Welcome back to Success with Soul, a column here on The Social that will help you eventize your life and elevate how you operate in the workplace.
When you create fun and beauty in your life, you can seamlessly increase your energy and radiate joy when you walk through those office doors or show up for that one-on-one Zoom call with your boss. Nina Sasson, Soulful Career Coach here sharing how-to turn your online work besties into IRL ones.
Let’s be honest, you’ve spent hours every week in Zoom rooms and Slack channels with your work crew brainstorming, problem solving, and presenting PowerPoint decks. You’ve laughed together and have watched as your collective eyes glaze over during your sixth meeting of the day. It’s gone on like this for over a year and a half and you’ve never actually met your fellow work warriors in person. WHA- WHAT?!?!
If you’re ready to embrace the online lovefest and transform your work wife/work husband/work bestie into a real-life connection, here are the steps to take:
1. Just go for it
Brene Brown, research professor of courage and vulnerability says, “connection is the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.” This is about having the courage and willingness to give your online work bestie an official invite to meet in person.
Pro tip:
Be very specific about the invitation. Suggest meeting up in your local park for a picnic or invite a few team members over for a casual dinner party at your place.
2. Make it easy and relaxed
The key to creating easy and relaxed relationships IRL is for YOU to be genuinely relaxed.
Pro tip:
Make your gathering simple, sweet, and special by ordering your favorite takeout to share with your work besties. Then, plate your feast on plates from Social Studies.
3. Always kick it off with fun
Let’s be honest, sometimes bringing an online friendship into the real world can feel a little bumpy and awkward and that’s ok. Kick off your gathering with fun by serving up a signature cocktail because nothing is more welcoming than toasting and clinking glasses.
Pro tip:
If you want to turn your get-together up a notch, try using Social Studies’ Color Block look to really unlock the fun.
Use the included place cards and inside, write a question like: What is your favorite show right now? (“Succession, duh”) What is your biggest pet peeve? (Traffic, ugh the worst”) What is your favorite part of your job? (“Creative concepting and connecting with my co-workers!”). Instead of speaking the answers out loud, have each guest draw their answer on the runner and everyone at the table must guess what it is.
And just in case you were wondering…
Here are the benefits of doing this:
- Socially connected adults are healthier and have a longer life expectancy.
- By taking your online relationships IRL you are actively taking a step to increase your longevity.
- Connection helps build trust at work. Trust is the doorway to motivation.
- Motivated individuals = motivated teams.
- Motivated teams = Innovation, momentum, energy, and increased positivity in the online and offline workplace.
If you want more support around connecting with your work friends or gathering your team, you can learn more about working with me here. As always, career tips and tricks on how to perform at the top of your game and have fun doing it are always available to you @ninasasson on IG & TikTok.
