The Power of Connection. Really!
If there’s one thing that the pandemic has done, it’s underscored the importance of connection to our well-being. Social distancing (a consequence of physical distancing) and work from home have disrupted our routines and with them, our direct access to others. I live alone so my situation is similar to some, different from others who share a home.
One of my first appreciations of this recognition was the invitation to huddle last March from Carol Kauffman, Founder and CEO of the Institute of Coaching. She extended opportunities for IOC Fellows to get together via zoom twice a week to connect and support each other professionally. Those who accepted have discovered a rich and vibrant community of practice, populated by others willing to connect, share their expertise and be vulnerable along the way. In retrospect, I was already participating in and creating similar nurturing “islands of sanity” (per Meg Wheatley), places where I could connect, be and be part of community.
Research by Vital Smarts demonstrated that a critical aspect of effective remote work is the felt sense of connection that can be created both formally and informally. Whether attending a meeting or working on a project, making time to connect on a personal, non-instrumental, level satisfies some of that need for social connection and enables productive work.
Humans are built for social contact, connection and emotional attachment. We need it for our survival, development and social development. To ignore and not account for this is to surrender to social isolation, with the pain and disorientation it causes. Scientists tell us that social pain is experienced the same as physical pain.
After more than ten months of lockdown, I think we all have sufficient data points to support the argument: With proximity unreliable or compromised, we must intentionally create our own social watering holes, hangouts where we can get a fix of that social energy good stuff. If we haven’t already done so, it’s time to adapt and create new social connection practices.
What have you done to take care of this profound need? What have you learned along the way? How have you safely supported others in their quest for connection? I’d love to know and would deeply appreciate your choice to extend, connect and create “we.”
#selfleadership #designyourlife #connection