Last week I got into an online dialogue with an ex-colleague. He is currently development director for a major regeneration project in Birmingham, one which will require the collaborative effort of many people who need to share the same vision and sense of purpose.

He was just returning from an important on-site tour and meeting aimed at convincing a range of stakeholders, from central and local government to funding organisations, of the project’s excitement and potential. My interest was piqued because in a short social media post he managed to communicate what a buzz it was to be there, in person, with all the people on whom the success of this project depends.

We got into an exchange, and he said how exciting it was to be having a face-to-face meeting. “It felt great. Invigorating,” he said. “The ability to see people’s reactions and watch the ‘tone’ of the room, noticing who was and who wasn’t paying attention.” And then, importantly: “It felt 10 times more productive than doing it on Teams. On Teams, the gravity of the ‘ask’ would not have been perceived in the same way. It was both exhilarating and exhausting.”

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