The Moments in Between
The other day, I was walking past the tennis courts when high school girls tennis was letting out.
The girls walked out of practice in a cluster, each of them walking in silence, looking down, and holding their phones.
My heart broke a little in that moment, thinking about the lost “moments in between.” The brief periods of downtime in which connection and conversation often happens.
The moments where, back in the day after cross country practice, we would be talking about our latest crush or the class that was stressing us out, or working together to solve the day's most pressing high school drama.
The “moments in between” are often where the good stuff happens.
During a casual office stop-by, we have a chance to hear what is keeping our team member up at night, or about a piece of feedback that they just received from a client.
After the team offsite, over dinner, we have a chance to hear about a really challenging family situation that has been weighing heavily on our teammate's mind and heart.
Before the meeting starts, we have a chance to learn a bit more about how someone likes to spend their weekend, or how they had to spend 20 minutes negotiating “getting into the car seat” or getting an extra-stubborn dog outside for walk —all before 8 am.
Connection in these “moments in between” matters —and as leaders, we can be intentional about creating it, and cultivating it, across our teams.
When working in an in-office setting, this might look like a casual stop-by; practicing management by walking (or wandering) around; or intentionally leaving the office door open sometimes.
In a virtual environment, it might mean taking a few minutes at the beginning of each meeting for casual connection; scheduling buffers between meetings when possible to avoid the need to drop off abruptly; connecting asynchronously via Teams or Slack; or having “water cooler” style channel for casual conversation or to share photos of pets.
Reflections
What is one opportunity I have for connection in the “moments in between?”
What could it look like to hold space for connecting in the moments in between —for friends, colleagues, or others in my life?
