Hello again! 

If you just tuned in, we’re (the Viviamo team) sharing stories of how we overcame our biggest challenges. if you haven't read the first blog post you can read it HERE

 

It’s funny because when 2020 was just starting, I was interviewed on TV.

 

They asked me: “What would your set-up be, with this uncertainty brought about by a newly detected virus?”

 

(Back then, COVID19 didn’t seem real yet.)

 

Here’s how I responded:

“Oh, we can’t work from home. We won’t. I don’t think the ‘work from home’ set-up would work for us.”

 

By March that same year, the country was put on lockdown which we thought would only last 2 weeks!

 

21 months later, look at us! Still working from our desks in our homes. 

 

Life just slaps you in the face sometimes, right? When I thought work from home couldn’t work, we were thrust into a reality where we had to make it work. 

 

If you’re curious how we did it…

 

We had lots of conversations. 

 

We talked about our challenges openly–these allowed us to be honest, empathetic, and understanding.

 

We had coaching conversations. 

 

We had inter-department council sessions at least once a month with our company coach. 

 

A couple of our leadership team members even got certified as coaches. We realized the power of having guided conversations – these felt safe, allowed us to be vulnerable, and encouraged us to trust. 

 

We aligned as a team every Monday morning. 

 

At the start, I would engage people in games, asking people to sing or dance, but I realized – having honest conversations is enough. 

 

We started each work week by grounding on our values, our vision, our goals, and of course the issues we have to face collectively. We would end each meeting by listening to an audiobook or watching a video and sharing our takeaways afterwards. 

 

These are just 3 of the many things we did differently. (I’ll share more in my next emails.) 

 

But for now, I hope you take this away…

 

There’s always support available to you, even in the midst of change. 

 

Even if we think that things can not work, sometimes all we need to do is connect to other people, reach out for support, and then we’ll have the courage to try.

 

I’m here to support you. 

 

With Love, 

Dar