Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to find your water cooler, even if it
Speaker 1: is a metaphorical one. There are lots of benefits to
Speaker 1: having strong relationships with your colleagues or other people in
Speaker 1: your professional network. If you aren't going to automatically bump
Speaker 1: into each other at a water cooler, then create other
Speaker 1: contexts for connecting. There are plenty out there if you
Speaker 1: choose to look. Today's episode was inspired by the fact
Speaker 1: that in my recent Better work Day challenge, a lot
Speaker 1: of participants mentioned that they don't cross paths with colleagues
Speaker 1: as much as they used to. I absolutely love hybrid
Speaker 1: and remote work. In many cases, it is way more efficient.
Speaker 1: It also allows companies to recruit talent that might not
Speaker 1: have been available before. But it does mean that fewer
Speaker 1: people are gathered around a water cooler having casual conversations
Speaker 1: in the break room. Any given conversation about what you
Speaker 1: did over the weekend is not going to be that purposeful,
Speaker 1: but over time, casual interactions build rapport, which allows people
Speaker 1: to work together with more trust. But just because people
Speaker 1: aren't hovering around the proverbial water cooler in the course
Speaker 1: of a regular day doesn't mean that there is no
Speaker 1: way to connect. One pretty easy idea is to sign
Speaker 1: onto zoom calls a little early. Often the host will
Speaker 1: open up the meeting a few minutes before the appointed time,
Speaker 1: just as a regular meeting room would be open before
Speaker 1: the actual meeting. If you're in just two to three
Speaker 1: minutes before, that is a chance to say hello, to
Speaker 1: ask what people are up to, or to mention that
Speaker 1: you saw another former colleague recently, or whatever it is.
Speaker 1: There's no one there will oh well, I am sure
Speaker 1: you are capable of using the time to delete another
Speaker 1: email or two if you don't have to race off
Speaker 1: to the next thing, Especially if you are running the
Speaker 1: virtual meeting, it's great if you can stick around for
Speaker 1: a few minutes to chat with anyone who wants to
Speaker 1: catch up. People don't have to stay, but maybe some will.
Speaker 1: It's wonderful that there are many virtual professional development events
Speaker 1: these days, but it might also be worth going to
Speaker 1: a few more in person events then you might have
Speaker 1: gone to in the past. Maybe your local professional association
Speaker 1: has a happy hour every month or two rally a
Speaker 1: colleague to go with you, so you have someone you
Speaker 1: know and then see if you can bump into a
Speaker 1: few more people you know. Tangentially go to a conference
Speaker 1: or two as well. Chatting in the hallways outside sessions
Speaker 1: is very much the equivalent of a water cooler. Or
Speaker 1: perhaps there's a place people in your industry tend to go.
Speaker 1: In New York City, historically there have been a few
Speaker 1: restaurants where lots of media people have lunch, Or maybe
Speaker 1: there is a wine bar that tends to draw up
Speaker 1: and comers in the non profit world. Whatever it is,
Speaker 1: it might be worth checking out. You might also try
Speaker 1: working elsewhere. From time to time. A local coworking space
Speaker 1: probably has a water cooler and you can chat with
Speaker 1: people there when you take your breaks. And if you
Speaker 1: do work in an office, I actually do find the
Speaker 1: water cooler or whatever your equivalent is. I know people
Speaker 1: who shut themselves in their offices and pride themselves on
Speaker 1: how productive this is, But the truth is it really isn't.
Speaker 1: I am not saying you want to spend your whole
Speaker 1: day gabbing, but if you work with people, connecting with
Speaker 1: those people as part of the job, feeling like you
Speaker 1: can trust each other and that you like each other
Speaker 1: means that people won't assume the worst or take feedback
Speaker 1: the wrong way, or any of those other things that
Speaker 1: can tank a whole team's productivity for days. If you
Speaker 1: work a hybrid schedule, make sure to plan to chat
Speaker 1: with colleagues while you are in the office. Organize a
Speaker 1: coffee break or a walk or something. If you have
Speaker 1: an in person meeting, try to go a few minutes
Speaker 1: early to chat with people before it starts. I know
Speaker 1: some people like to keep work in friendships totally separate,
Speaker 1: but to me, people are people. Even if you aren't
Speaker 1: best friends with your colleagues, it helps to be friendly.
Speaker 1: So find your metaphorical water cooler, and hey, if you
Speaker 1: go to the actual water cooler a lot, maybe you
Speaker 1: you will finally be fully hydrated too. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
Speaker 1: please visit the iHeartRadio app. Apple podcasts, or wherever you
Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.