There’s nothing remote about remote working

What makes you present, above all else, is clarity.

As the business world begins a journey to whatever normal is, one thing is for sure – it won’t require everyone in the office all the time.

During the past year, one lesson has crystallised for me. In or out of office, creativity requires clarity. In fact, there are nine conditions for creativity – but overall it dies without clarity.

And clarity requires everyone to be present, in the moment, on the same page.

Among the many killers of creativity is repeatedly wasting time. It drains the resilience out of people, teams and entire organisations. All enthusiastically marching up the hill only to find it’s the wrong hill. Or, once there, no one knows what happens next.

It can happen a few times but eventually, people stop believing. Energy is sapped and innovation withers.

Remote working is a state of being. It’s active. And to be active you have to be present.

What makes you present, above all else, is clarity. What problem are you solving? How will you know when you’ve got a solution? And what’s the plan when you have?

For many, this past year has meant out of office – out of mind. But for some, they’ve discovered (or rediscovered) the importance of clarity to stimulate innovation, creativity and growth.

There’s nothing remote about remote working.

All clear?