We’re all discovering that there’s currently no such thing as an “accidental” connection at work. Impromptu water cooler conversations, unplanned lunchtime chats, and spontaneous hallway discussions have been replaced by scheduled video conferences with select participants. No one “drops by” on Zoom just because they feel like it!

For most of us, it’s hard to feel certain about much of anything these days. If you’re a business leader, you’re not immune to thinking that the future, both short-term and long-term, looks pretty opaque. The good news is that you can get some clarity by creating a company culture that taps into and embraces the collective intelligence of your entire team. Collective intelligence may not give you 20/20 vision, but it will certainly help shine some light on the road ahead.

Lately, when the Live Bright Now team talks with clients about creating bright company culture, we’ve been using a new term: shared diligence. We talked about this concept in a previous post, and, since then, people have been asking what we mean. Here’s more on why it’s so important.

With so many companies contemplating reopening their physical offices, we believe that businesses must foster a culture of shared diligence to move forward safely and successfully.

As you and countless other business leaders figure out the logistics of reentry, it’s time to put important culture elements in place. Why get intentional about workplace culture right now? With some form of reopening on the horizon, culture is the glue that will hold everything—and everyone—together. When your company culture is based on putting people first, policies become promises. Teams and individuals become each other’s champions because everyone looks out for each other. Most importantly, at a time when stress levels are high, you can create an environment where workers feel physically, emotionally, and psychologically safe.

On my wedding day, my girlfriends gave my husband a giant binder covered in pink fur. It was called, The Fisherman’s Guide to Life with Candra. These women, who knew me better than anyone else in the world, decided the fisherman in question (my new hubby) could benefit from having an “operations manual” to help him understand some key things about me. They told him, for example, that I get up early, I fall asleep in an instant (occasionally, mid-conversation), that I love dressing up in costumes, and that I get very stubborn when someone tells me “No, that is not possible.”

We’re all being tested right now in ways we could never have imagined. If you’re a business leader, you’re facing your own particular challenges when it comes to keeping now-remote teams calm, cohesive, and productive. It’s a huge responsibility. How you handle it is a reflection of the work culture you’ve already created or are currently creating in the face of immense change.