The ZOOMationship
by Leonard Steinberg
| In this world where we are forging, maintaining, and nurturing relationships via virtual meetings, let me be the one to say this out loud and clear: I HATE IT! Soon it will be time to take the ZOOM out of ZOOMationship and replace it with REAL! Yes, virtual meetings do work in several instances, and I look forward to continuing them where appropriate and effective. Yes, without Zoom, BlueJeans, GoogleMeet, etc, we may never have survived the Pandemic Lockdown and I’m eternally appreciative. But I’ll never be convinced – EVER – that a virtual digital meeting can replace the spontaneity, creativity, energy, and human interaction of a face-to-face meeting. NEVER! EVER! Yes, I may be wrong about this maybe because I’m an old fuddy-duddy, but I don’t care. There, I’ve said it. Working from home in a digital, virtual bubble is possible and many of us are thriving doing so in these extraordinary times. But there will come a time when COVID will be manageable and even eradicated. Maybe then we will fully realize that quality, substantive relationships that help build and fuel careers require face-to-face reality. Small facial gestures, mini-interruptions, other body languages, and a whole host of elements only possible in face-to-face interaction matter in developing real understanding and connection. Yes, we will continue to incorporate virtual meetings forever moving forward (we had done so pre-COVID) but when we meet again face-to-face(it’s coming soon) we may realize that quitting the office altogether is simply a bad and unsustainable idea. Thought that this article would be interesting to actually everyone! |
Nelson-Moe Group 