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It’s all leaders are talking about these days. It seems like every work-related conversation reverts back to where leaders should physically reside to perform their daily projects. The questions are always the same.
Do we really need to return to the office (RTO) to create exceptional results?
We were highly productive during the pandemic.
Is it really so detrimental to our careers to work remotely?
Online zoom and team meetings brought us into the same room successfully.
Is a RTO policy really about occupying the real estate that so many organizations have committed to?
Work is what we do not where we are located.
Have we learned nothing from our poignant work pivots during the pandemic?
We need to put these lessons into action.
These are all valid and important places to explore our next steps in our leadership journeys. Yet there are definitely impacts to our careers that leaders need to consider as well. We are being challenged to lead with one of our greatest skills- the balancing act.
Five Leadership Benefits Of Showing Up In The Office
1. Displays Our Work Commitment
One important action for leaders to take to showcase their work ethic and commitment to their careers, is to physically return to their offices. Although remote work is often a very effective way to connect with our teams, there is nothing like being all together in a room. So if we are wondering whether or not we increase our value to our organizations when we show up, the answer is a big YES.
2. Puts Our Name In Front Of Senior Leaders
During the pandemic many leaders accepted new job opportunities either within their organizations or in new companies. In fact, there are leaders who never met their boss in person or for that matter any other senior leader. When leaders show up in the office they are saying to their senior leaders:
- We deeply care about our jobs and our teams.
- We want to share with you our important work.
- We are interested in growing our leadership and career.
- We add value to this incredible organization.
3. Develops Our Networking Strategy
There is no better way to get to know your team members, bosses or other areas of an organization than by showing up in the office and networking. That’s right. Be strategic in how you want to cultivate relationships in person. Prior to going into the office, arrange for coffees, lunches, drinks after work or plain one-on-ones with individuals who can be helpful to you as well as you helpful to them. It’s a two-way street in sharing our gifts with others and having people we work with support us. Many of us lost some of our networking mojo by working remotely and now we get the chance to try it out again.
4. Creates An Organic Meet-Up With Colleagues
Let’s be honest about missing our teammates during remote isolation. Of course, we avoided our dreadful commutes, but we missed out in building our relationships in a meaningful way. Before the pandemic, developing friendships at work was an important way many leaders connected with their workplaces. By showing up in the office again leaders get to:
- Run into colleagues they haven’t seen in a long time.
- Collaborate on professional and personal issues.
- Rekindle friendships with people who we didn’t see on zoom.
- Have fun and bring some joy into a busy task-oriented day.
5. Puts “Balance” Back Into Our Work and Personal Worlds
Finally, a great benefit of RTO is cultivating more balance in our lives. For many leaders there was a lack of boundaries when working remotely. Our home offices were often in tight spaces that could not be separated from the rest of our home environments. That created tension for both our jobs and our personal lives. By leaving those home spaces and stepping into our offices, we redraw those blurry lines and add a bit of balance back into our lives.
What additional leadership benefits would you add to showing up in the office?
Related: Let Out Your Leadership Gifts