Minimizing #zoomfatigue should be on every leaders radar because #zoomfatigue is no joke. Many of my clients report spending the majority of their day in back to back video meetings—and it’s a recipe for burnout. New research confirms what is obvious: being “on” close up video all day and forced to stare at a computer screen is hugely fatiguing and has a physical, emotional and mental cost. Zoom limits our mobility and forces our close-up prolonged eye contact which is exhausting! Most interesting from the research is being forced to stare at ourselves turns out to also be stressful. I find my own self-reflective view to be highly distracting. I notice things that shouldn’t matter like bad hair or worse wrinkles! I work hard to look at others and “show up” as someone engaged and connected. But all of this takes energy, focus and concentration. It’s like being “on” for a TV interview—there is an undeniable stress factor to it.
Zoom and other video meeting platforms have been important communication tools in this trying time. But like all tools they should be used consciously and for the right reasons. If fatigue is an issue –and I would challenge any leader who thinks it isn’t, here are a few suggestions to minimize #zoomfatigue.
#1 Minimize or hide the “self-view” to avoid obsessing over your reflection.
#2 Mix it up with old school conference calls which allow people to move around when talking or listening. Or try audio only calls that give people video relief.
#3 Facilitate a discussion with your team about their team meeting preferences and needs. What works and what doesn’t? How can we adjust to the changing needs of the team for information, collaboration and input gathering? Make time for stretching and breaks. Any meeting that runs for 2 hours should minimally include a 5- minute break midway. Encourage time for icebreakers and small talk to help team members feel more connected. Most importantly, #virtualteams should make time to discuss meeting norms that facilitate what is best for the team–and figuring out how to minimize #Zoomfatigue should be on the list.
Leaders- Focus Your Attention Currency
Most leaders don’t pay enough attention to where they focus their attention currency. Attention is invisible but critically important in our daily workplace experience. I have been an Executive Coach for over 20 years and have never experienced leaders more distracted than now. Working from home means greater reliance on information coming in from multiple avenues (Slack, Zoom/Team meetings, emails, text etc). Phone notifications pinging, Alexa sounds an alarm for a child’s online school sessions, another email urgent request pops up —it’s a dizzying, crazy making environment absolutely full of distractions. We end up ping ponging all day long, like Pavlov’s dog, from one distraction to the next.
We don’t start each day with an infinite amount of focus time. Our focus time each day is limited. Think of your attention as currency. Everything you unconsciously take action around is an expenditure transaction—calling someone, reading an article or scrolling through your phone notifications. You are spending out of your expensive attention bank account. What I am suggesting is to become protective about how you spend your precious focus time. How you spend your daily very limited attention chits matters. Remember when you chose to pay attention to one thing—something else is being ignored.
3 coaching tips to guard your attention bank account.
#1 Be mindful and intentional about where you put your attention. One of the questions I ask leaders regularly is what is your current #1 most important priority? If you are a leader, your people must be an attention priority. Do your people have what they need today to be successful? Are they aligned with the right priorities and goals? Leaders should prioritize creating and supporting clarity and order for their direct reports and teams. Too many leaders get sucked into their own task execution or distraction minutia vs. supporting their team’s success. If you have a one on one with a team member, give them the benefit of your full attention when on the call.
#2 Start your day with a 10-minute check in with yourself. Write out what you most need to accomplish today. Ask yourself what is that you can’t put your head on the pillow tonight before accomplishing? Schedule time to complete anything that is a must do for the day and prioritize these tasks.
#3 Schedule uninterrupted thinking time each day. For most professionals, any time we are generating content, presentations, strategy and/or putting a plan together we need uninterrupted thinking time to accomplish it. Research says we need blocks of 45 minutes in our day when a task requires our focus (30 minutes isn’t long enough to get the most out of your internal brainstorming and creative functions and most people naturally start to fatigue after 45 minutes of concentrated focus).
You are the only one who can control where you spend your attention currency. Choose wisely about how you spend out of your attention bank account. Leaders can bankrupt it if leaders don’t focus their attention currency .
Leaders –Emotional Intelligence is What Matters Now
2021 is off to a rocky start leaving many Americans stressed, fearful and angry following recent events. Emotions are strong drivers of decision making and behaviors—impacting our workplaces. Emotional intelligence (EQ) is a critical leadership and team competency. How we deal with our own emotions and the emotions of those we interact with are part of a daily complex human equation.
Leaders must be conscious and aware of their own emotional triggers (like political assertions) and work mindfully to self-regulate in times of division and stress. We bring our emotional selves into meetings when we work with others. We don’t check them at the door (or at the computer before virtual meetings). Emotions can’t be “managed” – you feel what you feel. What you can manage– is how you respond to them. What action or behavior you choose to express.
When we allow ourselves to be swept up in our emotions, we often fail to think critically or about the consequences of how we are “showing up” with others. As a coach, I am concerned the raw emotional state many are in during this troubling time in America. I urge everyone to find ways to ground or find calm each day (outdoor walks, yoga, deep breathing, meditation etc) to counter the effects of feelings of anger and fear. And just because a “hook” appears in a meeting or interaction, doesn’t mean you have to bite the hook.
Get Your Team Unstuck with a Facilitator
Many workplace teams find themselves stuck, unable to collaborate effectively or work through differences.
Teams mired in conflict, frustration or mediocrity can often benefit from outside expertise to minimize the low morale and disengagement fallout from can result from team conflict. Teams stuck are at risk of losing talent and/or team productivity. Bringing in a strong team facilitator can foster healthy debate, accountability, commitment and trust.
A facilitator’s role is to improve the way the team identifies challenges, solves complex problems and moves forward with a successful action plan. The best facilitators develop customized exercises to increase safety and team skills to make dialogue and honest candid feedback possible. Team meetings facilitated by solid professionals won’t be boring or frustrating.
A professional facilitator can help your team:
• End meetings with actionable items and clear decisions
• Increase participation, dialogue, engagement and accountability
• Work through conflict effectively
• Surface any “elephants in the room”
• Test assumptions
• Drive to solutions vs. getting stuck with whining and blaming
• Clarify roles, task expectations and goals/objectives
Outside facilitators aren’t hampered by internal political agendas, they should be impartial and neutral. Because outside facilitators have no decision-making power or authority over the team they are non-threatening and can therefore guide a team move towards productive change. They support teams with structure, safety and the right questions to encourage input, inquiry, healthy debate and dialogue.
I regularly help teams with facilitation. I can be reached at maureen@pathtochange.com or 425 736 691.
My Appearance On KING5 New Day Northwest
I was a guest on the KING5 New Day Northwest program on the topic of how to deal with difficult co-workers.
My 5 tips:
1) Consider first that you also might be perceived as “difficult”.
2) Don’t avoid the problem, deal with it (before running to the boss or HR to “solve the problem”). Avoiding it leads to mounting frustration and resentment. And going to the boss before trying to resolve it yourself makes you look bad. Take the initiative to address the issue with your co-worker.
3) Identify what kind of relationship you want with your co-worker. Identify your intention for the relationship and communicate this to the co-worker.
4) Identify and relay what your part is in the conflict. “This is how I see I have contributed to our challenge…”
5) Identify and offer feedback to the co-worker about what behavior you have been experiencing from them that you deem is problematic. De personalize it by describing their “behavior” not just saying they are “being rude” or “aren’t being a team player”. Ask for what you want/need to make work life better.