As we return to the office in this post-pandemic era, I’ve seen many companies renovate their offices in hopes of boosting morale. While I love a home makeover as much as the next HGTV lover, a new coat of paint is not enough to make a physical return to the office feel like an exciting “new normal” for teams. Creating an intentional environment involves more than just the aesthetics.

To achieve this, we need to be thinking about creating an intentional environment that doesn’t just look amazing, but feels amazing, too. As facilitator and author Priya Parker advocates, we need to be thinking about what our employees longed for when they couldn’t physically meet– what they missed and are ready to discard, and what forms of meetings were created during the pandemic out of necessity, that surprisingly… worked. 

This is the time to dig deep through thoughtful question asking, and not assume you know what your employees want out of their return to the office. 

In addition to asking intentional questions, here are a few other ways to create a successful return to office: 

1. Fostering stronger connections

   Whether this means investing in personal and professional development with your team or simply engaging in a fun social activity, this face-to-face time can rejuvenate both old and new work relationships leading to an intentional environment.

2. Meetings with clearly defined purposes

   If there’s one thing that we’ve collectively learned over the course of the pandemic and work from home, it’s the importance of purposeful and efficient meetings. Ideally, meetings should be named for their purpose or desired outcome, and should be accompanied with an agenda so that all attendees know what to expect. 

3. Embracing culture shifts

   Our return to the office has landed us in yet another work culture shift. As a leader, whether you are in the process of designing, changing, or scaling your existing culture, recognition of this impact must be a part of your strategy. Especially if you’re trying to generate enthusiasm around in-person work, acknowledging its impact with your team (collectively and one-on-one) can make all the difference for your recently improved intentional environment. 

With the potential to make a return to the office an overwhelming positive change for your team, leaders are ultimately responsible for ensuring the transition is a purposeful one. 

In preparation for this shift, we’ve worked closely with countless managers to equip them with the leadership skills to approach the return enthusiastically. Programs like Activate not only empower managers to connect and address challenges with their team through effective communication, but they also instill a sense of purpose-driven leadership to guide teams through big changes.

Are you ready to return to the office with vision, focus, and confidence? This is what Activate: The Influential Communication Program for Managers was created for. Hundreds of other managers have already gone through it. Will you be next? We encourage you to read more about Activate here, or reach out to Team Leadology directly here.