Insights and Outlooks of the Business Coaching Akademie

It is not so easy to work in times of exception. We sit at our desk and stare strained at the screen. Many small squares are gathering, in each of them an employee can be seen – more or less at least.

Who is speaking can be read at the top of the screen, talking in disarray does not work here – an advantage. Whereby, the liveliness gets a little lost, maybe. It’s good that attendance appointments are gradually becoming possible again. But not all colleagues are enthusiastic about it. While some are happy to meet again, others are reluctant to meet in closed rooms. Both positions are understandable. But how to deal with conflicting attitudes within a team?

Tolerance and integration of otherness

We need new rules of togetherness in times like these, for which we have not yet been able to develop patterns of action because we have not had to. But now we have to find ways to live what we have in common while taking into account what we have in common. We need a new definition of closeness and distance. The good news: Basically it is not that difficult. Because if we stick to the familiar rules of togetherness, this situation can also be well managed professionally. For example, dealing with different behavior in an appreciative manner. Our understanding of individual attitudes is in demand and offers us the opportunity to think beyond our own perspective and try out new things. It’s all about taking fears seriously – even if it makes the process more difficult for the team from time to time. Because no matter what happens, it is always important to remain tolerant, respectful and turned towards others. Sounds self-evident, but it is much harder than we generally think, if otherness does not distance itself too much from our own ideas. The corporate culture provides the framework, the unspoken rules hold the store together, the internal codes ensure blind understanding. Usually. In extreme situations, however, everyone looks at themselves and acts as they feel – personally – most secure. At this point, managers should set a good example. In other words: try and test. Because every objection has its value. Every solution strategy offers opportunities for involvement.

Habits go and stay 

Leadership skills are more in demand than ever before when it comes to adapting to current circumstances. Because everything that was previously accepted and lived as generally valid basic conditions within a team is put to the test. New rituals and forms of cooperation have been developed. That is good. But what then? What to do with the new back in the old world of “That’s what we used to do in the past? Everything back to go? Or rather “Nothing is the way it used to be”? Will Remote now become the digital coffee drinker? Is virtual space the long sought-after solution or a burdensome problem?

One thing is certain, this time of in-between is a wonderful opportunity to critically examine and question our interaction. This space can be used sensibly. Which habits established in the meantime can be maintained “afterwards”? And which “dormant” manners can we confidently leave behind? Sitting in front of the screen, taking into account the rules of distance, with respect and understanding for the manifold ways of dealing with a situation that is unprecedented for all of us, we need to take a fresh look at the rules of the game for our digital as well as analog communication. And to take the best of everything with us. Digital or very real.