[Flash] The Hang – One Thing We Can Control

I heard an interview recently with actors Martin Short and Steve Martin.

Reflecting on their solid friendship, Martin Short said, “The only thing you can control in a work situation is ‘the hang.'”

Steve Martin added, “There are three things to a movie: was it a hit? was it any good? and did we have fun doing it? And when those things land together, it’s great. But they don’t always – we cannot control if it bombs or the critics hate it. We can only control how much fun we had.”

The “hang” is important! Research shows that we bond over laughter and increase our trust through consistent engagement.

And in this unpredictable, confusing environment, it’s even more essential!

Today I witnessed the participants in the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) 2021 Mentoring Program enthusiastically and effortlessly creating “the hang” over Zoom in the program’s final celebration event.

Before last year, the MWD mentoring team had been delivering their program in person for seven years. Virtual was irrelevant until it became a necessity.

When the pandemic hit, the mentoring team recommitted to and reinvented their program. Why?

• Because employees were working from home for the first time and feeling disconnected
• Because the class of “pandemic hires” were at risk of disengagement – most had never been to the office nor met their boss or peers in person.
• Because acute loneliness is real
• Because the team could help people connect, bond, and have fun together remotely

Lue and I had the pleasure of partnering with this intrepid team (@Suresh @Barbara @Jean @Zary) to facilitate “the virtual hang” by delivering a variety of monthly events for program participants throughout the year:

• Kickoff and training of mentors and mentees
• Networking events to socialize with other program participants
• Speed mentoring to interface with MWD leadership
• Photo contest of mentoring pairs
• Webinars, workshops, and guest speakers
• Mid-point reflection
• Final celebration

As evidenced by their participation, the mentors and mentees were eager to invest in their connections and development – they fearlessly plunged into the opportunity! And despite being busy, they showed up, engaged, exchanged ideas, related, learned, and laughed.

If having fun is the only thing you can control, what are you doing to revitalize your interactions and reinvent your activities to bring joy back to your job?

© 2021. Ann Tardy and Mentor Lead. www.mentorlead.com