Collective Impact Forum’s Post

New Virtual Office Hour - Do you have questions about how to maintain an equity focus in your collaborative work during these times of challenge and polarization? Join us August 29 at 12pm ET for our next free virtual office hour, "When You Can't Say Equity: Advancing Equity in an Anti-Equity Context." In this one-hour session, we will provide a supportive environment to discuss ways to advance equity in contexts where there are direct challenges. We will answer questions and provide insights and strategies drawn directly from practitioners through CI Forum interviews and research that are demonstrating promise in continuing to advance equity. Please note that we will not address legal questions and challenges. The conversation will focus on how local community leaders are responding and adapting their strategies in the face of increasing “anti-DEI” pushback and attack. Office Hour Guests 🔹 Jennifer Splansky Juster, Executive Director, Collective Impact Forum 🔹 Cindy Santos, Senior Associate, Aspen Forum For Community Solutions (AFCS) 🔹 Paul Schmitz, Senior Advisor, Collective Impact Forum and CEO, Leading Inside Out 🔹 Junious Williams, Senior Advisor, Collective Impact Forum, and Principal, Junious Williams Consulting, Inc. Interested in the topic, but can't make the time? This session will be recorded, and registering means we’ll send you a copy of the recording within a week of the live event. Register at: https://lnkd.in/gYGZfPrU

Boost Your Productivity at the Office with These Incredible Hacks! Are you tired of feeling overwhelmed with never-ending tasks and constant distractions at work? Don't worry, we've got you covered! In this article, we will unveil some game-changing office productivity hacks that will revolutionize the way you work. Firstly, let's talk about organizing your workspace. A cluttered desk leads to a cluttered mind, so make it a habit to declutter and keep only the essentials within reach. Invest in desk organizers, folders, and shelves to categorize your documents and materials. This visual organization will save you valuable time searching for important papers. Secondly, harness the power of technology! Take advantage of productivity apps and software designed specifically for professionals like you. From project management tools that streamline collaboration to automation software that handles repetitive tasks, these tools will cut down on manual effort and provide more time for crucial responsibilities. Another essential hack is effective time management. Prioritize your tasks and set realistic deadlines.

14 years on have we solved the ‘somewhere to go’ problem? One thing for certain is that the endless drivel about ‘return to the office’ mostly asks the wrong questions. Seth Godin nailed it in June 2010: ‘Goodbye to the office Factories used to be arranged in a straight line. That's because there was one steam engine, and it turned a shaft. All the machines were set up along the shaft, with a belt giving each of them power. The office needed to be right next to this building, so management could monitor what was going on. 150 years later, why go to work in an office/plant/factory? 1. That's where the machines are. 2. That's where the items I need to work on are. 3. The boss needs to keep tabs on my productivity. 4. There are important meetings to go to. 5. It's a source of energy. 6. The people I collaborate with all day are there. 7. I need someplace to go. But… If you have a laptop, you probably have the machine already, in your house. If you do work with a keyboard and a mouse, the items you need to work on are on your laptop, not in the office. The boss can easily keep tabs on productivity digitally. How many meetings are important? If you didn't go, what would happen? You can get energy from people other than those in the same company. Of the 100 people in your office, how many do you collaborate with daily? So go someplace. But it doesn't have to be to your office. If we were starting this whole office thing today, it's inconceivable we'd pay the rent/time/commuting cost to get what we get. I think in ten years the TV show 'the Office' will be seen as a quaint antique. When you need to have a meeting, have a meeting. When you need to collaborate, collaborate. The rest of the time, do the work, wherever you like. The gain in speed, productivity and happiness is massive. What's missing is #7… someplace to go. Once someone figures that part out, the office is dead.’ Can we please ask the right questions?

Leading virtually? Accessibility is the key to trust and communication. Setting office hours and making your calendar visible to the team will transform how we stay connected. When your team knows you’re available, they feel supported, and issues get solved faster: https://lnkd.in/gGukdPh7 #VirtualLeadership #TeamCommunication #WorkplaceCulture

Unpopular opinion: being in the office is more efficient and effective for a team over the long term. I know, I know. My commute averages 40 min each way. It’s a pain sometimes. I get it. But I’ve observed a couple things over the last few years of hybrid work: 1) the teammates that do show up are asked to do more. “Hey can you help print out this package for me?” “Hey do you see so-and-so in the office?” All these little requests are no big deal individually…but they accumulate and have a real impact throughout a day/week. 2) natural 5-10 min huddle-ups now need to be scheduled. Often times the scheduling of the meeting takes more time than the actual meeting itself. Something that could take five minutes on a Monday doesn’t happen until a Thursday. Horribly inefficient. 3) learning is impacted. They say more is caught than taught. Hearing how other people negotiate, how they talk to clients, what others are saying about the market, etc. You miss this when sitting at the home office. Most days I only get 4-6 hours in the office as I’m running out on tours and client meetings. But being there five days a week is more efficient and effective. Long live the office building.

Reflecting on this some more as I chat with my pal, Dave Cairns. Dave and I agree on this topic, we just have not fully landed there yet..... 😆 1) I'm obviously just speaking from my experience of running (and being a member) of a ten person real estate brokerage team. I do not believe every job and industry is homogeneous. 2) As an introvert with a stellar home office set-up, I personally prefer working from home. Doesn't change my belief that in-office is more effective for the team as a whole. 3) I'm an industrial broker and have zero benefit for wanting people back in offices. Right now I'm actually working on three projects where office buildings are being razed to make way for industrial development. Any argument claiming my bias here is not well thought out. Equally lazy are the arguments that only micro-managers and managers who don't trust their people want them back in the office. 4) Draconian M-F office rules won't ever make sense for our team. We all have families and every member of the team will leave for kid things or appointments or whatever else is necessary. No permission needed. We are all adults. 5) People are passionate about this topic which means: a) it matters; b) the plane has not landed yet. This is a topic that is very much in flux and not a one-size-fits-all. I believe it will continue changing over the coming years and will hopefully do so for the better of the group AND the individual. Bottom line, I still believe in my three original points and think in-office is generally more efficient and effective for our team at this point in time.

What's your current thinking on remote/ hybrid/ back to office? I was asked this question after giving my Togethership talk in #Porto. The answer I gave was based on the first key to the code of #togethership. BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER INTENTIONALLY Whenever you bring people together, be it in the office or on an off-site, decide exactly why you're bringing them together and then design the experience to achieve exactly that Some key things to remember: Office/ hybrid: - forcing people back to the office 'just because' isn't smart in today's world ❓ - empower individual teams to decide when/ how makes sense, so they can use office time to collaborate 💪🏼 - re-design the office space to have more collaborative spaces (that aren't just functional meeting rooms) Off-sites - minimise/ don't use PowerPoint. Information share can happen asynchronously in advance - make sure every voice is 'heard', making use of #collectiveintelligence techniques and digital tools ⚒️ - use the brains in the room, with smaller group interactions (discussion with more than 6 people is ineffective and inefficient).🤓 And I would LOVE to hear your thoughts / experiences 🧐 PS my TED talk is not been published online out. I'll let you know here when it is Emoke Starr Vicky Furlan Dr. Stefan Lange Jens Bielmann Niti Khosla Motivators@ Work Dominic Hofer #bringpeopletogetherintentionally #connection #teamwork #leadership #culture #hybridworking #remoteworking #offsites

The traditional office is dying (and that’s okay). For years, offices were seen as a symbol of productivity, collaboration, and culture. But in reality, offices just centralized inefficiency. We had meetings about meetings because it was easy to gather people. Collaboration kind of happened by default, not by design. Physical proximity masked deeper issues in how work got done. Remote work brought these issues to light. It forced us to see how much of the "office experience" was rooted in routine rather than real results. Productivity no longer depends on being in a specific place. While the office played a key role during the industrial era, it’s no longer the best environment for today’s knowledge work. What we need now are better tools, well-structured teams, and deliberate practices that focus on helping people work effectively, wherever they are. Work should center on people, not buildings.

Return to Office (RTO) Reasons, JUST When I Thought I’d Heard Them All! 2025 RTO seems to be ramping up. The RTO debates are endless, and the justifications can be creative, to say the least. Let’s break down some common reasons and my thoughts, but wait until you see the new one I heard this week—it’s a gem. 1️⃣ Productivity is down! Is it? Or is profit down? Be honest: is it that you don’t know how to measure productivity? Productivity ≠ sitting in a chair under fluorescent lights for 8 hours. 2️⃣ We’re wasting office space! That office isn’t going anywhere. It costs the same to have it empty as it does full. And let’s not forget—real estate is a sellable asset. Why blame your team for a bad lease? 3️⃣ Better team dynamics. Really? Have you asked the TEAM? My guess: they’d strongly disagree. Forcing proximity doesn’t build camaraderie—it builds resentment. 4️⃣ Easier collaboration. This one’s my favorite. Most hybrid setups mean the entire team is never in the office simultaneously. You still end up on Zoom or Teams calls, and the hybrid dynamic in conference rooms? Awkward. Half the team in person, half virtual—it’s clunky, inefficient, and no one feels heard. Most people eventually retreat to their desks for fully virtual meetings. Spoiler: we can do those remotely. 5️⃣ The new one I hadn’t heard until this week... "If I can’t see them, how do I know they’re working?" Excuse me, what?! Are you staring at your team all day? If so, how do you get anything done? What have they been doing this entire time while working remotely? Back to point #1—do you know how to measure productivity? And there it is. My RTO soapbox for the day. Let’s focus on outcomes, trust, and evolving work cultures, not outdated mindsets and control. What do you think? Any wild RTO reasons you’ve heard lately? #RTO #ReturnToOffice #KodakSyndrome #WeHaveAlwaysDoneItThisWay #AdaptOrBecomeExtinct

There's been a flood of articles and LinkedIn posts about RTO (Return to the Office), but I am yet to see a clear, compelling operating model that explains why teams need to be in the office up to four days a week. Where is the framework that shows how this approach delivers effective work, achieves strategic goals, and does so efficiently? One that involves the right people in the right roles across the organisation, while also supporting work-life balance, fostering fulfillment, and helping individuals make progress toward their development goals? Where is the structure that defines how teams plan our years, months, weeks, and days? One that shows how to run an innovation meeting effectively, how to keep an update meeting efficient, and how to conduct a hybrid meeting that truly engages all participants—whether they’re in the room, in another corporate office, or working remotely from home. It feels like articulating such a model could go a long way in helping people understand why they’re being asked to return to the office—and, more importantly, how it will benefit them.