-expected roots of hybrid work
• Examining and overcoming the linguistic traps in “remote work”
• Why agency is at the heart of successful hybrid teams
• Understanding hybrid work as a space, rather than just a collection of tools
• Navigating the ‘laws’ of video calls, visibility, and presence
• Facilitation as an essential professional and life skill
• Why we need to abandon the idea that the physical space is ‘the centre of the universe’

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Questions and Answers

[01:02] When did you start calling yourself a facilitator, if you do?

[01:33] How would you describe the ‘craft’ of facilitation?

[03:15] What makes a workshop fail?

[05:41] Can you explain a little about Welo, the tool you’ve developed?

[11:00] How did you perceive and experience hybrid work pre-pandemic?

[16:29] What role does agency play in making hybrid work succeed?

[20:13] How do ‘office hours’ work in a virtual space?

[27:17] Do you have a favourite icebreaker or interaction-promoting exercise?

[32:27] What role does video play in hybrid work?

[35:58] Did we need to collectively experience ‘Zoom fatigue’ to find the right frequency for video calls?

[40:23] How important is it to share your reason for having your camera off?

[43:44] What does it take to equip people with the skills to facilitate better, more equitable discussions?

[46:31] Why have we not yet had the watershed moment of widespread facilitation training?

[52:22] What merit is there in having on-site staff share the same space in a hybrid meeting?

[55:48] What is it about sharing a physical space that feels special?

[58:28] If your team sits across time zones, how can you account for the impact on group dynamics?

[59:36] What is the one thing you would like listeners to take away from this episode?

Links

WELO - Cliff’s company

Connect to Cliff:

On LinkedIn
 

Any thoughts? Share them with us!

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👉 What happens when being “professional” gets in the way of being human? My new podcast Unprofessionalism explores the rules we’re taught to follow at work, and what happens when we break them. Listen here: https://unprofessionalism.buzzsprout.com/  👈