As I write this, I’m sitting at a table in a kitchen with three other lovely local women having a ‘coworking’ afternoon. We met through choir and barely knew each other before today, but decided to do this because we were all feeling isolated in our various remote work set-ups.
Around the table, we have an operations manager/professional comedian, a brand consultant, an architect, a career coach, and a 5 month old cockapoo. We’ve been here for an hour and already we’ve shared:
The details of a talented builder (one of the women’s partners) who sounds like just the person to help the other woman with her home renovation
A new productivity technique that is going to revolutionise how one woman is going to manage her workload
A dating suggestion for someone’s brother
And this is not to mention the fact that the brand consultant has already been hired by the architect to work with her husband’s business following an earlier encounter between the two women.
I have to admit, I LOVE this stuff. I used to manage a coworking space (the most fun job!) and delighted in those daily serendipitous encounters…
… the contact at a national newspaper shared after overhearing one member say they trying to track this person down – turned out it was the other guy’s uncle!
… the job offer made during Friday drinks to the young man whose intern at a different organisation at the coworking space was coming to an end
… the exciting new business idea that was conjured up as two entrepreneurs chatted while they waited for the coffee to brew
The list goes on and on.
It felt like magic. Like there was some kind of benevolent higher power at play creating these fortuitous synergies. But the fact is, when you get people together, this is just the kind of beautiful shit that happens!
As Christian Busch says in his book ‘The Serendipity Mindset’, we can create our own “smart luck” (as opposed to the blind kind). By putting ourselves in situations where we are more likely to rub up against interesting people, and importantly, by making the most of chance encounters when they happen, we can create fertile ground for new connections and opportunities.
How does this apply to finding meaningful work?
Well, whether you are looking for a career change, to start a business or to spice things up in your existing role, the inspiration, new openings and recommendations you’re looking for are probably going to come through your connections.
If, as Ben Casenocha says, “Opportunities do not float like clouds in the sky. They're attached to people.”, you probably aren’t going to find them holed up in your bedroom. You need to get out there and start connecting with others.
Here are some suggestions:
Join a coworking space or form a group like I did. Since the Pandemic, so many of us now either work remotely or in a hybrid set-up, which is brilliant for getting the laundry done, not so great for connection. Dedicated coworking spaces range from the super sexy Silicone Valley-style futuristic hubs, chrome, beanbags and cascading plants, to something more resembling the BBC Sitcom The Office, with partitioned desks and ceiling tiles. What’s far more important than the design though, if you’re wanting to use the space to make connections, is how much this is actively facilitated, whether through events, community hosts or a web app. As someone who used to do this professionally, I can tell you that the success of this varies considerably from space to space, depending on how committed the founders are to making it happen. Many of these fancy coworking spaces are little more than an overpriced desk. If you’re enquiring about a coworking space, it can help to chat to existing members or ask to do a trial day and see what it’s like.
Set up virtual coffees. Another thing that has been sacrificed in the move away from the traditional office is the classic “watercooler moment” – the chance encounter in the office kitchen, a chat that ends up sparking new collaborations, ideas and even cross-departmental secondments. If this is no longer happening organically, you need to create the conditions for similar connections. Why not dedicate half an hour per week for a Zoom chat with someone in a different department/role/organisation? You can find out what they’re working on, what their current challenges are, what they’re enjoying about their work right now.
Find local events to go to. These don’t have to be intimidating “networking” events (alhough I’ve recently found a coffee morning for local female entrepreneurs and freelancers that I’m excited about). Anything that gets you away from your desk and interacting with other people that may share your interests or open your eyes to new ones is a valuable use of your time. My coworking group today came from going regularly to a community choir. Not seemingly work-related (professional singing is not a path I’m likely to follow anytime soon!), but the people I’ve met have inspired me in new ways, and already offered so many useful connections and advice. So whether it’s the life drawing class you’ve been meaning to go to, or the running club, I’d really encourage you to bite the bullet and get involved. You never know where it will lead…
This last point is important. We can’t always predict where our actions and our connections will take us. And it’s also possibly no good to turn up to these spaces and events and conversations and keep our heads in the sand. We have to practice what Harvard Psychiatry lecturer Robert Waldinger calls “radical curiosity”, at any moment asking yourself…
“what’s new here?”
“what might I learn from this person?”
And importantly…
“who else could they connect me to?”
In this way, our reality bubbles get bigger along with our social networks, creating space for serendipity and exciting new opportunities!
If you'd like to speak more about how to create and deepen connections that might help you with your career, why not start with me? Get in touch for a free 30min consultation: contact@annalevycoaching.com